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DMIA's Award-Winning E-Mail Newsletter for Members Only
<http://www.dmia.org>
July 8, 2005
NEWS
XETEX Features Xebra's New Stripes
<http://www.xebra.com>Richmond, Va., was the site of the well-received 2005 XETEX
Users Conference, where 45 attendees learned about enhancements to
<http://www.xebra.com>XETEX Business Systems Inc.'s Xebra software. Richmond is
historic, but XETEX is making some history of its own on another continent.
Last year, the fastest-growing segment of XETEX, based in West Lawn, Pa., was its business
in Australia and New Zealand. The software supplier entered the promotional products
market "down under" in January 2005, launching product sourcing software called
XebraSource™. XETEX, which targets members of the Australasian Promotional Products
Association, already has 57 supplier customers and 85 companies with one or more
distributor subscriptions to XebraSource. "In the Australasian market, this
represents the critical mass needed for a successful launch," said Charlie Hickey,
treasurer of XETEX. He added that ASI isn't a factor in the market.
<http://www.pantheon.com.au/pantheon/index.htm>Pantheon Systems, New South Wales, is
the marketing and support agent for XETEX in Australia and New Zealand. Its principal, Jim
McLaren, demonstrated XebraSource to conference attendees.
<http://www.dmia.org/em/xetex05pic1.html>XETEX Users Conference
<http://www.dmia.org/em/xetex05pic1.html>View conference photos.
XETEX is also making news at home. At the beginning of the conference, held June 16-17 at
the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the company announced that Fred Hickey, who has been with the firm
since 1996, has assumed leadership of XETEX. He recently bolstered the firm's programming
staff to meet with technology demands and client requests, a move that helped the company
increase revenue by 18 percent in 2004. His father, Charlie Hickey, now primarily develops
partnerships (including the one with Pantheon Systems) and limits his participation in the
firm's day-to-day activities. George Hutchison, general manager of XETEX, now focuses more
on sales and marketing and less on management.
In Richmond, Fred Hickey joined Charlie Hickey and XETEX programmers Scott Coleman and
Terry Cosentino to demonstrate Xebra software upgrades. Many enhancements involved the
company's "Uniform System," a concept for taking Xebra systems with no or minor
customization and making them universal. Xebra users now can interface with UPS WorldShip
and access an improved updating procedure, and they now can run reports and enter orders
and releases in real time. XETEX posts system updates as soon as new features are
available, and customers can download them at their convenience. "Before, a 10-minute
programming change required a hundred hours of work," Charlie Hickey said. "The
Uniform System concept lets us respond to your needs much faster and gives us more time to
develop enhancements."
Another feature, Document Editor, allows Xebra users to modify the presentation of their
documents and reports without the need for custom programming. Attendees also discussed
Xebra's e-commerce enhancements, progress the industry is making toward communicating
electronically with suppliers directly from Xebra software, and the possibility of
expanding access to Xebra from PDA devices and Mac computers.
<http://www.dmia.org/em/xetex05pic1.html>View photos from the XETEX Users
Conference.
<http://www.wardkraft.com/distributor_incentives/index.htm>
Workflow Management Unveils <http://www.workflowone.com>WorkflowOne Brand
Workflow Management Inc., based in Norfolk, Va., is consolidating operations under a new
brand identity called WorkflowOne. As part of the rebranding effort, WorkflowOne is adding
the tagline "Our Business Is Helping Yours" to reinforce its business model that
includes product sourcing and business process outsourcing. WorkflowOne's new organization
is shaped around a set of core competencies: Assessment and Analytics, Fulfillment and
Logistics, Marketing and Creative Services, Technology Integration, Sourcing and
Procurement, and Reporting and Measurement.
WorkflowOne aims to be a single source for companies that want to reduce their print and
promotional product spending while increasing supply-chain management value. The company
says its purchasing power, sourcing abilities, technology and nationwide network of
fulfillment and distribution centers enable customers to concentrate on their core
businesses. "Our new management team and our new focus have extended an already
powerful organization," says Greg Mosher, WorkflowOne's chairman and CEO, in a press
release. "We are now well-positioned to raise our profile in the industry and better
serve our clients with one voice and one vision, as one company."
<http://www.formstore.com/healthcare.htm><http://www.imation.com>
Imation to Sell Specialty Papers Business
Imation Corp., Oakdale, Minn., announced an agreement to sell its Specialty Papers
business to Nekoosa Coated Products LLC, Wis., for $17 million, with the potential for up
to an additional $4 million over the next three years, contingent on performance of the
business. The business provides carbonless cut sheet and digital carbonless paper for
businesses such as printers, banks and hospitals. Approximately 90 employees are expected
to transfer as a part of the sale, which includes Imation's Nekoosa manufacturing
facility.
<http://www.standardregister.com>Standard Register Launches Digital Writing Solution
Standard Register, Dayton, Ohio, announced its ExpeData Digital Writing Solution is
available for hosting by partners globally. Select international companies can print
uniquely patterned digital paper locally and host the Application Service Provider (ASP)
technology in their respective countries. <http://www.pmg.com.au>Print Media Group,
Melbourne, Australia, is the first international company to host the solution.
<http://www.rrdonnelley.com>R.R. Donnelley Completes Purchase of
<http://www.apgltd.com>Asia Printers Group
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, Chicago, announced that it completed the purchase of
Asia Printers Group Ltd., a prominent book printer for North American, U.K., European and
Asian markets under the well-known South China Printing brand. The acquisition agreement
was announced in June.
<http://www.selectprint.com/>
SOLUTION OF THE WEEK
Online Ordering Offers Control
In mid-January, Tom Gurd received a call from the managing director of
<http://www.mortgage-intelligence.co.uk>Mortgage Intelligence: "We've got a
problem," she said. "How quickly can you implement the solution?" That's
music to the ears of any solution-selling distributor like Gurd.
Mortgage Intelligence, based in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, provides home-buyers
guidance and arranges mortgages through a network of 3,200 independent advisors who are
registered to use the firm's services. Prior to Jan. 1, British mortgages were
unregulated. But legislation changed, and all mortgages now fall under the governance of
the country's Financial Services Authority (FSA).
"Mortgage Intelligence woke up in January and one of the directors said, 'What do we
have here?'" says Gurd, managing director of <http://www.ftprint.co.uk>FT Print
Ltd., a distributorship in Hertford, England. "They had a real culture shock."
Under the new law, mortgage companies are responsible for all materials used in their
names. Rather than allowing its network of advisors to create their own marketing
materials, Mortgage Intelligence now needed to control print materials and ensure they met
FSA criteria.
An employee at Mortgage Intelligence suggested the firm call FT Print, which offers an
online solution for designing, proofing and ordering printing. The distributorship
demonstrated its Equator system. The mortgage company was impressed and signed a deal with
FT Print, and the e-commerce package was installed in March 2004. "Within eight weeks
of the pitch, the site was up and we were fully operational," Gurd says.
FT Print initially set up an online ordering system for 300 of Mortgage Intelligence's top
advisors. The advisors log on to the mortgage company's web site using a protected
password and ID to order 16 products, including posters, brochures, fliers and stationery.
They click on an icon for marketing materials and are seamlessly transported to FT Print's
web site. From there, users are welcomed by name and can view a list of all the marketing
materials. The advisors download PDF files, which they can personalize. Mortgage
Intelligence controls the system, so advisors are only able to customize select
information, such as their fees and interest rates. The system automatically fills in
other data, such as the advisor's name and address, based on the log-in information.
Users pay by credit card and send orders to FT Print, where an account manager forwards
the order to one of the distributorship's in-house digital printers. The plant prints,
packs and ships orders. "The beauty of the system for Mortgage Intelligence is
they've gone through a compliance meeting with FSA," says Gurd. "FSA has
pre-approved all this documentation."
FT Print received its first order in April. Most are small, averaging approximately $365.
A typical order might include a couple reams of letterhead, a few hundred business cards
and a few posters. But Gurd expects the advisors will spend a combined $185,000 online
this year. FT Print is currently rolling out the e-commerce program to the remaining 2,900
advisors and plans to add more documents.
The distributorship originally installed Equator so clients—many in the airline
industry—could check real-time inventory of their items in stock. But it landed
Mortgage Intelligence because of the system's online ordering capabilities. "The
reason they came to us is not because FT Print is the best thing since sliced bread,"
says Gurd. "It's because we had a solution in place and it gave them control over
marketing materials."
Have a solution? <http://www.printsolutionsmag.com/dmia/ewklysow.html>Click here to
be featured in Solution of the Week
WHAT'S NEW AT DMIA?
Print Solutions 2005 Conference and Expo
<http://www.printsolutionsshow.com>The nation's premier show for the business
printing industry will be held Oct. 18-20 at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando,
Fla. This year, the emphasis is on in-depth training and usable solutions. You will gain
the expertise and know-how to do your job better and grow your business, whether you're in
management or sales. For details, visit
<http://www.printsolutionsshow.com>www.printsolutionsshow.com.
Train First
If you have new employees or veterans who need a refresher course on the basics of our
industry, check out the Business Printing Curriculum at DMIA's
<http://www.printuniversity.org>Print University. The courses combine distance
learning with residence training, and the results will put your company far ahead of the
"do it yourself " training curve. Don't wait! Class size is limited for this
once-a-year opportunity held in conjunction with the Print Solutions Conference and Expo
in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 18-20.
<http://www.printuniversity.org/BusPrintingCur/BusPrintingCur.html>Click here or
call <mailto:hcarter@dmia.org>Harriet Carter, CDC, at 800-336-4641.
TOP TEN
Here are this week's top unusual source requests received by DMIA:
1. 3-ring Binder Inserts; Heal-seal vinyl; Holds 4 CDs (similar to a
page protector); QTY: 500 - 1500
2. College Transcripts; 8 1/2 x 11 LCS; Phantom logo and VOID
pantogragh; QTY=2500-5M
3. "Take One" Boxes; 12 pt. C1S; 4/0 with bleeds; QTY=1500
4. 18" x 17" Cut Sheets; Z-folds; Hot spot carbon applied to
front and back of sheets; QTY=1M
5. Magazine Inserts; 6 7/8" x 6 3/8"; 4cp/4cp; C2S; QTY=1.5MM
6. Tabloids; Newsprint stock; 4cp/4cp; Saddle stitched; QTY=12M
7. Environmentally Safe Packing Material; Similar to foam cubes
8. Rack Cards; Laser die-cut; 4 x 9; QTY=35M-75M
9. Four color web presses located in Denver
10. Metal Property Labels; 2" x 3"; Brushed silver polyester;
Consecutive numbering; QTY=5M
If you have a source request—for anything—call the Hotline at (800) 333-2828
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, or use the
<http://64.115.51.134/index.htm>Source Hotline Database online. For new sales ideas
every day, try our <http://www.dmia.org/dmiasearch/am_pm/search/index.cfm>1,000
Sales Ideas Database. Manufacturers, if you produce any of these items and would like to
check your listing with the Source Hotline, please email
<mailto:crush@dmia.org>Cheryl Rush.
Sales and Marketing Tip
Make Email Marketing Work For You
An e-commerce marketing director shares her secrets to create a well-focused email
marketing strategy.
<http://www.e-commerceguide.com/solutions/advertising/article.php/3517606>Full
story.
E-Commerce Spotlight
It's All About Service
The trick to convert visitors into shoppers is to offer new levels of help online.
<http://yahoo.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2005/tc2005076_1187.htm>Full
story.
Product of the Week
Basic Forms
Analysis and Design
The package guides the industry newcomer from the basics of materials and production to
the fundamentals of design. It consists of a workbook with seven chapters on materials,
production, types of forms, analysis, design fundamentals, design and graphics, and a
moderator's guide to judge your progress. Code: HSC2AD. Member Price: $44.95. To order,
contact <mailto:tdavis@dmia.org>Tina Davis.
Hot Sites
<http://www.multimap.com>Map the World
Planning a vacation? Use this site to get street-level maps of the United Kingdom, Europe
and the United States; road maps of the world; door-to-door travel directions; aerial
photographs; and local information. It also offers entertainment, hotel, holiday-cottage,
restaurant and train-ticket booking services, weather alerts and the ability to buy both
historic and aerial photograph prints. <http://www.multimap.com>Visit the site.
<http://www.mdtravelhealth.com>Travel Healthy
Before you leave for a vacation, you may want to visit this web site for tips on staying
healthy while you travel. You can look up the country you're headed to, find suggestions
on which vaccinations to get, symptoms to look out for, precautions to take and food items
to avoid. <http://www.mdtravelhealth.com>Visit the site.
Print Education & Research Foundation
<http://www.dmia.org/about/foundation.html>DMIA and the former International
Association for Document Technologies Foundation joined forces in 2003 and formed the
Print Education & Research Foundation (PERF). Headquartered with DMIA, PERF's mission
is to provide research and education that promote long-term growth and profitability of
the industry's organizations that embrace supply-chain options. PERF initiatives include
developing research reports on emerging products and markets; educational and training
programs; and finding ways to improve the industry's profitability and functionality. Its
staff is directed by a <http://www.dmia.org/about/foundation.html>Board of Trustees.
For more information, call
(800) 336-4641.
Got News?
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