MIS/ERP Systems: How are you managing your business?

The best way to look at MIS/ERP systems is holistically, in the context of the bigger picture of managing your business as a whole. Just as you should have a production workflow system, ultimately an MIS system is a workflow system for your business operations. It is not the entire workflow; it is a modular solution built with many individual components to support the business processes. As a part of your holistic system, this needs to integrate with other workflow systems both internally: production and perhaps accounting, and externally: customers, partners, etc.

The following provides a visual overview of the holistic transformative workflow reference model developed to describe the business model of the future.

It is important to remember that a workflow is just a series of connected processes. That means that perspective and roles offer differing views of what constitutes a workflow. Each workflow has a specific purpose with specific benefits to the company. The advantage of using this model as a reference is that it allows you to see the various workflows broken into a logical hierarchy as well as how they work together within a holistic system. The key is that the workflows need to work together in order to provide the maximum flexibility for growth.

There are a wide range of tools and methods being used to manage business and production processes in U.S. printing operations, ranging from Excel spreadsheets to full-blown ERP systems. Many of the available core modules are included in some form in all of the systems; however, the needs of a smaller commercial printer or a franchise center are not the same as those of a larger commercial printer or a packaging converter, etc.  That being said, MIS is definitely not one size fits all and as a result is a very difficult decision for many printers. That is one of the reasons Print MIS ownerships are not as high as they should be.

The current trend of MIS systems and/or individual process components is moving toward cloud-based, multi-tenant systems versus single tenant on premise or cloud hosted with the cloud becoming the key influencing technology. It is an important part of the “Internet of Things” or Internet 4.0, since it creates a centralized platform for inter-process communications. There can also be cost advantages to using cloud-based solutions, or hybrid solutions that bridge cloud and on-premise functions. Some of the more obvious benefits of cloud computing are the reduction of IT costs, less reliance on IT personnel, facilitating connectivity across disparate systems and generally improving accessibility for clients and vendor partners. 

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In today’s environment there will always be a need to do various types of integration between disparate systems and processes but developing an MIS system requires a different mindset and skills. However, having the resources to integrate established functional pieces of software into a more complete and flexible solution is very doable, and increasingly becoming the norm. Connectors can capture information from these external systems and bring them into a printing firm, as well as report information back to customers, suppliers, etc.

Many of the “off the shelf” MIS systems for the print industry include support for JDF/JMF, although not all support is equal. Implementations may vary from vendor to vendor, and integration may not be as seamless as expected. In addition, or in place of JDF/JMF, most also include XML mapping tools and/or Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for varying levels of external process integration. Looking beyond the print industry to the larger global enterprise, connectivity with API hubs such as Zapier (zapier.com) and DOMO (domo.com) can further streamline and simplify future integration efforts.

One of the more important functions of an MIS system is order entry. Today there are many approaches to getting orders into production workflows. When it comes to order entry, whether it is EDI, Web2Print, file upload portals, email with attachments, etc., there is not a one-box solution that can satisfy all requirements for a general commercial printer. However, the emergence of some of today’s fully featured Web2Print solutions is adding some MIS functionality and taking that exclusivity from the MIS domain.

The following is a sampling of the standard and optional modules found in an MIS system, although depending upon the solution, the packaging of these modules can vary. These systems usually offer varying levels of integration with outside systems and production components.

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The Printing Industries of America does a survey each year of MIS systems and components. If you are in the market for an MIS system or in the market for new components, this is a great place to start. The latest survey includes 44 different systems and/or components, and details them by available functions, integration options, etc. The survey is available from their web store (printing.org) and it is free to members.

With a properly designed holistic system, your client’s production data and instructions flow through the external interface to the business management system (MIS) and then into your production management system for production processing. The results are then fed back into the MIS system for internal or external (client) reporting. It’s a beautiful thing.

More to Come …

I would like to address your interests and concerns in future articles as it relates to the manufacturing of Print, Packaging and Labels, and how, if at all, it drives future workflows including ‘Industry 4.0’. If you have any interesting examples of hybrid and bespoke manufacturing, I am very anxious to hear about them. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions, suggestions or examples of interesting applications.