One MIS, which can cater for every sector of the print and graphics arts industry, super efficient, process driven, highly configurable, and where necessary able to be integrated into other best of breed third party software.
That was the vision back in 2010 when Optimus launched its now award winning dash MIS, explains Optimus group managing director Nicola Bisset. She says, “We understood that many print service providers had started to look closely at the relationship between their MIS/ERP software, their people and their manufacturing capability, and some had really focused in on the elimination of waste within their business, in line with the best lean manufacturing principles.”
Bisset continues, “Looking at a value proposition through lean manufacturing eyes, you soon realised that software users generally got irritated and frustrated having to go through steps and processes within the user interface that were just not relevant, and therefore not adding value. We felt that it paid to remember that print service providers’ customers would certainly not pay more money for all those unnecessary steps, they just did not care, and it was ultimately your problem.
“What this fundamentally did, back in the early days of launching dash, was shape our thinking to focus on providing Optimus software that at its heart offered substantially higher levels of configurable automation, flexibility and integration. Our strategic aim was to ensure that an Optimus dash MIS could encompass all sectors of print, and as a consequence help facilitate precise workflows, be they digital, offset, screen, or specialist print.
“Since 2010 we have continually extended the capability of dash by adding and enhancing on its core functionality; and now we are proud to announce an even more substantial shift within the arena of packaging, which is such a growing market for so many of our customers in Australia.”
The Optimus dash Sales Enquiry System allows users to easily create rapid quotations regardless of complexity, through its highly configurable question-driven front end. In fact dash provides the ability to create quotes in seconds, irrespective of print process or substrate. Quotes are then easily converted into fully specified production jobs with all materials required, estimated costs and final invoice values automatically created, without the need to duplicate or re-key information.
With Optimus dash for Packaging, further functionality has been incorporated into the MIS specifically for companies producing folding cartons. The flexibility of the dash Sales Enquiry System has allowed Optimus to create an estimating system that is specifically targeted at folding carton production.
Bisset says, “What we deliberately seek to do now, at the bequest of many customers who we know just want the facts laid out plainly and simply, is to offer information on what that functionality will do right now, and safe in the knowledge that the content listed is based on live operational sites.
“We are excited to be launching further enhancements to the successful dash MIS. We believe our award winning product now provides even more additional help and support to the increasing amount of companies that have diversified their product portfolio. They no longer need multiple MIS systems to manage multiple products.
“In addition we regularly receive feedback from our customers who (if they have measured their current process against their new Optimus dash system) have typically received a full and comprehensive return on investment, ordinarily no more than within twelve months from go live.
“We believe this is due to the lean manufacturing philosophy within the software that provides real, relevant and practical automation. The reduction in potential error handling and the sheer speed of automated process, should mean substantial savings for companies when they start to add up the true cost of removing all these steps.”
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