Blog Synopsis – Print service providers (PSPs) across the globe often struggle to overcome a myriad of woes they face with traditional print order management. However, the best part is that there is an incredible solution to all these challenges. And that is nothing but a digital print order management system. In this blog, we will discuss everything about it, so you can stay empowered, leverage the modern-day POMS benefits, and take your printing company to another level.

The print industry has been tremendously evolving recently and is expected to grow at 5.53% CAGR by 2027. But do you know a typical print service provider (PSP) like you still spends 23 minutes per order for prepress activities? These 23 minutes turn into more than 190 hours if you are processing 500 orders per month.

This scenario is primarily prevalent across the print industry’s entire OMS or order management system. Manual purchase order management and fulfillment processes are time-consuming and prone to errors, and a vast team is required to accomplish day-to-day tasks. This further increases the labor costs.

Moreover, labor shortages are increasing daily, widening the gap for the labor required to process the orders. There is also the impact of the Global Recession worldwide in 2023, which is limiting print service providers’ growth and profit margins. Hence, during this time, relying on manual activities prone to errors is one of the foremost reasons why many print service providers are struggling to keep up with the market competition. Are you one among them? Then read on.

What comes into the picture as an ultimate solution to this problem is an automated and online order management system driven by innovative print order Management Software. Continue navigating this blog to explore and understand in-depth about it.

Order Management System – A Fundamental Idea

Order Management system or OMS is the process of software-driven online order processing throughout the entire fulfillment process. The order management system starts when customers place orders and finishes when they receive them. It assists with several order-related operations like order collection, invoice and payment, inventory management, and order updates. In a nutshell, the OMS is a digital way to manage the order fulfillment cycle.

However, according to a new survey from Zebra Technologies Corporation’s The Future of Fulfilment Vision Study, 55% of retailers still need to use pen-and-paper-driven manual processes at some point in their order management process instead of using an order fulfillment software, leading to inaccuracies and inefficiencies.

So, it’s high time PSPs like you understand the importance of one of the best benefits of print automation, i.e., the print order management system.

What is the Print Order Management System?

The Print Order Management System (POMS) is the digital method of managing the lifecycle of print orders automatically. It is the same as an order management system, the difference being that it is exclusively customized for the print industry.

POMS manages all information and procedures in the order fulfillment cycle, including estimation, artwork design and approval, order entry, invoicing and payment, fulfillment, and after-sales service. Here order management system software gives clear visibility to both the printing company and buyers about the business. Keeping customers informed regarding their orders and automating tedious tasks for businesses are the two biggest USPs of POMS.

What’s the Ideal Workflow of a Print Order Management System?

The print order management system works with a step-by-step approach that helps in effortless multichannel order management, coordination, and accomplishment of print order production. We have discussed the workflow below:

Order Placement by Customers

First, print buyers place their orders using the digital storefront of the PSP. Most modern-day print businesses use web2print software to offer an online storefront to customers, ensuring next-gen digital experiences. Customers can select their desired products, customize designs per preference, specify quantities, automatically calculate costs, and place orders using the POMS capability of the w2p software.

Order Confirmation

After placing orders, they are verified for quantity, size, date, and other specifications. And once it’s done, orders are confirmed and further sent for production. The best part is that you can automate these confirmation steps using print order management software.

Order Processing

Next, the print order management system driven by inventory and order management software automatically processes the orders after checking stock availability and other parameters. If any material is missing from the inventory, it is immediately notified beforehand to reduce production time.

Prepress Functions

At this step, the final designs, once processed by the print shop order management software, are prepared for printing. Color separation, imposition, and other prepress tasks are accomplished in this stage.

Production & Printing

Once prepress activities are done, the best order management system for printers automatically pushes orders to the production stage. PSPs can access orders on the holistic POMS, where progress in printing, binding, cutting, and finishing processes can be tracked at every step.

Shipping

In this step, the print e-commerce order management software helps automate creating labels for print materials and shipping them. A specific code is generated automatically for each order, allowing them to be tracked after being shipped. Finally, orders are shipped to customers when everything is done, and tracking ids are provided.

Tracking of Orders

The order management system ensures orders are completed on time and customers can track them online, always keeping them updated about the progress in different shipment phases. This way they can leverage the best of a print e-commerce solution

So, it must be evident now that POMS works systematically and can help you streamline your print business irrespective of your working model, whether it is POD, trade printing, B2B, B2C, etc. Moreover, working in an organized way, POMS successfully solves significant order management challenges for printing companies.

Printing Chaos: Navigating the Most Common Order Management Challenges

Unfortunately, 76% of printers are facing labor shortages nowadays. The situation complicates more when we add multichannel order management. Print providers must manage more than five channels simultaneously, such as walk-ins, calls, email, e-commerce, and small B2B clients. And manually accomplishing the customer requirements on all these channels is time-consuming and hectic. Also, managing inventory over different channels and manual order processing is usually prone to errors.

On top of that, competition is rising daily, and customers nowadays want a modern customer experience, which is impossible with a human-driven order management system. Even if you’re a startup printing business, you need intelligent order management software for small businesses.

Customers expect order updates at every stage of the fulfillment process and want to track their orders 24/7. Also, they want to personalize their print orders on their own. If you can’t offer this personalized experience to them, it can lead to an 80% reduction in repeat sales.

However, opting for an ingenious and automated POMS can end all the above order management challenges, give a new dimension to your print business, and take it to the next level!

The Modern POMS: Your Ultimate Print Business Order Management Solution

An automation-led print order management system can 360-degree digitize your order fulfillment process. According to the NAPCO research, 62% of commercial printers believe that automation and digitization are the most critical elements in keeping their operations profitable. So, what are you waiting for? Leverage a best-in-class print order management software and transform your print business today! Read on how an automated POMS can help you.

OnPrintShop: The Best-in-Cass Automated Print Order Management Solution Provider

To streamline your print business operations, consider investing in our world-class web-to-print solution that offers flawless and automated order management capability. Our intelligent POMS can help you keep track of orders, manage inventory, and fulfil customer requests efficiently. Not only will this make your print business run more smoothly, but it will also improve your profits simultaneously.

OnPrintShop’s print order management software has simplified order processing for clients for over a decade. We cater to clients with varied business models, from small print shops to the biggest print service providers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

If you want to find the best solution to your print order management challenges, contact us anytime!

FAQs

The post All You Need to Know about Print Order Management System appeared first on OnPrintShop.