Printers will be able to access the Antalis product portfolio in the future. In an initial step, they and their suppliers will be able to digitize and optimize their procurement process.

• Antalis makes up its mind to digitize customer processes with Zaikio
• Paper and material orders to be made as easy as possible
• Zaikio initially to offer customers in Germany access to Antalis

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is adding Antalis, the leading European distributor of paper and industrial packaging, to its Zaikio Procurement platform.

Zaikio, a Heidelberg subsidiary, is an open platform that enables the entire printing industry (printers, customers, brand owners, suppliers, software producers, and equipment manufacturers) to communicate and share data. By joining the platform, Antalis is looking to give existing and new customers digital access to company-specific procurement data. Other partners, such as MIS providers, are also set to benefit from easy access, meaning print shops can operate directly from their centralized system.

As a market-leading European paper wholesaler, Antalis is one of the printing industry’s big players. “It’s important to us to find solutions to the challenges and problems printers face. With Zaikio Procurement, we’re aiming to give all print shops direct access to suppliers’ material and price lists. This will facilitate costings and orders, and also automate processes. Antalis is an important partner to have on board, helping us turn this vision into reality,” says Christian Weyer, Managing Director Technology at Zaikio.

“We’re already in talks with further big suppliers who would like to join the platform. By the end of the year, we’re aiming to have all major suppliers for the German-speaking market on the Zaikio Procurement platform, which will mean print shops will be able to use a single application to place orders with all their suppliers,” reveals Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.

There’s plenty of added value for suppliers, too. Direct access to their portfolio and prices eliminates the need for a lot of phone calls and e-mail correspondence. It also makes linking their own ERP system to each individual customer system a thing of the past. “Zaikio has won us over with its one-to-many approach. This solution provides our customers with a quick, easy, and free link between their MIS and our ERP, saving both sides a great deal of time and money. Resources for creating and maintaining connections between systems are particularly limited. At long last, we can fully automate our processes based on the incoming data,” says Dieter Becker, Managing Director Middle Europe at Antalis.

Bastian Druck has been a Zaikio Procurement customer from the very outset. Antalis is a further key supplier of this print shop that is now part of the platform. “Antalis was one of the suppliers we were hoping would join those already integrated into the platform. Now that it’s connected to Zaikio, we can save even more time when ordering paper,” emphasizes Nico Kessel, Deputy Managing Director at Bastian Druck.

Procurement has never been so easy
Besides gaining access to suppliers’ portfolios and prices, print shops will also be able to organize their material requirements in the future. A centralized table will give buyers an overview of all materials currently required, regardless of whether they are for a specific job or running orders. This makes Zaikio Procurement more than just an interface for material procurement – it is set to become the most important procurement tool of all.

Zaikio App Store – free access for all
With its App Store launch, Zaikio has taken a further step toward networking the entire printing industry. The systems connected to Zaikio are available in the App Store and can be viewed by potential customers.

The Zaikio App Store creates the necessary basis for software providers to network and share data in the future. Zaikio Procurement already enables MIS providers, printers, and suppliers to drive digitization and save both time and resources by linking up via the platform.

Following on from Zaikio Procurement and the App Store, Zaikio is now focusing its attention on Mission Control – a solution for standardized storage of data from connected systems and the release of specific data to other systems. This will complete the vision of a fully networked printing industry.

About Zaikio
Around a year after the takeover of cloud software business Crispy Mountain by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, the company launched Zaikio – a new open and independent cloud-based collaboration platform for the printing industry – in the summer of 2020. Zaikio unites all industry players on a single platform. The aim is straightforward, standardized data exchange between software, hardware, and the partners involved on the basis of end-to-end automated process chains. So far, over 1,200 people have registered on the platform and set up their own personal Zaikio Account.

www.zaikio.com