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 German Printing house Grieger offers its customers added value with the implementation of HIFLEX E-Business.
When people discuss e-business, they always seem to misunderstand each other. Because while some people define "e-business" as shopping on the Web, others refer to auctioning
products on specific platforms, or something else entirely. Clearly, no single "e-business" exists. Just like one can purchase a car, washing machine, bread, or milk in very
different ways, there are various types of trade on the Internet that could be described as e-commerce. Similarly, the entrance of print shops into the Internet business
market is considerably different from that of wholesalers, retailers, banks, or consultants. And that is simply because the structure and requests of each customer, and
the type of service they provide, play a decisive role in the Internet workflow. |
| The Grieger Offset printing house, situated in the German city Nettetal near the Dutch border, for example, provides its customers with three e-business models tailored to
their needs. Grieger has utilized the HIFLEX MIS software for comprehensive integration of all printing processes for four years. The existing platform, which HIFLEX
customized to Grieger's special needs, was integrated in order to implement the e-business solutions. In this way, the system creates the direct data connection, or
comprehensive integration, of all business processes involved. "Ordering, manufacturing, storing, or tracking jobs becomes simple and transparent," described Wilhelm
Driessen, Sales Manager at Grieger. |
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The family-owned Walter Grieger offset printing house was founded in 1973 as a book printer. With about 100 employees and approximately 8000 m2 of production area,
it now specializes in highly refined displays and packaging. Their customers are predominantly branded companies, whose jobs are procured by display manufacturers,
package printers and manufacturers, and advertising agencies. The run size lies between 1 and over 1 million sheets. In addition to sheetfed offset printing,
Grieger's service portfolio includes steel engraved embossing, digital printing on a HP Indigo, and prepress with Artwork ArtPro.
The sheetfed offset group consists of four KBA Rapida machines, each with carton board capability, coating capability, and double delivery extension:
two Rapida 162a - a six-color machine for conventional and UV (e.g. for printing foils and metallized boards) mixed service and a five-color machine,
a five-color Rapida 142 and a six-color Rapida 105 (also for mixed service) running at a speed of 18000 sph. Three machines are equipped with automatic
sheet inspection systems (Qualitronic II), which register the minimal color deviations, differences in color register, toning, loss of lettering, coating
build-up on edges, splashes of ink and coating, hickies, and paper flaws to the "size of a pin head."
The ISO 9001:2000 certification process was completed in 2006. Presses and digital proofers are profiled according to ICC standard. Based on these requirements,
printers achieve brilliant results without gamut-expanding color scales. For customer-specific colors, a lab is available with a formulation and mixing system
to supply the desired amount using a dozen base colors and ink recovered during production. About 7,000 different recipes are now maintained.
The logistics processes are also automated. For example, the printing presses obtain ink via a bulk pumping system. The large-format machines are outfitted
with nonstop-feeder and nonstop-delivery, and receive paper or carton via pallet transport with conveyor belts and AGV. All machines have color density measuring
systems and are networked with the HIFLEX MIS (Management Information System) using KBA Logotronic based on the CIP4 JDF/JMF standard. |
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Druckcom, a company within the Grieger group, offers the "simple" options with its digital print production in Nettetal and steel engraved embossing in Mönchengladbach,
which is about 25 kilometers away. "Tradition and modernity" experience a symbiosis here.
For example, selected B2B customers can order business cards or other business print products with steel engraved embossing and/or digital impression. The user accesses the
print shop's server through a hyperlink, and logs in after entering authorization information on the order page. The customer then receives an overview of the products that
can be ordered by his company: for example, business cards, certificates, and writing paper. The customer can select from the given templates and enter his individual
specifications in a form field. The buyer can then review the information, make any necessary corrections, and order the desired amount. With the generation of a ready-to-print
PDF, the actual order transaction is complete and the print product is ready for production. Because a system running on e-business software offers nearly endless options
to ease the handling of standard print products, Grieger has, per customer request, integrated additional control mechanisms and corrective procedures into the approval process. |
Printing house Grieger offers its regular customers a classic job tracking solution: an e-business application, which has sparked a lot of interest in customers.
As is not uncommon for a customer to have many jobs in production at an offset print shop, the highest transparency is a valuable way to reduce telephone calls,
inquiries or faxed correspondence.
The solution is nearly identical with the one implemented by order clerks at Grieger using the HIFLEX system. While order clerks can see the status of all jobs
(e.g. PDF release, incoming data, received materials, printing), the customer can only track his jobs - with the advantage of viewing his job or inventory status at a glance.
Wilhelm Driessen is responsible for work flow optimization at Grieger and thinks the world of the HIFLEX applications. "If you walk through the shop five times a day to
check to see if a job is being printed, or already complete, you easily spend an hour on your feet." He now saves himself these trips by accessing all job data, including
the status notification, at his work station. This application is based on the HIFLEX Management Information System (MIS), which has been in use since 2003. The system was
gradually expanded and today, networks the administration with the press room and customers.
But, increased transparency and considerable time savings were not the only results of the HIFLEX MIS implementation. It also produced substantial cost savings in the
process chain, because all activities resulting from a specific action are automatically mapped. These activities encompass: the application of customer data, quoting
phase, order confirmation, generation of shop floor papers, order tracking (by order clerk or customer), and issuing of delivery note and reports. The repeatedly
discussed argument of the "glass printing house" has absolutely no negative touch with Grieger. On the contrary, Wilhelm Driessen sees this "as a great chance to
design the production processes with the customer and, thereby, create a long-term relationship." |
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| Customers can log on to Grieger's server using the E-Business platform. |
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| After log in, the customers can use the services made available to them. |
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| Customer TerraTec can trace all of its business processes on the Web. |
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The highlight of the e-business model at Grieger goes even one step further. Grieger offers TerraTec, a leading multi-media manufacturer, a comprehensive fulfillment
solution by handling the production, finishing, and logistics of its print products. This service ranges from the printing of all required items to logistics,
warehousing, and finishing the complete product. All processes in the commercial and logistics system (HIFLEX MIS) are thereby automated by the HIFLEX web
application (HIFLEX eBusiness.) This work flow considerably benefits all persons involved.
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| After a bill of materials has been generated in the HIFLEX E-Business module, buying, ordering of print products, and finishing are processed. |
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On the one hand, TerraTec has the exact overview of the inventory and corresponding stock changes at the Grieger warehouse in Viersen/Dülken (near Nettetal).
Using the job tracking function, the customer also has constant access to the status of his job. In the process, TerraTec's product manager is responsible
for creating a "bill of materials," and purchasing all of the listed "hardware items" (such as the actual product with cable and adapter.) Following receipt
of the order, all of the print and packaging products listed on the "bill of materials" (such as packaging, operating or assembly instructions, warranty sheet,
manuals, inserts) are printed (or purchased) and provided by Grieger. The work flow develops as follows: The orders are entered with E-Business in the Grieger
warehouse. If necessary, the warehouse initiates the order for reprints or new print products. Grieger produces the ordered quantity and delivers the print
product to the warehouse "just in time." Finishing and shipment to the business market are completed here.
Logistics plays a key role in the success of e-business solutions because the goods are physically transported at the end of the digital process chain.
"With our e-business models, we are not talking about an information exchange or an e-shop, but a comprehensive integration of the business processes,"
explains Wilhelm Driessen. |
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The sheetfed offset installation consists of four KBA Rapida machines: two Rapida 162a - a six-color machine for conventional and UV (e.g. for printing foils
and metallized boards) mixed service and a five-color machine, a five-color Rapida 142 and a six-color Rapida 105 with a running speed of 18000 sph.
The large-format machines are integrated using a stacking logistics system. Pictured (at left): Wilhelm Driessen, Sales Director, and Co-owner and
Technical Director Wilfried Grieger. |
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"We are always looking for new applications and expanding our internal development in order to create, for example, items using special coating, or to implement
special customer requests professionally and perfectly," explained Dr. Kerstin Schreiber, Assistant to the CEO. "To this end, the HIFLEX E-Business platform
offers unimagined possibilities to increase service and, thereby, the added value for the customer."
She is also sure that even more will be accomplished in the future using e-business functions. "We have a very high quality standard, which is why the consultation
is a focal point for most of our orders. Our clients have the ideas and packaging and display know-how, but the print expertise lies with us." Which is why the
Grieger team trains its clients using their on-site training classroom. This gives their customers the chance to familiarize themselves with new processes and
technologies, and learn about the company's history and possibility. Through its close cooperation with Prolac Products Ltd., a Swiss UV coating manufacturer,
Grieger offers an enormous variety and quality in the field of refinement and coating.
"The lightened work load through automated processes has brought us clear qualitative benefits and additional quantity," illuminates Dr. Kerstin Schreiber.
This is also reflected in the company's figures: 10 to 15% revenue growth annually. According to Dr. Schreiber, this stems from the lean work processes,
improved handling, and simplified communication achieved with the HIFLEX MIS. "We are satisfied with the HIFLEX solution. Through our close mutual contact,
our individual wishes and recommendations for improvement were frequently discussed. And HIFLEX's quick implementation is already in a class of its own." |
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