By WTT Contributing Columnist Gail Kailing December 9, 2002 -- When WhatTheyThink.com was introduced to DiMS! organizing print, a R.R. Donnelley partner, it was clear more information about this company would be helpful to our members. R. R. Donnelley has long understood the need for communication standards. Many remember when, on May 26, 2000, R.R. Donnelley announced that they would work together with Banta Corporation, Quad/Graphics and Quebecor World to create supply-chain efficiencies for industry participants worldwide by establishing standards and leveraging enabling technologies. This building of a foundation for industry standards never quite worked the way it was planned as the competitive incentive to cooperate evaporated with the demise of many of the dot com middlemen. R. R. Donnelley went one step further by incubating (investing lots of money in) a solution called Digeno to enable buyers and sellers to collaborate on procurement, planning and management of sheet-fed printing projects. Launched at Graph Expo 2000, Digeno was designed to improve customer service and speed order processing. Unfortunately Digeno ceased trading shortly after the show. On September 30 2002, DiMS! provided details about R.R. Donnelley’s selection of the company as a key vendor to standardize and automate its order management process at the enterprise-wide level. Donnelley signed the deal in March 2001. It included integrating Donnelley’s order entry and scheduling systems with shop floor execution and data collection systems, as well as inventory control systems - in all of Donnelley’s domestic printing facilities. Who is DiMS! organizing print? Are they worth a look? At the very least, DiMS! is a company that R.R. Donnelley has selected for print management software. At most, the company will become a dominant player in the print management space, certainly touting their experience with one of the world’s largest printers. DiMS! organizing print Who was that masked solution? "From out of the western sky, comes …" oops, that was Sky King! Somehow my memory of Saturday morning TV heroes is a little fuzzy after all these years. It was the Lone Ranger who came to the rescue of the damsel in distress, the farm about to be taken back by the evil moneylender, and the lost boy and stray calf! DiMS! organizing print isn’t a super hero coming to anyone’s rescue, but they are a bit like the masked man - no one knows who they really are and what their solution is all about. DiMS! develops, sells and implements an end-to-end management information solution comprising the functionality to integrate the complete range of business processes for the printing industry. How did the company get to where it is today? Forget the garage - try the attic! Founded in the mid-1980s, a small company known as Mart BV grew in the attic of brothers Gerard and Tonnie Marneth. The company developed and licensed custom IT solutions for data collection, information management, and manufacturing process management for a variety of customers. The brothers realized that custom solutions did not lend themselves to any economy of scale and in the late 80s came a clear dedication to the print and graphic arts industry. One of the Marneth’s customers was a commercial printer and they were familiar with the printing business and its production processes. Gerard and Tonnie felt this was an area where they could add value. A four-year transition followed as the new industry focus was integrated into the management solutions, and customers from outside the graphic arts industry were transitioned to new service providers. A brave strategic decision - not often do companies show the willingness to "let go" of paying customers who no longer fit the company direction. In 1996, the "DiMS! organizing print" name was introduced and a European presence established and in 1999, the Internet version of DiMS! was rolled out. Then in 2001 the company’s U.S. headquarters was established and the R.R. Donnelley agreement was signed. Product and Service Overview DiMS! is a single, Web-enabled, multi-lingual, multi-currency software package that integrates the complete range of administrative and printing processes for a variety of printing and graphic arts companies. - Web-enabled – A single system, accessible over the Web by all users. - One-time input of data – Customer, job, and all material information is only entered once, dramatically decreasing the chance for error. - End-to-end integration – From estimating to planning and scheduling, pre-press to production, supply data to transportation and fulfillment. - PSO Estimating - considering all possible aspects of an order as a whole (such as printing a job’s cover, body and any inserts; bindery issues; and the final product with multiple editions), the "Process Step Object" approach generates estimates both accurately and efficiently. - Project - allows the user to arrange many matters in relation to an order before the actual planning and production of a job, resulting in greater efficiency across the board. - Scheduling: iPlan - utilizing an automated functionality, iPlan facilitates maximum control over job scheduling, both within a plant and across the enterprise. - Optimized supply chain management – Enables cost effective stock control, decreasing paper and raw materials inventory and eliminating costly waste. - Multi-plant solution – Integrates processes internally and across the entire enterprise. - Multi-currency and multi-language capabilities – a truly global ERP solution enabling clear communication of data across every plant location. - Inventory management - an entirely new data model helps customers maximize resources and reduce waste and process inefficiencies. - Business templates to match the business – Customized templates significantly decrease set-up times, allowing for greater efficiency while minimizing rollout times. - Integrated CRM – An integrated customer relationship management functionality to enable faster response times and superior customer service - contact names, job specifications, historical reports, pricing lists, customer feedback, etc. - only needs to be input once. - Financial integration - in accordance with standard XML structure, DiMS! is an open-ended solution which easily interfaces with external software packages, in addition to containing its own integrated financial module. - Integrated with Microsoft Office products such as Word and Excel – Exports data and management reports to programs with which users are already familiar. - Customized training programs – Training programs are adapted to suit various function and user needs, thus guaranteeing that the right knowledge and expertise ends up in the right place. XML, JDF and CIP4 The future of printing companies depends on having efficient production workflow. To do so requires real-time transfer of data and information. The ability for several different processors to "talk" to each other - and to understand - is fundamental in this, or any, industry. Behind the CIP4 initiative is the intent to apply the concepts of "Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM)" to the production of print and other media. The CIP4 goal is to encourage the computer-based integration of all processes through the specification of appropriate industry standards. DiMS!, an open architecture, is JDF-compliant and bridges the communication gap between prepress, production and post-press through the use of standard XML language. By complying with CIP4 and JDF, DiMS! users can be assured of integration with new and existing systems. A Partial List of Customers In Europe: Enterprise Printers Plantijn Casparie Group Roto Smeets De Boer R.R. Donnelley UK Sheetfed VDA Group Specialty Printing Lerchmüller un Schöbächler Folding Carton Gestel Printing Company Packaging Paraphane AGI Media Packaging (Sony Music Printing) In the U.S. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company DiMS! and Donnelley Representatives of DiMS! and R.R. Donnelley first met at Drupa in 2000 where Donnelley’s European branch was exploring new technology for the company. It became clear during initial discussions, that the DiMS! solution could solve some enterprise-wide problems for one of the largest commercial printers in the world. Ordinarily, the sales process for enterprise solutions like manufacturing information systems can be as long as a year and a half or two years. In this case, it happened in a matter of months. Because Donnelley had spent so much time developing their vision, had proceeded through the specification process, and even had begun the testing and due diligence process with selected vendors, they knew exactly what they wanted. And when DiMS! came onto the scene, it was obvious that the two corporate visions matched, and that DiMS! had a product portfolio with the capabilities needed. DiMS! and Donnelley are technology partners in more than a vendor/customer relationship. The companies bring a cooperative vision with them and work together to identify and implement successful solutions. Pricing DiMS! "unique licensing concept" is also based on a partnership with the printer customer. The value or benefit to the customer is the core of the pricing model, and the end price paid is based on the individual situation. The true basis of the model is "pay for performance" where both parties share the project risk. Pricing is based on deliverables, and DiMS! must deliver the project at the right quality level for payment. Like many integration projects, to license a "standard" system will cost less than to license "the whole nine yards," a complete end to end solution that includes customer-facing (CRM) modules, estimating, ordering, planning, scheduling, general invoicing, etc. The type of company, the complexity of both products and processes, and the number of fulltime users will all affect the final cost to the printer. DiMS! not only licenses the software, but also provides a detailed knowledge transfer that includes training technical staff and "train the trainer" for end user education. Professional services are not geared to sell as many billable hours as possible but to ensure the right tools for managing information that help the customer be as successful as possible. DiMS! looks to be a true business process improvement partner. Conclusion DiMS! organizing print has created a vision of how the printing plant of the future should operate, and has built an integrated system to run that plant. The solution is built on common activities and workflow, with modification for specialized printers with complex problems based on business rules. "Our system is a very open system," Gerard Marneth said. "We can integrate with other systems such as SAP, or Oracle financial and sales and marketing modules, as well as a variety of shop floor data collection systems." Even though the term "object oriented programming" wasn’t even in use in the mid-80s, the DiMS! architecture was based on objects that "talked" to each other. The object inventory has remained the same, allowing new user interfaces to still use all the functionality underneath. Because of this library of callable modules, the applications are 100% backward compatible. While they are upgraded at least annually, the applications can still function under the "interface personalities" that were used in the past. Therefore the interfaces can be character-based, windows-based or browser-based and the end user can access every module, every system, and every report through the user interface with which they are comfortable. It is even possible to access them through a "dumb terminal." DiMS! organizing print is a new player in the US market, with mature technology in use in Europe for a number of years. The company appeared suddenly, launching a partnership with one of the largest commercial printers in North America. Those of us observing the Graphic Arts industry will be watching closely to see where this unmasked solution will show up next.