How a Print Order Management System Improves Your Business Efficiency

Summary: Do you constantly switch between multiple platforms to manage print orders? Are manual print operations slowing down your productivity and profitability? Well, in this blog we’ll uncover why print order management system is essential to run a print business efficiently.

Imagine you run a print business and follow traditional approaches to intake orders, process them, and deliver them to your customers. As you receive more orders, managing everything starts to become difficult, and eventually, your sales go down.

As per recent research, the global printer market is anticipated to rise from USD 78.5 billion in 2025 to USD 123.1 billion in 2034, at a CAGR of 5.1%. The number of print businesses will increase in the coming years and hence utilizing smart approaches like automation and AI-based systems is essential for managing orders effectively.

New-age printers can opt for print order management software that automates print operations and offers extraordinary customer experience to print buyers.

In this blog, we’ll delve into why print shop order management system is necessary for your print business growth and success. Keep reading!

Why Print Order Management System is important?

Print order management system is crucial to streamline print operations from order intake to delivery. Its capability to centralize order processing, automate repetitive tasks, and minimize manual intervention, leads to reduced errors, improved efficiency, and faster turnaround times.

From maximizing the productivity of printers to enhancing customer experiences, the online print ordering software offers several advantages. With this robust system in place, PSP’s can effortlessly handle large volumes of orders, meet tight deadlines, and serve customers in a better way.

Key Benefits of an Automation-Based Order Management System

In today’s fast-paced world, adopting an automation-based print OMS can be highly beneficial for new-age printers. Let’s look at how adopting a modern order management system can be a game-changer for print businesses and the various benefits it offers.

1. Streamlined Order Management with Centralized Order Processing

An automation-based print OMS can automate and centralize all the stages involved in order processing from initial intake to final delivery. By choosing an order management system for your print business, you can unify order information from multiple sales channels to a centralized platform.

2. Enhanced Transparency with Real-Time Order Tracking

With this software, the status of orders can be made visible across departments to ensure they reach in a timely manner to customer’s doorsteps. Similarly, printers can allow customers to view the status of their orders and be notified about their progress in real time.

3. Optimized Resource Allocation with Production Scheduling

Printers can leverage the print order approval system to automate job routing and print job scheduling. Based on the level of priority and urgency levels, print jobs can be allocated to the most suitable production unit, ensuring streamlined operations.

4. Reduced Errors and Reprints with Print Proof Management

Modern order management systems offer progressive design proofing tools to rectify mistakes in artworks. These include seamless print order approval systems that streamline collaboration between designers and customers to reduce errors in the final prints.

5. Enhanced Customer Experience with Swift & Easy Operations

Utilizing print shop order management software can lead to faster order processing and fulfillment. Also, enabling customers to access the order history and place reorders effortlessly can enhance the customer experience for your print buyers.

The Challenges of Manual Order Management in Printing

Although order management is a crucial part of any printing business, utilizing manual approaches can hinder your overall productivity and profitability. Let’s look at the challenges faced by printers relying on manual order management methods.

1. Inefficiencies in Handling Bulk Print Orders

In the case of handling bulk orders, printers will have to perform manual operations for recording order details, pre-press, production planning, quality control, post-press, and shipping. These traditional approaches make it difficult to meet deadlines, handle inventory levels, and maintain brand consistency across prints, which leads to errors and delays in production and delivery.

2. Risks of Miscommunication Across Departments

In manual order management, all communication between sales teams, production staff, and delivery personnel is done manually via phone calls and emails. The absence of a centralized platform leads to miscommunication across departments, delays in order processing, and production errors, which further results in material wastage and customer dissatisfaction.

3. Order Tracking Issues Leading to Delayed Deliveries

Manual order tracking lacks real-time visibility into the print lifecycle, making it difficult for printers and customers to monitor the status of orders. The inability to view the order progress in different production stages and provide timely updates to customers about order delivery can lead to increased customer complaints and revenue loss in business.

4. Impact of Errors and Rework on Profitability

Even the smallest errors and rework due to manual operations can negatively impact the overall customer satisfaction, and ultimately the profitability of your print business. Manual tasks are prone to errors and hence it becomes very difficult for printers to ensure that customers receive their print products on time and are satisfied with the quality of print.

Emerging Trends in Print Order Management

As the printing industry is rapidly evolving, there are several emerging trends that are being implemented for managing print orders. Let’s take a sneak peek into what these futuristic trends include.

1. AI Integration for Order Prediction and Management

AI integrations analyze historical data to predict print demand and utilize AI-based algorithms for routing jobs to the most suitable production line. By using the power of AI, printers can receive smart recommendations for error detection and production scheduling to prevent material wastage and ensure on-time deliveries.

2. Cloud-Based Solutions for Remote Accessibility

Cloud-based solutions are another huge trend that allows print businesses operating in multiple locations to remotely collaborate with teams. Along with remote accessibility, it offers several benefits including real-time updates on orders in a centralized platform and secure cloud storage to safeguard sensitive information of businesses and customers.

3. Personalization Capabilities for Tailored Customer Experiences

Due to the increase of online print ecommerce shoppers, the demand for personalization is growing more than ever before. Printers can offer tailored customer experiences by leveraging personalization trends like recommending popular products, offering custom pricing based on several factors, dedicated portals for B2B clients, and more.

4. Sustainable Methods like Web-to-Print for Print Ordering

Sustainable print ordering methods like using innovative web-to-print storefronts are trending and will remain a popular option in the coming years. With this eco-friendly method, printers can offer digital proofs of print designs to print buyers, automate pre-flighting, and seamlessly offer on-demand printing options for print buyers.

Why OnPrintShop’s Print Order Management Software Stands Out

OnPrintShop allows B2B and B2C printers to not only manage single orders but also seamlessly handle highly customized bulk orders with an automation-based order management software. These solutions have helped several web-to-print users to centrally manage orders, automate order processing, and increase conversions.

Here’s a breakdown of why OnPrintShop’s print shop order management software stands out from the rest -

• Automates order management tasks like order intaking, scheduling, and processing.
• Enables to track the entire order life cycle from pre-press to post-press.
• Offers centralized order management with a unified view of all sales channels.
• Provides access to reports and analytics on order performance.
• Offers automated updates to customers to keep them informed about the status of their orders.
• Enables to effortlessly handle bulk orders with features like bulk pricing and split shipping.
• Allows you to create automation-based labels for each print order package.
• Enables you to assign unique tracking codes for every order.
• Allows seamless integration with external shipping APIs.
• Enables easy vendor management and collaboration with them.
• Provides customers with access to order details and history for reordering.

Not only that, OnPrintShop offers budget-friendly and bespoke order management features to match the unique requirements of your printing business, enabling you to stay profitable in the long run.

Success Story of OnPrintShop’s Client

Cedar House Media, which is one of the many clients of OnPrintShop, achieved a 200% increase in repeat sales, and a 90% improvement in order processing time.

The firm faced several challenges like tracking and updating order information, as well as production and billing details.

OnPrintShop offered Cedar House Media with automated print order management software, which enabled them to minimize errors and reduce time consumption.

Wrapping It Up!AI and automation-powered order management systems are changing the way print businesses operate, enabling print owners to excel in this competitive printing world.The secret to running a successful printing business in the digital age is leveraging order management software for printers, that not only helps to streamline print order workflows but also serves customers in a better way.So, if you haven’t made this smart decision for your print business yet, now is the time to do so. Go ahead and request a demo with OnPrintShop today. Our team of experts will curate a personalized demonstration of top-notch order management capabilities and help you transform your print business.