Compuscript Epilogue

This Epilogue was written in October, 2003, after a telephone interview with Morgan Lyons, MD of Compuscript. It's purpose is to review progress since the original Case Study, which was produced in the first quarter of 2002.

General Update

As outlined in the original case study, Compuscript implemented a tracking and MIS system to streamline the transfer of files between its systems and Elsever Science, one of its largest customers. Whilst the system was developed with this client in mind, Compuscript hoped that it would give them a competitive market advantage, allowing the organisation to pursue and win business from other publishing companies.

Unfortunately, whilst the system was in development, the market changed, and the requirement for detailed MIS and tracking of files became less important to publishers. Whilst some larger potential customers had developed internal systems that could tie into the Compuscript system, the general downturn in the market meant that other, small and medium size publishers, had cut back on similar systems. They were only concerned with getting the job done and not in the detail of how this would be achieved. The demand for a system like Compuscript's was lower than expected.

However, in order to take advantage of the infrastructure built as part of its eBusiness project, Compuscript is now developing new services that it feels will leverage the technology developed in the organisation whilst developing potentially lucrative revenue streams.

Available Measures of Success

Although changing market requirements meant that Compuscript's system was not the 'killer application' that would give the organisation a competitive edge, numerous benefits were reaped as a result of the project.

According to Morgan Lyons, MD of Compuscript, costs in some parts of the organisation were reduced by 30% as a result of the implementation of the tracking and MIS systems.

The system also provided Compuscript with a platform which facilitated dealing easily and efficiently with its own suppliers, particularly those in India, a foreign market in which Compuscript was taking advantage of cheaper labour costs. The time difference between India and Ireland also meant that Compuscript was able to run a virtual 24 hour organisation, switching jobs to India when the Irish office closed at 5.30pm and switching back again in the morning. This obviously allowed Compuscript to turn jobs around far more quickly than before and this would not have been possible if the new systems weren't in place

Changes in understanding of the business and issues

Like many of the organisations that took advantage of the eBusiness Acceleration Fund, Compuscript undertook a detailed analysis of its business and associated processes prior to commencing any system design. This gave the development and management teams a good understanding of the requirements beforehand and meant that there were very few surprises along the way.

Changes in work practices/business model

Changes in market conditions mean that whilst the number of large clients has shrunk, other opportunities have been generated as a result.

Compuscript is now utilising the infrastructure that was developed initially for large publishers, to directly target authors with a service to copy edit and proof their documents before they go to the publisher. This increases the chance of an author's article being accepted by publishers while also providing a revenue stream for Compuscript based on the existing infrastructure.

Ongoing issues to resolve

Compuscript's entire system was developed by an internally recruited team and not, as was the case with many of the organisations on the eBusiness Acceleration Scheme, by an outside contractor. Although there were a few problems following implementation, the internal development team was able to deal with these quickly.

Future developments

At the time of writing this epilogue, the Compuscript system had been in place for almost 18 months. Whilst many of the technologies used in the project met the requirements at the outset, some will have to be upgraded to cope with increasing demands being put on the system. In particular, the database system used will have to be upgraded to a more 'enterprise-level' application to allow for future growth and expansion.

The organisation will continue to seek new ways in which the technology developed can be sold to other potential customer groups.

Written by Scott McInnes, Freedom Marketing