Print and Publishing
About Total Printing Systems
Total Printing Systems is a short-run to ultra short-run print shop that specializes in digital printing for clients that include short-run publishers, universities, small presses and authors. Located in Newton Illinois, TPS provides its customers with a wide range of services which include inventory management, print-on-demand, warehousing and ship-on-demand fulfillment.
What Clear Spider has Done
Printing shops of any size are most profitable when the presses are constantly running. TPS teamed up with Clear Spider to help make sure their inventory was run efficiently so the rest of the operations could run effectively.
Clear Spider is used by TPS in the main warehouse to log, track and provide usage reports on a multitude of inventory items. The Clear Spider team also built out a second instance to assist with the order fulfillment process on the print-on-demand division of TPS. Clear Spider’s biggest impact is the automatic creation and distribution of order invoices for the print-on-demand division which allows TPS to collect payment from its customers faster.
Overall, Clear Spider helps Total Printing Systems keep the presses running by providing detailed analysis of their inventory while also streamlining their order fulfillment processes.
Challenges
- Customer Payment Tracking
- Inventory Visibility
- Inventory Data Tracking
Solutions
- Inventory and Order Management
- Replenishment Function
- POD Division Customer Invoicing
- Cycle Counting
Results
- Greater Operational Flexibility
- Automatic Invoicing and Distribution
- Receive Payments Faster
- Inventory Reports
- Improved Efficiency of Business
About Bassett Direct (a St. Joseph Communication Company)
Bassett Direct is one of Canada’s accomplished providers of direct marketing and fulfillment services. As a recent acquisition of St. Joseph Communication’s Toronto print campus, Bassett Direct offers insights and leverages resources to help their customers enhance their current marketing efforts to achieve their unique goals.
What Clear Spider has Done
Bassett Direct decided to work with Clear Spider to help them track their inventory and streamline their pick-pack-ship process by building a custom solution that integrated with Bassett’s existing internal systems.
Clear Spider brings clarity to Bassett’s inventory by providing replenishment notifications, custom matrix report creation and kitting functionality. These features help Bassett by letting them know when stock levels on specific SKUs are low and streamlines the data analysis process by automatically creating and distributing matrix reports. The kitting functionality makes picking shipments easier while maintaining proper inventory levels for all items included in each kit.
With Clear Spider, Bassett Direct can continue to provide their customers with amazing service while simultaneously reducing their own internal headaches.
Challenges
- Integration with Existing Systems
- Inventory Item Grouping
- Order Fulfillment
- Inventory Visibility
Solutions
- Kitting
- Custom Reporting Functionality
- Replenishment
- Order and Inventory Management
Results
- Custom Terms and Names Used in the Clear Spider System
- Kitting Functionality
- Report Creation (Work Order Forms, Matrix)
- Replenishment Alerts for Low Inventory Levels
- Integration with Their Existing Back-End
About CJPW
CJPW provides high quality print and design materials to their clients. Based out of Manhattan, some of CJPW’s diverse clientele includes publicly traded corporations, private businesses, non-profit organizations, manufacturers, design firms and marketing companies.
What Clear Spider has Done
Before Clear Spider, CJPW was buried in managing their business with complex spreadsheets. This manual process was inefficient and was prone to numerous errors.
The Clear Spider system provided a necessary solution to CJPW’s needs and was able to deliver the many system functionalities that CJPW needed including inventory management and VMI for select clients. Clear Spider’s mobile app was also deployed and is used by CJPW and their clients to scan and track their inventory in real-time. The mobile app increased visibility of inventory and provided the flexibility that CJPW was looking for in their IMS.
Clear Spider provides CJPW the means to keep their inventory in check so they can continue to help meet their customers’ goals.
Challenges
- Manual Data Processing
- Diverse Inventory Levels
- Visibility into Customers’ Inventory Levels
Solutions
- Vendor Managed Inventory
- Mobile App
- Report Creation
- Inventory Data Gathering
- Replenishment Function
Results
- Quicker Reaction to Customer Needs
- Visibility into Customers’ Inventories
- Increased Efficiency
- Less Time and Effort
- Custom Reports
