Prepress
Open to all – print shops now have free access to Zaikios digital procurement platform
Tuesday 23. March 2021 - Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is offering all print shops free access to the Zaikio Procurement industry platform with immediate effect - a further milestone on its way to becoming the printing industrys leading platform provider.
Zaikio networks print shops IT systems with those of their suppliers, which enables print service providers to establish an automatic link with these suppliers. Following a successful test phase with selected print shops and suppliers, all print service providers who wish to do so can now register on the Zaikio platform free of charge. They will then have direct, automatic access from their management information system (MIS) to the portfolios of the suppliers already linked to Zaikio and can place orders at the latest prices with just a few clicks. Following approval by procurement staff, the orders are transferred directly into the relevant suppliers ERP system, which reciprocates by providing the print shops ordering system with information about availability and delivery options. This process lays the foundation for fully automatic orders based on various factors – from the current paper or ink consumption to stock levels. It also optimizes the digital procurement processes of print shops and suppliers alike.
“With Zaikio, Heidelberg is gradually establishing an industry platform that is open to all companies, digitizes and automates numerous value-adding processes between participants, and makes these operations transparent,” explains Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer. “By making overall processes and collaboration in the printing industry far simpler, Zaikio is boosting the competitiveness of everyone involved,” he adds.
Zaikio networks big-name MIS providers with established suppliers
Prior to the launch of the Zaikio Procurement platform, Zaikio already had some well-known MIS providers on board. Alongside Heidelberg with its Prinect Business Manager, the other participating MIS providers are Printplus, Printvis, Datamedia, Utraxx, Keyline, and EPMS – and Zaikio is currently in talks with many others. In the future, this means print shops will be able to access the ranges of suppliers such as Sappi or Metapaper and place orders directly from their MIS, once it has been networked with Zaikio.
Zaikio Procurement costs print shops absolutely nothing. Zaikios business model is based on its relationship with the supplier – the print shop has no monetary involvement whatsoever. Activating Zaikio Procurement in a print shops MIS is quick and easy, too.
“There are solutions on the market that already promise orders can be placed directly from an MIS. On closer inspection, however, it often turns out that all these solutions are doing is sending e-mails to the suppliers,” says Matthias Prinz, Managing Director and Head of User Experience at Zaikio GmbH. “With Zaikio, print service providers can now access the portfolios of a growing number of suppliers direct from their MIS in an automated process, which means they benefit from maximum transparency and needs-based supplies. It goes without saying that this also works to the advantage of MIS providers and suppliers, who can massively improve their level of service,” he explains.
Zaikio Procurement is just the first step
Zaikios vision is to network all relevant printing industry systems to enable quick and easy data communication. Using Zaikio Procurement to digitize the procurement process between print shops and their suppliers was just the first step. In the foreseeable future, Zaikio will be using Web2Print solutions, workflow tools, and the further involvement of partners to fully digitize and link other key processes between printing industry players.