Print Software Procurement Checklist

Shopping for a print software solution? First, I would give the following advice. Take a few minutes and write down what problem you’re trying to solve in this format. 

As a ____________________, I want/need to _____________________, so that I ________________________.

“As a customer of ABC printing, I want to be able to provide my distributed sales team the ability to order online from an approved catalog of marketing materials so that they have 24/7 access to what they need.” 

“As a customer service rep of my printing company, I want to be able to look up everything about an order in our Print MIS solution, so that I can tell all activity that has been applied to this job in one trusted system of record so I can service the customer better.”

If you’re buying a web-to-print solution, all of the statements will be about your customers. Web-to-print is a tool for your customers; too many printers shop for web-to-print with the focus on what’s good for the shop. The solution will of course deliver benefits to the printer, but that should not be your focus. If your web-to-print doesn’t deliver value to your customers it has no chance of delivering value to your business because your customers won’t adopt it.

If you’re buying a Print MIS, the majority of the statements will be about your staff. Print MIS is an internal facing toolset that runs your business from order entry to invoicing. 

You might have several of these statements. Share them with your team (sales, production, operations, customer service) and see if they can come up with any others. Then you should prioritize these statements for each solution you are shopping for. What is most important to your business? 

Once you have those statements, you should do one more thing: create a list of just five things. If the software could only do five things, what would you choose as the most important to your company? List them in priority order. For example, “the web-to-print must integrate with our Print MIS solution” might be one of your must-haves. Or, “our Print MIS must have integrated accounting.” Too often we get trapped in the “more is better” approach to buying software. Actually, more isn’t better; what’s better is your top priorities solved by the solution you purchase. All the extra features might be helpful, or they could just make the software unnecessarily complicated.

Take these two things to PRINT 18 to begin shopping. What you will have is a clear definition of the problem(s) you’re trying to solve and your priorities. You will then have the opportunity to drive the conversation with vendors. Don’t accept a scripted demo of what they want to show you; make the interaction about what’s important to you!

Web-to-Print Procurement Considerations

1. Hosting
1. Cloud vs. On Premises
2. Technical Skills/Resources Required
1. What level of technical skills are required to “run” the solution?
2. Do you currently have the resources in your business?
3. How much time does it take to learn/manage?
1. Do you have resources that can take on the extra work?
4. What are your primary challenges you want to solve?
1. B2B stores for reorder across a large community?
5. What product workflow types do you need to support?
1. Variable data products?
1. Versioned products?
2. Personalized products?
2. Cross-media products?
3. Print on-demand products?
4. Fulfillment/inventory?
5. Digital download?
6. Kits?
6. What payment methods do you need to support?
7. Do you need to support approvals?
8. Do you have any localization needs? (languages, currency, etc.)
9. What scale do you need to support?
1. Order volumes
2. Concurrent users
10. What professional services are available from the vendor?
11. What is the roadmap of the product?
12. Who is leading the product roadmap (product manager)—is s/he at the show?
13. Does the product have a documented API for integrations?
14. How many printers are on the solution?
15. Does the product have existing integrations?
16. Can I speak with some existing customers?

Print MIS Procurement Considerations

1. Hosting
1. Cloud vs. On Premises
2. Technical Skills/Resources Required
1. What level of technical skills are required to “run” the solution?
2. Do you currently have the resources in your business?
3. How much time does it take to learn/manage?
1. Do you have resources that can take on the extra work?
4. How long does the typical implementation take?
5. What are your primary challenges you want to solve?
1. Speed-up estimating?
2. Make more data visible to all aspects of our company?
3. Get rid of legacy software?
6. What product workflow types do you need to support?
1. Wide format
2. Web press jobs
3. Digital
4. Litho
5. Flexo
7. Tax support/integration
8. Shipping support/integration
9. Do you have any localization needs? (languages, currency, etc.)
10. What scale do you need to support?
1. Order volumes
2. Concurrent users
11. What professional services are available from the vendor?
12. What is the roadmap of the product?
13. Who is leading the product roadmap (product manager)—is s/he at the show?
14. Does the product have a documented API for integrations?
15. Pricing support:
1. Cost-based estimating?
2. Price list pricing?
16. How many printers are on the solution?
17. Does the product have existing integrations?
18. Can I speak with some existing customers?