Select a vendor partner

Selecting the right vendor is equally as important as choosing the right software, and narrowing the list of candidates will reduce your selection effort.

You will be committing to working with this vendor for the next 10+ years, so ensuring a good fit with your team is vital. There are many questions you need to ask yourself when choosing a long-term vendor to partner with, but here are some useful qualifiers which might not be as obvious:

MARKET FOCUS

The printing industry consists of operations providing a wide range of capabilities, each with their unique requirements. An effective offset estimating package does not necessarily work well for short-run digital, large format, fulfillment, packaging, or labels. All vendors will claim their products will work in all markets, but the primary market segments a vendor serves will drive their software development focus. You need to find a vendor who is active in the markets you serve.

ADDED SERVICES

It is easy to overlook a vendor’s added services, but they are as important as the software. Added services can include customer service offerings, quality assurance promises, SLA’s, and product training. Print MIS systems are complex, long-term solutions and expert vendor services can reduce the burden of managing them so you can focus on your business. Consider the services which matter the most for achieving your business goals.

Added services can also ensure that you will not be left in the dark if anything happens post-purchase. For example, will you have access to senior management and 24/7 support in the event of a breakdown to ensure your production process stays running? You should also check where a vendor’s post-purchase support is located to avoid difficulties with time differences and language barriers.

LOOK FOR

Responsiveness
Openness
Answer Accuracy
Helpfulness
Ability to Understand Your Needs
Easy Working Relationship

ADAPTABILITY AND GROWTH

Print MIS systems need to be as individualised and adaptable as your business. Be sure that the vendor you select has a product which is flexible enough to meet your, unique need now and in the coming years. You are likely to expand or alter your business with additional volume, new offerings, and, possibly, new lines of business before you consider replacing your Print MIS system again. Be confident that today’s decision will carry you through the next ten years without forcing you to implement unnecessary features today.

PRODUCT ROADMAP

Ask to see your candidate vendors’ product roadmaps. What new functionality have they added over the past 12-24 months? What are their plans for the coming years? Are they expecting to be in a maintenance mode or are they continually innovating their product? What percentage of their annual budgets do they earmark for research and development spending? Are they appropriately staffed to adapt their offering to the ever-changing printing business ecosystem? Questions like these will provide you with an understanding of the commitment vendors have to address future needs and the direction in which they are moving.

VENDOR LONGEVITY

Again, this decision has long-reaching consequences. You need to be confident that the vendor you select will be in business for the next decade. How long have they been providing Print MIS systems? How many installations do they have? What are their long-term business plans? Are they currently an acquisition target?You want to do all you can to avoid needing to replace your software and start this whole process again because your vendor was acquired and the Print MIS product you purchased is phased out.