VLM

8. Future plans

At present VLM’s online environment, where customers edit and order their documents, is not connected to their backend production systems. These orders have to be manually transferred from one system to the other (see section 5.1). The next development VLM have planned is to merge the two of these into one online database. This will provide customers with real-time reporting online. They will be able to accurately track the exact stage their order is at because all this activity will be taking place online. From VLM’s management perspective, it will enable them monitor the performance of a product being printed in the UK, simply by going online. They will also be able to check if a particular plant is running efficiently and if things are going out to customers on time.

Due to the fact that currently VLM’s major market is the UK, the cost of transporting paper printed in Dublin is becoming uneconomical. For this reason they are looking at setting up a production facility in the UK. All the technical development and administration will remain in Dublin.

They are also looking at other industries, particularly financial and travel. One of the biggest costs for a Travel agent is their brochure. They produce a 250 page full-colour brochure. When people go into a travel agent, VLM want to be able to provide them with personalised brochures based on the details they provide such as where they want to go, when and what their budget is. This will then be printed and sent to them directly.

In the financial markets there is the requirement for monthly reports and investor presentations. VLM want to put this into an online environment whereby they integrate their system with the customer’s backend database to seamlessly produce personalised print that VLM will then fulfil. This is the direction they will be moving towards over the course of the next 2 years. With this level of development, they will need to employ additional people into technology positions.

On-going development is geared towards providing a more integrated solution with the customer’s existing systems so there are not the same training issues. This makes the ordering process substantially easier. If people are using a software solution it is much easier to add a feature onto it to build documents, rather than providing yet another different solution that the user has to be trained in, and therefore increase the risk of encountering user resistance.