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Specialty
Print and Design
5. Decision
The
feasibility study helped the company to define their objectives
in advance. In addition, it allowed them to calculate the cost
savings and efficiencies gained by deploying an eBusiness solution.
They worked out exactly where they wanted to go as a company
and looked for monies to fund the investment. The tender for
ACC Bank looked promising and the revenue generated would provide
most of the necessary funding.
David
Altman (Managing Director) read an article in the Irish Times
newspaper promoting the Acceleration Fund. SPD approached their
contact at Enterprise Ireland to ascertain whether they qualified
for funding. The allocation of additional money would allow
them to embark on a more extensive eBusiness strategy. As with
any manufacturing company, SPD looked for the most cost efficient
solutions to meet their objectives.
6.
The Project
The system needed to fulfil the following eBusiness objectives:
- provide
a comprehensive on line ordering capability for a new premier
customer
- increase
the company's capability to attract business in foreign
markets
- help
maintain a competitive lead over domestic competition and
attract overseas customers
- streamline
the printing process and remove the need for outsourcing
processes
- reduce
the company's reliance on couriers for transportation of
data
-
modernise the internal IT infrastructure and capability
enabling the company to gain efficiencies and react rapidly
to customer demands
The
Project Team
The Internal Team
The internal decision-making project team consisted of:
- David
Altman (Managing Director)
-
Gaye O'Brien (Director)
-
Harry Crean (Sales Manager)
The
management of the company's internal IT infrastructure was outsourced.
All systems were built, deployed and supported by Dan Courtney
& Associates. They had, at that time, no internal IT expertise.
One staff member was selected for IT training to update and
maintain the web site. This new role was to be in conjunction
with her normal day-to-day activities. The advantage of having
an HTML [Hyper Text Mark Up Language - see sidebar] trained
employee allowed SPD to make minor updates to the web site.
Updates such as price list changes and product catalogue additions
could be made without having to rely on external support.
The External Team
Dan Courtney & Associates had a long-standing relationship
with SPD and were paramount in providing advice throughout the
project. Dan highlighted three separate areas of focus in the
project:
- internal
systems - sales, admin, accounting systems, file transfer
and networks
- the
web site - both the B2B section and the B2C site
- pre-production-
the electronic plate maker equipment
For
the web site, SPD looked to third-party suppliers to formulate
quotes based on their requirements. The experience of entertaining
a series of bidders for this tender provided an eye opener for
SPD. The quotes and proposals received varied dramatically.
Most were extortionately expensive. One particular company even
billed SPD for their initial meeting to discuss their requirements!
As
SPD had little experience with web design, they decided to look
at the more favourable quotes and do a little digging. SPD went
to great lengths to investigate the credentials and references
for the companies on their final selection list. After calling
up the references directly and looking at the work supplied,
SPD selected Go2Web based in Dublin. Go2Web not only provided
a very reasonable quote, but their references were impeccable,
both in finished product and the high level of customer service
they provided.
For
the sourcing of the expensive electronic plate processing
equipment, SPD contacted Millers, Ireland. Millers were
the Irish suppliers for Hindleburg the leading suppliers
of equipment for specialised printing processes.
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