PROJECT DETAILS
Website : https://www.ippglobalprint.com/
Store, fulfill & distribute marketing collateral anywhere in the world
Overview
IPP provide a global print service to B2B companies. They have an international network of hubs, through which they can print, distribute and store your marketing collateral, no matter where it is needed in the world.
Assemblysoft, a leading custom software development company specializing in Blazor and Azure, partnered with IPP, a global print service company, to tackle the challenges of managing print, distribution, and storage of marketing collateral worldwide. This use case article will delve into the challenges IPP faced, the innovative solution provided by Assemblysoft, and the remarkable results achieved
Some considerations when choosing Print Management Software
For organizations that rely heavily on print management software to manage their printing needs, reducing dependence on a single solution is essential for ensuring operational continuity, cost efficiency, and security. Over-reliance on one print management system can lead to vulnerabilities, including potential service disruptions, limited functionality, and increased costs. Here are strategies to mitigate reliance on a single print management software solution:
- Evaluate Multiple Print Management Solutions: Continuously assess various print management software options to understand their features, benefits, and limitations. This evaluation helps in identifying potential alternatives that may offer better efficiency, security, or cost savings.
- Implement a Hybrid Print Environment: Consider using a combination of on-premise and cloud-based print management solutions. This hybrid approach can offer greater flexibility, scalability, and resilience, ensuring that printing services remain uninterrupted even if one system fails.
- Adopt Standardized Protocols and Formats: Use standardized printing protocols and document formats to ensure compatibility across different print management systems. This standardization can simplify the transition to alternative solutions if needed and helps avoid vendor lock-in.
- Develop a Business Continuity Plan: Include print management in your organization’s business continuity planning. This plan should outline steps to maintain printing capabilities in the event of software failure, including switching to alternative solutions or manual processes temporarily.
- Foster Relationships with Multiple Vendors: Engage with multiple print management software vendors to understand their offerings and build relationships. This approach provides leverage in negotiations, ensures access to better support and service, and makes it easier to switch vendors if necessary.
- Leverage Open Source Solutions: Consider incorporating open source print management software into your infrastructure. Open source solutions can offer flexibility, reduce costs, and decrease reliance on proprietary vendors. However, ensure you have the internal expertise to support and customize these solutions as needed.
- Ensure Interoperability and Modular Architecture: Choose print management solutions that support interoperability with other systems and have a modular architecture. This flexibility allows for the easy integration of additional features or services from other vendors, enhancing functionality without being tied to a single provider.
- Conduct Regular Software Reviews and Audits: Periodically review your print management software’s performance, cost-effectiveness, and security features. Audits can help identify dependencies, potential risks, and areas for improvement.
- Train Staff on Multiple Systems: Train your IT and operational staff to use and manage different print management systems. This cross-training ensures that your team can adapt to alternative solutions quickly if the need arises.
- Engage in Strategic Planning for Print Needs: Regularly reassess your organization’s printing needs and how well the current print management software meets these needs. Strategic planning can identify opportunities to reduce reliance on printing through digital transformation initiatives, further decreasing dependence on any single print management solution.
The Challenge
As a global print service company, IPP faced the complex challenge of managing a vast international network of hubs for printing, distributing, and storing marketing collateral. With operations spanning across 75 countries, IPP needed a robust solution to centralize management, reduce back-office processing, and enhance the oversight capabilities of their account managers. The goal was to provide clients with peace of mind, enabling them to track the progress of their projects 24/7.
Key Requirements
- Centralized Hub Management: Streamlining and automating processes across the international network.
- Digital and Physical Coordination: Integrating management of both physical and digital assets.
- Client-Oriented Solution: Providing clients with real-time tracking and management capabilities.
With so many physically and digitally disparate, moving parts involved in a global print service company with an international network of hubs, how best to centrally manage and reduce back-office processing.
If you would like some assistance with .NET MAUI | Azure | Azure DevOps Services | Blazor Development then please get in touch, we would be glad to help.
The solution would need to manage print, distribution, storage of marketing collateral, no matter where it would be needed in the world. At the same time it would need to enable the internal team of account managers to oversee the entire process; providing complete peace of mind to customers, enable tracking of progress 24/7, from start to finish.
The Solution
Helping IPP Design and Develop a Hub Management System
Designing and Developing a Hub Management System
At Assemblysoft, we embarked on a greenfield design and development project to create a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) enterprise-wide solution. This system was tailored to manage print production, design, warehouse storage, and distribution through a web and mobile-based workflow-driven hub.
- Centralized Workflow: Assemblysoft's Hub Management System allowed IPP to manage all aspects of their global print service through a single, user-friendly interface. This centralization eliminated redundancy and reduced the risk of errors.
- Automation: The system introduced automation into various processes, reducing manual work and ensuring greater efficiency. Automation led to cost savings that IPP could pass on to their customers.
- Digital Management: With the new system, IPP could digitally manage the entire lifecycle of marketing collateral, from design to distribution. This enhanced transparency, allowing customers to track the progress of their projects 24/7, providing them with peace of mind.
- Cost Savings: By centralizing operations, automating processes, and adopting a component-based design approach, Assemblysoft's solution significantly reduced operational costs. IPP was able to offer its services at more competitive rates while increasing profitability.
Implementation Highlights
- Migration from Silverlight to ASP.NET: We transitioned IPP’s application from Silverlight to a more modern ASP.NET framework, hosted in Azure for enhanced performance and scalability.
- Automated Workflow-Driven Hub: Our solution centralized the management of various services into a single platform, significantly reducing manual processes and improving efficiency.
- Real-Time Tracking and Management: The platform allowed IPP’s clients to track and manage their projects around the clock, ensuring transparency and reliability.
System Capabilities
- Print Production and Adaptation: Support for the entire lifecycle of marketing materials, from artwork to production.
- Storage and Distribution Management: Integration with storage facilities worldwide, managing stock levels and order fulfillment.
- Online Management System: Digital storage and tracking of collateral, with features for stock replenishment and online ordering.
- Global Reach with Local Precision: Harnessing IPP’s international network for localized printing and distribution, ensuring timely and cost-effective delivery.
We provided a greenfield design and development of SOA enterprise wide solution enabling Print Production, Design and Warehouse storage and distribution to be managed by a single web and mobile based workflow driven hub.
Significant cost savings introduced by automation and digital management of processes into a centralised, component based design hub, allowing the business to offer reduced costs to customers and increased profitability.
The Results
Immediate Impact
The deployment of the new Hub Management System brought a transformative change to IPP’s operations, enhancing efficiency and client satisfaction. The automated, centralized platform reduced the complexity of managing an international network and offered significant cost savings.
Long-Term Benefits
- Operational Efficiency: The SOA-based solution streamlined IPP’s back-office processes, leading to increased profitability.
- Client Satisfaction: Enhanced real-time tracking and management capabilities significantly improved the customer experience.
- Cost Reduction for Clients: Automation and digital management enabled IPP to offer reduced costs to their customers.
- Scalable and Future-Proof: The ASP.NET application, hosted in Azure, provided a scalable, secure, and robust foundation for future expansions and integrations.
Are you facing technical challenges that require custom software development solutions? Assemblysoft's expertise in ASP.NET, Azure, and other technologies can help streamline your processes, enhance customer service, and increase profitability, just as we did for IPP. Reach out to us to discuss your unique requirements and see how we can assist you in achieving your goals.
At Assemblysoft we specialise in Custom Software Development tailored to your requirements. We can onboard and add value to your business rapidly. We are an experienced Full-stack development team able to provide specific technical expertise or manage your project requirements end to end. We specialise in the Microsoft cloud and .NET Solutions and Services. Our developers are Microsoft Certified. We have real-world experience developing .NET applications and Azure Services for a large array of business domains. If you would like some assistance with Azure | Azure DevOps Services | Blazor Development | .NET MAUI Development or in need of custom software development, from an experienced development team in the United Kingdom, then please get in touch, we would love to add immediate value to your business.
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