Exploring Workflow Automation on #ThePrintReport

On #ThePrintReport podcast with Deborah Corn and Pat McGrew, we look for guests who can help printers. Our topics range from current privacy legislation to the need for workflow automation, which is why we asked Solimar Systems, to join us for an episode. The result was a great discussion that touched on how adding tools to automate and optimize print workflow saves time and money for the printers who take the journey.

Our conversation began from the premise that printing companies have opportunities to improve their level of efficiency and the Solimar Chemistry™ platform has a proven record for turning those efficiencies into time savings and better profit margins. They have a catalog of customer engagements that produced significant savings by reducing the time for job onboarding, which we know is a significant cost in most operations. The flexibility of the Chemistry platform also leads to production efficiencies, including the ability to make late-binding decisions about which machine to use for print production and what channels to use for online delivery.

Solimar customer Borns Group, based in South Dakota, had a rich history as an offset printer supporting a variety of commercial work while specializing in direct mail marketing for not-for-profit organizations. As they began to expand into digital production, they needed a more flexible workflow that could support a diverse set of digital machines. That led them to Solimar for a solution that became the infrastructure enabling the integration of their new digital devices into their offset shop. They reduced preparation time and ensured their ability to move work among devices as needed to make their short turnaround requirements. Today, Solimar solutions function as the traffic cop for all the work they produce.

A feature of Solimar customer relationships is the opportunity to participate in the Solimar Customer Advisory Council. We learned that this elite group of customers provides information to Solimar on their production needs and consults on potential solutions. Comprised of transaction production powerhouses including Broadridge, RRD, Conduent, and FSSI, along with high-volume direct mailers like Wolverine Solutions Group and Taylor Corporation, CAC members meet regularly to learn from industry analysts and each other, sharing their implementation stories.

As we wrapped up #ThePrintReport, Solimar describes how they take a proactive approach to their customer relationships. In the more than 30 years Solimar has been helping customers, they’ve made significant enhancements to the solutions to meet the changing needs of their clients and helped them create quantifiable success. One customer was able to save 50 FTE hours per day across a department implementing Solimar solutions. You read that correctly. It caused Deborah to exclaim, “What?” When you can save incremental time across a variety of tasks through automation the time adds up quickly. Multiply that by the number of team members performing the tasks, and you arrive at exceptional, quantifiable savings. That is significant money that reverts to their budgets for new devices and solutions.

Episodes of #ThePrintReport are found on Podcasts from the Printerverse along with many other topical Print Media Centr podcasts. Check it out while you are on the go or looking for something to listen to while you work.