When e-LYNXX signed a major deal with the National Association of Manufacturers earlier this year, we took a trip over to the company’s web site to learn more about them. From their “In the News” section, we found these comments: “e-LYNXX’s low key, direct approach may not enliven the trade show circuit, but if its promises are true, it's more likely to generate success.” The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems, Vol. 30 No. 10 - March 12, 2001 “While its competitors are either closing shop, scrounging for cash or frantically rearranging business models, e-LYNXX Corp. continues to grow rapidly and quietly.” Print & Graphics - July 2001 “This contrasts with every other e-print procurement model with which I am familiar that has placed little or no emphasis on building a solution-In effect, systems that are competitive with e-LYNXX are technology strategies searching for a problem to solve without understanding the market in which they have entered... “ Needham & Company Richard Davis, Jr., Managing Director, e-Business Application Software Research 03-28-01 “By 'running under the radar,' printLYNXX has been able to avoid the distraction of trying to establish a 'hot dot-com' brand, and has focused on their core competency - automating print procurement process and facilitating the process of print specification.” CAP Ventures 05-07-01 Sounds like interview material to us. So in March, we asked Mr. Gindlesperger to speak with us. From all indications, the company is already successful and as you can see from a simple search in our archive - they don’t follow the traditional path of promoting themselves. However, William Gindlesperger is a nationally recognized consultant, author and entrepreneur specializing in print procurement. He has directed major in-plant studies in both private and public sectors, and is highly regarded for his knowledge on behalf of firms in matters pertaining to the U.S. Government Printing Office. He has testified twice before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration regarding government print and procurement policy, and has worked directly with numerous Congressional and Senatorial members and staff, advising Congress on the development, operation and future of its GPO print procurement operation and the federal print program in general. (Gindlesperger provided essential context for last week’s GPO Report conducted by this site.) The printLYNXX system is a product of e-LYNXX Corporation. The company is recognized as a leading innovator in print procurement systems since 1975. WTT: Tell us how printLYNXX works. Bill Gindlesperger: printLYNXX is a powerful print procurement program. It is easy to use and manages minutiae, automates workflow, streamlines communication, and empowers organizations to cost effectively obtain printing from their own existing, preferred, and qualified suppliers. In fact printLYNXX puts print buyers in control of their own print procurements and their own suppliers. The program is not difficult or time consuming to deploy, since it avoids IT hassles by being web based and securely hosted in our technology center and redundant sites. WTT: You use the Web as part of the product. Would it be fair to call your company a dot.com enterprise, or how do you describe your company to prospects? Bill Gindlesperger: We are not a dot.com enterprise for a variety of reasons. Most important is our heritage. e-LYNXX Corporation is an outgrowth of ABC Advisors, an internationally recognized print management consulting firm – founded in 1975 – with over 27 years experience in designing and implementing print procurement systems. We are a firm built the old-fashioned way based on customer satisfaction and recommendation, not with money from venture capitalists. To us the Internet has just one value and that is as a communication line connecting print buyers and their own suppliers. WTT: How customizable is printLYNXX and explain the costs (time and money) involved in customizing the product for a client? Bill Gindlesperger: printLYNXX does not need to be customized, since it is rights and roles based, robust, and easily tailored to satisfy the exact needs of each user. The program blends into the print buying culture of each individual client, as opposed to forcing the client to change its tried and true ways of doing business. printLYNXX was designed by people with print procurement experience and know-how as a solution to the pain felt by print buyers who often are relegated to chasing details. WTT: There are lots of general-purpose e-procurement solutions out there like Ariba and CommerceOne -- how does printLYNXX stand out? Could it be used alongside one of these solutions? Bill Gindlesperger: Although ink-on-paper alone has grown into a $155 billion industry in the USA, the procurement process remains virtually unchanged. The results are that few organizations can even identify costs with precision, harness buying power, or share product knowledge and experience regarding suppliers. ERP and B2B catalogue procurement systems do not address procurement or management of printing, publishing, marketing, packaging, labeling, and information products. While these programs offer procurement tools to handle catalogue items, printLYNXX offers procurement tools to handle the process of procuring customized printing, including detail handling, automated workflow, and streamlined communication. printLYNXX can and does share information like purchase orders and invoicing data with general purpose catalogue solutions. However, as a long-time printer, I agree with people like Quad Graphics founder Harry Quadracci, who believes the process of procuring printing is different than procuring a commodity item from a catalogue. Printing cannot be bought, and then managed, as a linear transaction. In fact, printLYNXX supports all types of complex print procurements such as bid and buy, matrix, negotiated, change order, and other contracting procedures. WTT: Besides general-purpose e-procurement systems, there are print-specific ones such as Printcafe Software and httprint. Explain how your company compares to these kinds of companies. Bill Gindlesperger: First, while printLYNXX is a robust solution that can meet the enterprise needs for print procurement in the largest of companies, the program is equally effective and affordable in medium and small organizations. We do not want to leave those markets behind because their needs for enhanced workflow and cost savings are just as important as those in the Fortune 500. Second, we are not brokers, and we do not charge suppliers. Third, as mentioned earlier, we endeavored to build and deliver not only a best-of-breed web-based print procurement and workflow program, but provide clients with a resource for expertise on print matters. The result is a complete solution that delivers a real and measurable ROI for the print buyer. WTT: Recently your company announced a partnership with the National Association of Manufacturers. Why is the NAM interested in printLYNXX? How does the partnership benefit its members? Bill Gindlesperger: NAM is one of the major and most prestigious business associations in America. NAM and its Board of Directors understand the importance of printing and how automated workflow, streamlined communication, and cost savings all impact on the bottom line. NAM took more than a year to accomplish its stringent due diligence and as a result entered into a partnership with e-LYNXX. This is more than an affinity relationship. NAM believes as we do that printLYNXX delivers a solution that cost effectively uses technology to manage the print procurement process while saving NAM members measurable hard-dollars. We are proud to have been chosen by an association of the caliber of NAM and believe that choice speaks for itself. WTT: Some of your customers have been with the company since it started. Tell us about some of these long-standing customers and what they like best about the product. Bill Gindlesperger: One earlier adopter, Boston University, tells us that automation of the flow of tasks in print procurement is a great benefit. In reference to its printLYNXX solution, BU says it all, "By automating the bidding process, printLYNXX also streamlines workflow for our print buyers, who can now bid a job to any number of suppliers, with the touch of one button, rather than with endless faxes and phone calls. This limitless ability to expand our bid pool with no additional effort gives us confidence that we're capturing the most competitive bids in the marketplace - an invaluable asset in our never-ending quest for cost-effectiveness." Another early adopter is Miami, Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Results of 10% to 40% on hard-dollar costs of printing, coupled with soft dollar cost reductions through enhanced communications, proves the printLYNXX model greatly contributes to the bottom line. A senior manager with RCCL said that, "printLYNXX assists us in evaluating our suppliers' performance, by providing a tool that allows us to record quality, timeliness and competitive history. Our suppliers also gain from its use, as they can track our responsiveness with regard to proof approvals." WTT: Many companies that sought to marry print and the Web have long since disappeared. What is behind your company’s success in a turbulent environment? Bill Gindlesperger: Many companies made bad business decisions on how they would build their businesses. They chased IPO profit from technology, flash, and stock warrants, rather than simply providing service and program advantage to their print buyer customers. Venture capital can be a powerful and sexy lure that can blind those that receive it to the promise of quick rewards without the requisite blood, sweat and tears, print procurement expertise, and system know-how. Promises to leapfrog one company past another through intense branding, marketing, and Herculean sales efforts in support of vapor ware has proven to be a sure road to failure. Some of that thinking is still in the print marketplace today. One thing is for certain. If no one likes a system, and no one buys that system, the e-procurement supplier is dead. Already there is a lot of blood on the floor, and companies are still losing money. In our opinion, the only survivors will be those that know printing, are close enough to the print industry to feel the pain, and have the wherewithal to design and deploy real remedies. We believe our firm heads that list. That’s why we do business the old-fashioned way – satisfying print buyer needs, one customer at a time.