Peter Horwood, commercial manager at Imprint, praises this partnership with Zaikio, billing the company’s platform as “forwardthinking and collaborative.” “As more companies connect to Zaikio, the benefits for customers to have bi-directional software integrations are clear to see,” Horwood says, adding: “The ability for our MIS to receive orders from a variety of platforms and then in turn to return status information about those jobs to subscribed software is a powerful tool.” From an Imprint point of view, Horwood also has advice and guidance for those seeking new or improved MIS. He says that in an increasingly competitive market, wideformat print companies need to be able to effectively track their projects and know where they are in the process, as well as have a grasp of costs and effective markets using data analysis. “When looking for an MIS partner, first and automation needs to be lived. For us the key is an open and flexible MIS to work with other elements of your business, meaning it should have API connectivity. “As such, we recommend those seeking a new MIS solution or upgrade should consider if it has a user-friendly interface and its scalability, integration capabilities, automation features, reporting and analytics capabilities, reliability, support from the provider, any security measures, and, finally, its cost-effectiveness for your business.” Leading on from this, Pasquini goes into more detail about what is available from Zaikio in terms of solutions for wide-format print companies. She bills Zaikio as an open data platform that works with many partner companies in the industry, including several leading MIS providers. “Even though Zaikio has Keyline as an MIS, the focus is on the DACH market,” Pasquini says, adding: “International MIS such as Imprint or EPMS have understood the challenge and give their customers the possibility to share and receive print data with other Zaikio partner systems.” Understanding Your Business Going into further detail on this link-up with Imprint, Zaikio says with its platform, it enables automation by enforcing the normalisation of job data from various sources, using its own standardised data model and our opinionated API. The Zaikio platform then makes that structured data available in a secure workspace, so that subsequent processes can work with it. 46 www.signlink.co.uk Issue 251 - February / March 2024 foremost, you should look for a company that you feel is listening to you and actually trying to understand your business model,” Horwood advises, adding: “An MIS should have the flexibility and the right tools for you not just a conventional printing system adapted to fit. Also, enquire about the programming roadmap so you can be assured that the system continues to be developed.” As for how Imprint can help, Horwood says the company has observed that the market is focused on a business-wide clarity of the statuses of work and analysing MIS data to identify bottlenecks that need attention. By continually reviewing this, Horwood says, this allows its customers to make key business decisions such as the justification of new equipment or hiring new staff for example. “Imprint is continuing to develop its online dashboard offering,” Horwood says, adding: “Its new projects system is ideally suited for capturing kitting style projects. Imprint has also finished its latest workflow integration with more details to be released soon.” While there is seemingly no real right or wrong answer when it comes to selecting an MIS partner, there are several steps that wide-format print companies and sign-makers can follow to ensure they get this decision right. Ensure the provider you want to work with has a solid track record in working with those in the industry, understands what you and your business are all about, and that their product can match your own hopes and ambitions. ► Louise Pasquini, UK sales manager at Zaikio PrintVis is built directly on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 365 MIS SYSTEMS
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