Ironsides Nor’Star combines automated production tracking, productivity reporting and cost analytics in one platform helping commercial printers maximize efficiencies and drive profitability.

Westford, Mass. – Ironsides Technology, a leading provider of automated production business intelligence for the printing, mailing, fulfillment, and packaging industries, today announced the release of the Ironsides Nor’Star System, a business intelligence offering designed to provide commercial printers and document manufacturers with valuable insights into their business and print production costs for improved decision making. Ironsides Nor’Star combines real-time data collection with automated production monitoring, reporting and cost analytics in one central command and control dashboard. Document professionals, printing, mailing and fulfillment centers are able to understand true production costs of each job, from prepress through production, finishing, bindery, sorting, packaging, shipping and mailing. Ironsides Technology is launching the Nor’Star System at Hunkeler Innovationdays 2019, February 25-28 in Lucerne, Switzerland.

“Commercial printers operate in a just-in-time manufacturing environment,” said Bill Riley, CEO and Founder of Ironsides Technology. “Increased short runs and tight turnaround times mean that production floor conditions are always changing and jobs are not always run on the most efficient equipment or split across multiple devices. This makes it impossible for managers to plan each job for maximum efficiency and profitability. The Nor’Star System is designed to adapt to any production print environment providing data in real-time across all systems and devices. This, combined with powerful business analytics and reporting, allows management and production supervisors to track actual costs compared to estimates in order to better understand margins and improve facility profitability and efficiency.”

The Nor’Star System builds on Ironsides Technology’s strength in connecting and collecting data across multiple systems and production technology. The Nor’Star System includes Ironsides APT™ (Automated Production Tracking) and adds two new platforms, Ironsides AOT (Automated Order Tracking) that monitors and reports on the prepress process and Ironsides ACA (Automated Cost Analytics) that provides real-time cost analysis. In one centralized command and control dashboard, the Nor’Star System provides the insights required to track job performance and compliance as well as actual costs and profitability, which are key concerns for business executives.

The Nor’Star System consists of three software platforms and are device agnostic.

• NEW - Ironsides AOT (Automated Order Tracking) provides real-time visibility to all prepress activity. Track each customer, project type, quantity, due date, approval and other data points throughout the prepress workflow. Detailed reporting helps prepress managers identify potential bottlenecks and understand where and why rework was required. Ironsides AOT’s auditing capabilities help ensure that customer SLA, compliance and regulatory requirements are met through the prepress process.
• Ironsides APT (Automated Production Tracking) monitors and reports on individual pieces and complete jobs being printed, finished, mailed and shipped across all brands of continuous and cut sheet printers, ink jet printers, inserters, finishing and bindery equipment. Ironsides APT tracks job performance, pieces and productivity by device, operator and job, providing the information necessary to optimize production schedules and delivery performance. Ironsides APT allows for 100 percent distribution compliance, providing assurance that all jobs down to the piece-level have been assembled correctly, accounted for, and are fully compliant with industry required rules and regulations.
• NEW - Ironsides ACA (Automated Cost Analytics) is a real-time cost analytics tool that helps document factories understand the true costs of each job from the time an order is placed. Using automated data collection and cost analytics, Ironsides ACA is able to calculate the cost of manufacturing for each job, contract and client. Automatically compare estimates with actual costs to identify the types of jobs, customers or shifts that are more efficient and profitable. Commercial printers and document factories have greater insight into their margins allowing them to make more informed business decisions to drive growth and better serve customers.

For more information about Ironsides Nor’Star System visit http://www.ironsidestech.com.