Like many leading Print management companies, FT Print sees Web-based technology not as a nice-to-have, but a funsamental part of its business

FT PRINT SOLUTION'S COMPLETE PRINT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION Print management companies, Agencies and other oursourcing suppliers all face the challenge of reducing costs whilst maintaining high quality. FT Print Solutions has risen to this challenge by installing marketingunity. 

FT Print Solutions, based in Hertford, is an outsourcing company specialising in print management and related services. It is committed to a policy of adding value to both its own and its customers’ operations. 

In 2004, the company therefore started to investigate ways of streamlining its print management processes. It wanted a service that would be accessible 24 hours a day. 

After a thorough search, FT Print Solutions selected marketingunity, a powerful web-based software package developed by marketingunity Software. Marketingunity is a modular system that handles every aspect of print business transactions. 

FT's Managing Director, Tom Gurd explains: "We wanted a proven solution that would help us to grow our business. Marketingunity was the most comprehensive solution available and offered us the potential to get where we wanted to be". 

New opportunities

The company purchased marketingunity in 2004, and opted for a phased implementation, beginning with three marketingunity modules: SmartSource Management; Stock Management; and Order Management. 

Tom Gurd continues: "We wanted the new system to take credit cards online, so marketingunity modified it accordingly. Marketingunity enables us to have a system with ’no touch points’.We have many low value transactions, and don’t want people directly involved in the process. With marketingunity, the customer can pay online and the whole order moves seamlessly through to production". 

"marketingunity is very easy to use, and opened up other opportunities. For instance, St. John’s Ambulance Supplies uses it to see images of the stock we hold for them, enabling them to call off the right items immediately". "Another customer, Mortgage Intelligence, wanted to use marketingunity for managing the compliance of several thousand mortgage brokers. It enables brokers to order any marketing collateral they need from the company’s website, which has a hyperlink with our website. Marketingunity gives Mortgage Intelligence an instant turnkey solution with the degree of control they wanted". 

FT Print also has a contract with her Majesty’s Magistrate Courts to supply all court stationery for London. Thanks to marketingunity, the courts now order and pay online. "They love it",' says Gurd. "We have now moved all of the courts onto the online system". 

New Capabilities

Tom Gurd sees the SmartSource Management module as the cornerstone of marketingunity.

"We wanted a standard interoperable platform that any of our people could use. We installed the module last year, and it now raises about 300 enquiries per month. We’ve built up a comprehensive history of all enquiries, which helps us to direct our sales efforts". 

"Stock Management is a key module, and can cope with multiple warehouses and multiple batches. We previously managed stock through our accounting package, but marketingunity is much easier for Account Managers to use: they can rapidly a PDF of an item, check where it is held, how many are in stock, and other invaluable information." 

"marketingunity has done excellent work in implementing the Online Orders module, and responding to our request for a credit card payment option, which has improved it immeasurably as far as our specific needs are concerned. It automates low value transactions, and we are now using it to raise 350 orders per month". He concludes:

"marketingunity has been a godsend - a modern tool for a modern world. We couldn’t operate without it now. The history it provides gives us a good understanding of our clients and their needs. This is invaluable as much of our work involves repeat business."