Rocky Hill, Conn. Feb. 14 2008 — When technology lives up to its potential, businesses and customers benefit from greater efficiencies, reduced costs and solutions that meet their wants and needs. Such was the case when software developed in Connecticut was integrated with software produced by a company headquartered in New York to provide a solution to a Texas commercial printer and its customers.

Signature Media, located in Houston, needed to find the most efficient solution for a long-time client having both complex fulfillment requirements and variable web to print needs (i.e., every piece can be customized with a different logo and address). Dave Dunphy, Signature Vice President of Operations, says, ""I had been using PRO-MAIL for years at my previous workplace. The PRO-MAIL Fulfillment Solution functions and reporting have been refined over decades of working experience. They have thought through the entire process and improved it every time a new application is sold and built, which makes it an attractive option for our customers. For variable printing, we chose XMPie, a software business unit of Xerox Corp.

"We are an independent, customer-centric company. We realize our growth is dependent upon providing solutions to our customers and not just by putting ink on paper," Dunphy adds. "If we could get the two software companies to integrate their products, the result would be a solution that was great for our current customer and one that we can offer other customers who need the same options."

Signature's client wanted one-stop shopping. In other words, they wanted to link through a single portal instead of needing to separately access both XMPie and PRO-MAIL, which would require more time, therefore, more money. To develop a workable solution, Dunphy asked the two software companies to help. Working together, PRO-MAIL and XMPie integrated their software products. As a result of successful integration, Signature's customer is able to enter through the pro-mail shopping cart, place their variable printing order, which requires XMPie, and then link seamlessly back to PRO-MAIL for ease of reporting, shipping and billing, and ordering of non-variable items.

"Like Signature, we are about solutions," Denise Lunden, Software Marketing Associates President, says. "When Dave approached us and described his challenge, we were eager to make the integration happen. We worked with XMPie to create a solution. With their ability to customize printing jobs and PRO-MAIL's ability to manage inventory, order entry, order processing and distribution of the materials, we created a wonderful success story for us and Signature.

The Results:

1.    Time and money savings are achieved due to the automation that the integration allows. All manual work for Signature was removed.

2.    Where PRO-MAIL offers the ability for the customer to order inventory from the warehouse, seamlessly and all from one shopping cart, XMPie offers customized printing for the customer. Furthermore, the customer required several levels of offers. Each pre-registered user was set up to receive one of three offers, some with better discounts or different offers. PRO-MAIL allows the customer to do this from the same portal.

3.    Signature and their customers now have access through PRO-MAIL that provides real-time reporting to ensure ease of reporting, shipping and billing.

4.    In addition, because of this innovative thinking, new customers are finding the solution to be just what they want and need.

Since 1981 Software Marketing Associates, Inc. (SMA) has developed and enhanced the PRO-MAIL system, a powerful suite of software solutions designed specifically for organizations that provide direct marketing and fulfillment services. For more information, visit www.sma-promail.com