Situation:
Among other things, our clients company has strongly grown in the past few years by expansion, thus the client has noted very different processes in the prepress phase for packaging materials, alongside this the client worked with many different suppliers in the prepress and printing sector. Because of these circumstances our client had to renounce savings by bundling volumes and wanted to develop a partnership with a company that could provide a broader range of services and experience as their business challenges became more complex. In-house it was assumed that considerable redundancies and inefficiencies took place.
Task:
Our task was to analyse the complete packaging production process chain (design to Print), to provide a SWOT analysis and suggest suitable measures for the future. Furthermore, if necessary, we should identify new partners, then quickly and smoothly implement the new model.
Action:
After commissioning we entered directly into the discovery phase and in more than 20 interview sessions we interviewed more than 100 employees, suppliers, printers and agencies in today's processes. In an intensive wrap-up phase we created a strength-and-weakness-profile and also we developed a catalogue of recommendations for the future. The alignment of the recommendation-based future model was held with the senior management and with all operational personnel involved in the “Inspiring Workshops”. Subsequently we generated concrete requirement profiles for a central repro service provider, a supportive process management tool and an approval tool. Based on the requirement profile, we created a brief and proposed more than 25 potential partners for the tasks ahead. We conducted a Request of Information (RFI) and then passed into the Request for Quotation (RFQ) with ten potential partners. From the outset we developed specific assessment criteria and established them as benchmark for the decision. The final pitch was held with three potential partners, with one of them we entered into contract negotiations. After signing the contract we oversaw the implementation. As part of the implementation our biggest challenge was the transition from supplier A to supplier B and to assure the daily business including data transfer.
Result:
Today our client changes more than 2,500 artworks and repro files via one central service provider, saving more than 0.5 million euros alone in creating the final print files. The process has been reduced from an average of six months to three months. The individual files are no longer handled on an average of 7 times, but only 2.1 times, this implies a significant reduction of approval processes for all involved. The savings in this area amount to more than 400,000 euros/year. The use of standardised handover products today has meant the friction between the involved service providers has decreased and contro is much easier (not least because of the implemented process management tools).
