Web2print Best Practices - Part IV: Technology Evaluation
Jack Perry November 24 2009 08:25:59 PM
About 58% of commercial printers have already purchased a web2print system. Over the next two years an additional 18% will make a purchase. As many of you know, the investment goes far beyond the initial software purchase. It's an investment in people, process, and ongoing technology improvement. And here's a tough pill to swallow. You'll need more than one storefront if you're serious about growing your web2print business category.What drives the need? It's the multitude of ways that corporate clients use print to support company operations. Client 1 may require a catalog of static PDFs supported by a fulfillment program for specialty items. Client 2 may require variable mailers with real-time list optimization services. Client 3 may require online composition of documents shared with a downstream group of users. Client 4 may require serial approval workflows while Client 5 requires parallel approval workflows. You get the point. As you build your web2print business, client demand will necessitate further investment in technology.
But it doesn't have to be the printer making the investment. Smart printers will provide services to help corporate clients to find, evaluate, and purchase their own systems. But then they won't need us you say? They can take their print away you say? Sure they can. However, clients will always need you to provide affordable, reliable, and scalable POD production and fulfillment solutions. That isn't going to change. I'm not suggesting that you don't have to invest in a primary web2print system. You do, and you should. But one size won't fit all. Clients won't buy into a web2print infrastructure that won't meet their needs. If it's your company helping the client to establish their technology platform, and you are providing the necessary core and value added services, they will stick. Smart Printers should make investments in workflow unification; the ability to process POD orders using the same automated processes regardless of the system the order originates from. As more and more corporate clients make investments into their own web2print and brand management platforms, your company will be in a great position to provide the necessary supply chain connectivity to make their program complete.
So how do you help your clients find the right technology? In Part I we talked about team development. In Part II we discussed program requirements gathering. In Part III we discussed building a scope of work; the technical requirements sought in a web2print platform necessary to achieve defined business goals. Part IV deals with technology evaluation and a process for helping your clients to find the right web2print system for their unique needs.
If you have done the requirements gathering correctly, you'll have a strong understanding of client document configuration, and how downstream groups use the documents to meet their needs. And if you've developed an accurate scope of work, you've developed most of the criteria required to evaluate potential technology solutions. The next step is to document the most important criteria. Easy to say. Harder to do. Here is the guideline we have been using for the past two years in our professional service engagements:
- the steering committee is best equipped to define the criteria
- some typical criteria include
- measure initial cost of entry
- measure long-term cost of ownership
- score a platform on its ability to meet client business requirements out of the box (meeting 75% of requirements out of the box is a good start)
- score a platform on its ability to scale to meet long-term business requirements
- score the vendors ability to meet all client requirements through professional services - configuration and development support
- score the vendor on financial health
- measure the ease of implementation
- measure speed to market - getting the client up and running
- analyze the vendor for the percentage of revenue reinvested into the product
The process of narrowing down a list of vendors to the best 2 or 3 is fairly easy. But the process of picking the right technology for the long term is much harder. In the past we've used a tool to make the decision process mostly scientific and consensus based. In this case consensus is good. More heads are better than one. More perspectives are better than few.
Onpoint has used a full analytical criteria matrix to accomplish the following:
- documentation of decision criteria
- weighted scoring for each criteria
- measurement of technology solutions against established criteria
- final scoring based on the facts.
The first step in developing your matrix is to work with the client to define and document their decision criteria. Then each criteria must be weighed against the other others to establish a scoring system ranging from least important to most important. Now you have a scientific model to work with. As each technology is evaluated by the team, it should be scored in the matrix for each of the criteria. The exercise results in a fully weighted score. The high score is the right solution because it meets the greatest percentage of requirements based on pre-defined criteria.
The matrix we use is attached for your use. I hope you find it useful.
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