Our Daily Bread calls Avanti Slingshot a “Game Changer”

Our Daily Bread Ministries is a non-denominational, non-profit, global ministry with staff and volunteers in over 35 offices working together to distribute more than 60 million resources in 150 countries. Their US headquarters is located in Cascade Township, on the southeast side of metro Grand Rapids and is home to almost 300 full time staff and 100 volunteers.

In 1938, the ministry started with a radio program called Detroit Bible Class. Today, their Grand Rapids print production facilities generate 62 million devotional booklets and boasts 72 million impressions, with more than ten languages printed in the US. Their M1000 Web press consumes 6 million lbs of paper, the Akiyama Sheetfed press consumes 11 million sheets of paper, and their HP7000 and HP5500 digital presses consume 6 million sheets of paper. Since 2011, the plant has grown by 10%.

The Challenge

A bulk of Our Daily Bread Ministries’ production costs support a direct mail workflow. Our Daily Bread Ministries’ main objective was to capture the scheduling and cost performance of all their mailings. They had access to information coming from a variety of departments, disparate islands of automation, and “spreadsheets all over the place,” says Ron Underwood, Supply Chain Team Lead for Our Daily Bread Ministries. “We had postage stats in a spreadsheet over here, our third-party inserter had its own measurement over there, but there was no holistic view in terms of management.” In addition, the ministry was in the process of re-organizing work roles to further streamline efficiencies, yet they were missing the key component in the cost collection and tracking paradigm.

Every fall, Our Daily Bread Ministries produces a fundraising calendar which has become extremely popular to its members. This mailing initiative, produced and mailed alongside their millions of printed materials, is fulfilled upon receipt of a return postcard. Given the breadth of products and the ministry’s global presence, they needed a solution that could not only manage the printing requirements of the individual items, but provide the production staff a comprehensive, real-time view of the project – including costs – as a whole, including costs.

“Each mailing project is made up of individual components like booklets, brochures, address cards and envelopes,” states Ron. “Our challenge was how to oversee the entire project, with each component having individual requirements. We needed the ability to measure…everything.”

The Solution

Our Daily Bread Ministries looked at several Print MIS vendors.  The ministry had history with Avanti; they have been an Avanti Classic client since 2006. “We felt that the approach Avanti took in rewriting Avanti Slingshot from the ground up was the right one,” declares Ron.

Our Daily Bread Ministries liked the user interface for its simplicity and organization. The fact that Avanti Slingshot is browser-based was particularly appealing. “There are tremendous advantages to a browser-based solution,” continues Underwood. “The visibility we get from real-time access to our information from both within – as well as outside – the plant is game-changing.”

The Impact

The Ministry now has real-time access to ALL costs, from setup to fulfillment, and visibility into where they align to each specific mailing. This enables them to set goals for improvement, flexibility, and efficiency both in scheduling and costs. With the ability to capture the scheduling and cost data, they are in a much better position to identify cost-savings opportunities as well as to analyze and set goals for future growth, retention, and membership loyalty.

“Avanti has been very responsive to our requests,” claims Underwood. “It is clear they have a passion to make their system the best on the market, and have a desire to treat every customer request with respect and dignity.”