Best Quality, Price and Service - Get All Three: Built for the Job

Unfortunately, none of what is required for an organization to manage pre- and post-pricing details and break the Iron Triangle is handled by the methods and tools commonly used in procurement. They simply are not built for managing and sourcing custom print projects.

That is why eLynxx exists…to do what common procurement solutions can’t.

Only eLynxx cloud software, powered by the multi-patented eLynxx sourcing method, is purpose-built for sourcing and managing direct mail, marketing materials and all things print. No other solution empowers organizations to go beyond the price acquisition and bid-and-buy sourcing needed for off-the-shelf items to properly manage all of the pre- and post-pricing details custom print projects require. It is only with this level of functionality that creation of an environment friendly to contribution pricing and breaking the Iron Triangle become easy.

eLynxx relieves the burdens of vendor management and eliminates the fear, uncertainty and doubt that come with building a vendor pool that truly meets your needs. Your print vendors are invited to participate and are informed they are always free to bid as they wish based on production capacity. They are asked to submit information and samples used to objectively assign product categories and quality levels in the software. This information, from vendors you know and trust, serves as a baseline enabling easy, worry-free evaluation and inclusion of resources as needed.

Templates and a familiar, guided process enable the establishment of objective, consistent and highly detailed specifications that are as easy to create and manage as completing an online form. These precision specifications set the parameters for determining which vendors are capable of producing the job. That is where the real eLynxx magic begins.

The eLynxx sourcing method automatically matches specification criteria with vendor attributes to select vendors to be solicited for the project. With all vendors on equal ground, the quality side of the Iron Triangle is removed. The selected vendors are then automatically sent identical solicitations with complete and detailed information. A reply with a price means that the vendor can meet delivery criteria, removing the service side of the Iron Triangle. With quality and timeliness out of the equation, price remains the final determinant. Choosing the lowest price breaks the Iron Triangle with nothing more than eLynxx software and the people, processes and vendors you already have in place.

eLynxx provides communication that brings everyone involved in the project, from creative through delivery and invoicing, including vendors and outside partners, together. Assignment, direction and tracking of approvals, both before and after the buy, are automated. Tasks, production milestones, assets, file distribution and change orders are all easily managed and tracked through automated workflow assistance. Robust reporting capabilities allow for retrieval and analysis of virtually any detail of any project managed with eLynxx software.

Users of eLynxx regularly achieve per-unit cost reductions of up to 40 percent, and often more, that offset subscription costs. Add in the 50 percent average increase in efficiency enjoyed by clients and it is clear that eLynxx is the smart choice for managing and sourcing your print projects.

There is a lot more to tell you about eLynxx but instead of rambling on and on, We’d rather get to know about you, your organization and your goals and show you exactly how you can benefit from eLynxx. Give us a call, send us an email or fill out the form here, we can’t wait to meet you!

Best Quality, Price and Service - Get All Three: Built for the Job

eLynxx Solutions CEO Mike Jackson Featured in Xplor International Interview

Xplor International, a not-for-profit association focused on technology for, and production of, high volume printing for consumer communications, featured an interview with eLynxx Solutions own Mike Jackson in the most recent issue of their E-Document News. In the interview Jackson discusses workflow technology, the impact of the cloud and software as a service, compliance, efficiency and options for custom tailored software.

Read the interview: http://goo.gl/u4X6H2

Visit Xplor International: http://xplor.org

eLynxx Solutions CEO Mike Jackson Featured in Xplor International Interview

eLynxx Solutions Goes Back to School with Hometown Neighbor Wilson College

As the summer winds down and the 2014-2015 academic year begins, eLynxx Solutions will be among the masses heading off to college, but there won’t be any classes to attend or dorms to move into. In fact there won’t even be much of a trip to make. That’s because eLynxx Solutions is pleased to announce that it has been selected to provide marketing supply chain software for Wilson College in its hometown of Chambersburg, PA.

Founded in 1869 as a liberal arts college, Wilson College welcomes undergraduate and graduate degree-seeking students from around the globe to south central Pennsylvania. Wilson—with a long and storied past—is now excited about a bright and promising future. Having recently implemented a wide-ranging plan for improved enrollment, the College is adding academic programs and improving facilities. Coeducational expansion across all programs has widened Wilson’s horizons. Of course along with those widened horizons come additional responsibilities in marketing and communications. Wilson has also increased its marketing and communications program to meet the challenges of covering an ever-increasing number of communication channels while maintaining the budget discipline many marketers face. Wilson College also has some challenges that are unique to its situation.

Although technology has opened new avenues for marketing, printed communications still play a major role in higher education. Wilson College is no different in that respect. What is different at Wilson, however, is that the college has only recently centralized marketing operations and is in the process of rolling out a newly defined brand identity and rebuilding its print program to meet the needs of a greatly expanded prospective student audience. That translates to a lot of new design work to create new materials. It also means increased pressure on the people, processes and vendors that make up an institution’s marketing supply chain to produce quality results within budget. That’s where eLynxx Solutions comes into the picture.

“Wilson is growing and moving through change, and the marketing and communications department plays a central role in reaching our audiences. We’ve put a comprehensive marketing program in place that is very bottom line oriented—cost and results,” said Brian Speer, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Wilson College. “Given our new position and expanded market, we have a lot of work in front of us. eLynxx allows us to enhance our capabilities, expand our print marketplace, ensure product quality, meet tight deadlines and extend our budget as far as possible. With the work eLynxx has done with other educational institutions in helping to improve results, they were a good fit for Wilson.” Because eLynxx is cloud software, there are no additional requirements placed on the college’s IT infrastructure. After the eLynxx Solutions team gathered the required information, Wilson College was up, running and ready to take advantage of increased efficiency and savings.

“We are extremely proud that Wilson College has selected eLynxx to provide its marketing supply chain software,” said Mike Jackson, Chief Executive Officer at eLynxx Solutions. “eLynxx has been helping higher education institutions achieve the best possible price, quality and service on printed marketing and communications materials for years. Being able to do the same with Wilson College, an institution with which we share so many ties in the community, is especially rewarding.”

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eLynxx Solutions has been providing innovative products and services for helping organizations manage projects and connect with vendors of custom-produced graphic communication, direct mail, marketing materials, publications, labeling, packaging and all things print since 1975. Born, raised and still located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania along the east coast’s graphic communications corridor connecting Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City, today’s eLynxx Solutions is a leading innovator and provider of project management software for the marketing supply chain. As a software boutique, eLynxx Solutions tailors its cloud software and services to fit the needs and requirements of its customers, providing the functionality of custom software with the economy of out-of-the-box solutions. eLynxx project management software empowers an organization’s people to work with their own vendors and strengthen their own processes to achieve better results. For more information regarding eLynxx Solutions, please visit http://elynxx.com.

eLynxx Solutions Goes Back to School with Hometown Neighbor Wilson College

Is Your Marketing Supply Chain "Prepped" - Three Questions to Ask

The concept of preparedness is a hot topic but it’s nothing new. Anyone who was ever in scouting or the military is familiar with the practice of being prepared. It’s simply more in the public eye today. Between public service campaigns urging every household to have a basic survival kit ready for common emergencies and documentaries on “extreme preppers” outfitted to survive and thrive in the face of just about anything man or nature can conjure up, being prepared has become part of mainstream culture. Being prepared is a great idea. Whether you choose to have a box with some basics to make it through a bad storm or a bunker to survive doomsday is up to you; but logic and history tells us that you go wrong with being prepared. However, when most of us think about being prepared, we think in terms of home and family not business.

True, many organizations have a general crisis plan for when they are directly impacted by the unforeseen. Disaster preparedness and recovery plans are also common to most IT operations. But what happens when the unforeseen strikes others you depend upon and the situation is beyond the scope of internal plans? What happens when the printer who is producing materials for a critical product launch campaign is impacted by a hurricane, tornado, wildfire or earthquake? The idea here is not to wish for such a tragedy; but rather to point out that even your marketing supply chain is vulnerable to the effects of disaster at many levels. Something as simple as a major power outage in the vicinity of one of your vendors has the potential to impact your marketing operations. In many parts of the United States, the late summer is prime time for nature-related emergencies; which leads to the question of whether your marketing supply chain has been prepped for disaster? Here are three questions to consider:

Is your vendor pool deep, and well-qualified, enough that you have multiple options available?

If you rely on a very small pool of vendors you are putting your marketing initiatives at risk. If one of these vendors becomes unavailable, even temporarily, your projects may take a hit that can be hard to recover from. Solid vendor qualification is equally as important. Even if you have a fair number of vendors who can pick up the slack from an out-of-commission competitor; if they are not clearly and objectively qualified as equals you could end up with less than acceptable results. A well-prepared marketing supply chain has vendor redundancy not only in numbers, but in capability and capacity as well.

Do you have easy access to all of your project assets and specifications?

In order to be able to work around unforeseen circumstances in your marketing supply chain you need to be agile. In the midst of a situation where a vendor is unable to operate in their normal capacity, you need to be able to take all assets, files, details and specifications for a project and shift them to another vendor. Any time spent searching for assets, recompiling information and getting it out to substitute vendors is time wasted. A robust project and workflow management regimen with provisions for management of project assets, tracking of all actions and the ability to directly connect with your vendor pool is a key element of having a well-prepared marketing supply chain.

Do you know where your projects are in the production cycle?

Suppose that a direct mail project is being printed and assembled by one vendor who will send it to another vendor for processing and mailing. An unforeseen circumstance has taken the print vendor temporarily off-line sometime after you sent the project to them. If you don’t know where your project is in its production cycle, you don’t know if it has been impacted. If you knew where it was, you would know whether it needed to be routed to another printer, or if the printer finished their part before they were impacted and it’s already at the mail house. If you don’t know, you’ll need to spend precious time finding out. Having a solid grasp of where your marketing materials are in their production cycle is another key part of a well-prepared marketing supply chain.

Like being prepared for the unforeseen in any other portion of life, ensuring that your marketing supply chain is prepared for circumstances beyond your control certainly isn’t limited to three areas. However by asking yourself the three questions above and thinking about your answers you are off to a good start that is likely to lead to more considerations. Can you think of any others? If you do, be sure to share them with us!

Is Your Marketing Supply Chain "Prepped" - Three Questions to Ask

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Conclusion

If the concept of a supply chain dedicated to the production of marketing materials never crossed your mind before you began following along, don’t worry, you’re not alone. That is exactly why we began The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide. Now, after twelve installments, it’s time to put the wraps on our exploration of one of the most complex, yet underappreciated, areas of marketing operations.

Will you be able to walk away knowing everything there is to know about the marketing supply chain? Probably not. And, in all honesty, that was never the goal of this series. The goal was to give you the insight to be able to identify the existance, and components, of your organization’s own marketing supply chain. Hopefully you are now able to do just that.

Knowing that the marketing supply chain is made of familiar elements whose connections may not always be clear; you now also know that coordination, acquisition, production and analysis are four areas commonly encompassed by the concept. Because every marketing supply chain is as unique as the the organzation it serves, you know that flexibility is a must for successful and strong project and digital asset management.

All of the critical roles – from marketing to finance, procurement and even legal – required to bring your organization’s marketing materials from concept to reality should now be easier to identify. Identification the graphic communication materials your organization relies upon, from the common marketing and sales items to packaging, displays and large-format visuals, should also be easier. All of the vendors who are crucial to the production, implementation and success of these materials – even those you may not have thought about before – should be easier to identify as well.

Armed with your newfound knowledge, identifying all of the elements of your organization’s own marketing supply chain should be fairly simple. Unfortunately, once you have it all mapped out, you will likely discover that coordinating, connecting and managing all of the elements, resources and people within it to be a challenge. This is not uncommon. So now you know what the marketing supply chain is and have identified yours, the next step is to manage it and the projects that flow through it.

While many orgaizations have tried either broad-scope ERP, procurement and other entreprise management software; others have looked toward outsourcing or building thier own solutions using complex systems of spreadsheets, email, and files. Each of these methods, while partially successful in some instances, tend to come up short because they don’t take the individuality, complexity and custom-specified nature of a given organization’s marketing supply into consideration. Organizations that have turned to a project management solution that is not only purpose-built for the marketing supply chain, but also tailored precisely to the organization’s people, processes and vendors, have found much greater success.

As this concludes The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide series, it certainly does not conclude the information we have to share here on the eLynxx Blog! Be sure to check back frequenly as well as connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter for continued insight into the marketing supply chain, marketing materials and marketing operations in general.

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Conclusion

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Part 10 – Materials in the Chain (continued)

Last week we began dissecting the catch-all term “marketing materials” to discover just what kinds of items may be flowing through your marketing supply chain. Even as we began our exploration with some of the more common, old-standby sort of marketing communication tools, we saw that there was much more complexity than the simple and bland-sounding description of “marketing materials” would lead us to believe.

This week we’ll explore unique items that may not commonly be thought of as marketing materials, but certainly are flowing through your marketing supply chain right now.

So Unforgettable We Forget It’s a Marketing Material

They’re pretty hard to escape in your daily routine, and if they’re done well, they’re hard to forget. Interestingly enough, many of us get so wrapped up in their function we forget that at their core, signage, point of purchase and merchandising displays are indeed marketing materials. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spoken with fellow marketers and when the subject of printed marketing materials comes up they say something like “we really don’t do too many printed pieces anymore, most of our brochures and literature are digital now. Then I say “well what about your point of sale and merchandising materials?” and they get the “oh…yeah” expression on their faces. The whole point of these materials is to get attention, build brand presence and make customers buy. If that’s not a marketing material I don’t know what is.

So why don’t people think point of sale, display, merchandising and signage materials at their core level? One possible explanation is because marketing has become so fragmented and specialized based on function. There may be a team for displays and a team for collateral and a team for this, that and the other thing. Another explanation is simply that some forms of marketing communication tools are elevated in importance because the function they serve is seen as more important or their creation and management is considered more complex than others. Everything from copy to artwork to construction of display materials tends to be project specific. Often times multiple versions are required. More than one vendor or service provider may be involved and specifications are certainly crucial. On the surface a POS display may look more imposing than a product flier and there may be more people involved with it. While both are highly specific, target-focused marketing communication tools can be complex to coordinate, source, produce and manage.

So Important It Often Outshines the Product Itself

Every year around the holidays you are bound to hear stories about how someone’s child tore open a toy, took it out of the package, and then proceeded to be more enamored with the box than what was in it. It’s funny when you think of your friend being mad that they dropped 50 bucks on something their kid found less interesting than its packaging, but it also makes a point about how important packaging can be to attracting consumers to, making them want to buy, and then buy a product. Packaging has always been important to branding and marketing, but in today’s cluttered world, packaging is more complex and important than ever. To a marketer, the product really is the package and the package is more important than what’s inside it. Because of this close tie to the product, the packaging dictates how a product is shipped and stored or is designed around how it will be shipped and stored. Packaging may be considered more in the realm of product development. But let’s make no mistake about it, packaging is physical, graphic communication. It is intended to gain attention, make clear brand identification, encourage purchase and communicate usage and other important information. Packaging is a marketing material.

Perhaps even more than display materials, packaging is extremely complex and often highly customized. There may be multiple layers of packaging – like a bottle with a label on it, placed inside of a box with an informative insert included and a branded outer wrapper around the whole thing. Each element may come from a different manufacturer. Packaging may have to adhere to government regulations for labeling or notices. There are often multiple variations on size, shape or method merchandising in a retail environment, and packaging is often required to change because of new promotions or product evolution. With all of this information in mind, it’s easy to understand why packaging is part of the marketing supply chain mix and why it is important to manage packaging projects with tools built for the job.

So Much Fun We Forget Their Real Purpose

Let’s pretend that we’re walking through a trade-show and there are two different companies pitching the same basic thing. Both have nice looking professional displays and friendly looking staff. Company A has some really cool giveaways and novelties. Company B does not. Which booth do you go in first? Be honest! Chances are you’ll go to the booth that has the swag first. Chances also are that even after going into both companies’ booths, you’ll remember Company A down the road because that knick-knack they gave you is still sitting on your desk. Promotional giveaways, or advertising specialties as they are often called, are definitely marketing materials. They may not tell a big story or convey lots of benefits, but they say something about the personality of the organization. They make a personal connection and they’re memorable. But when many of us think about marketing materials we often forget about promotional materials. Why is that? Perhaps because once again we don’t connect with the term; giveaways are fun, the term seems boring.

If your organization is designing and sourcing branded tchotchkes for the purposes of connecting with and influencing prospects and customers, then they are items in your marketing supply chain. Granted, some promotional giveaways are fairly simple and are more personalized than fully custom-made. However some giveaways, especially those intended to stand out and make a big impact, can be rather involved and truly custom-built. But even in the case of simpler items, managing the project like any other in the marketing supply chain makes sense to control brand assets, track progress and get the job done on-time and on-budget.

So Big We Get Lost in Their Size

It was not all that long ago that large-format graphic communication required either custom painting or many individually-printed sheets assembled as one large installation. While both sign painters and traditional multi-sheet billboards still exist today, modern printing technology and new developments in printable substrates have made large-format graphic communication more accessible, adaptable and affordable than ever. Depending upon where the large-format item is being installed, it might be easy to forget that it is first and foremost a marketing communication tool and therefore a marketing material. For instance, your organization may be ordering a new fleet of delivery vans. The plan is to have these new vans covered in branded vehicle wraps. You certainly wouldn’t make such an investment without ensuring that the colors, logos or messaging was correct, would you?

Large-format communication makes a big impact at a big price. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the scale and scope of producing such projects. At the same time it’s also imperative that such projects are handled as marketing communication projects and that all parties involved with them are on the same page. The scale, cost, complexity, specifications and the people involved in large-format specialty projects are often unique to the project. One missed step or lost detail can be enough to take the project from colossal impact to colossal disaster. Managing large-format printing and graphic communication projects requires tools that can adapt to their scope and needs to ensure desired results are achieved.

While this installment wraps up our look at the kinds of materials that may be flowing through your marketing supply chain, it is by no means exhaustive. Just as we have said in the other marketing supply chain areas we have explored, there is no one across-the-board model to follow. The best that can be done is to go deeper than the surface, pull back the cover and expose a broad sampling of the many elements that comprise a simple term like marketing materials. You may never consider some of the materials we have discussed in this and the previous installment. You might use some that we didn’t discuss and certainly your organization’s mix of materials is going to vary from that of your competition. That’s why, over the past four decades, we have come to believe in the use of tools that are not only purpose-built for the job, but also tailored to the organization using them.

Join us next week as we explore the variety of vendors and partners you might encounter when managing projects in your marketing supply chain.

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Part 10 – Materials in the Chain (continued)

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Part 9 – Materials in the Chain

Over the past eight installments of our Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide we’ve discussed mechanics, functional areas and roles. Now it’s time to open a new chapter and take a look at the goods the marketing supply chain delivers – marketing materials.

Admittedly, a deep-dive into marketing materials may not sound like edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff, but that is exactly the point. It’s so easy to lump so many forms and mediums of communication that are so crucial to your marketing efforts together under such a simple – and frankly – bland term. But when you stop to think about the breadth and depth of everything that could be considered marketing materials those notions go right out the window. Marketing materials are anything but simple. Their variety and complexity is the antithesis of bland.

The oversimplification of such a complex operational category is likely one of the key factors in the marketing supply chain goes unrecognized. It’s also an important reason to consider purpose-built tools for managing projects within the marketing supply chain. Let’s take a look at some of the more traditional or common marketing materials that may be flowing through yours.

In the Universe of Marketing Materials – Here’s the Black Hole

It’s known by about as many names as there are varieties of it. Collateral, pamphlets, documents, handouts, fliers, folders, booklets, rack cards, one-sheeters, sales kits, brochures…you get the point. What we’re talking about here is one of the foundations of marketing and promotional communication and something that’s still effective even in the digital age; good old printed, branded and distributed information. Marketing collateral (let’s call it that for now) is pretty much the catch-all classification in the marcom world. Here’s the catch about this catch-all though; while it’s so familiar and seemingly basic, it’s really anything but. Everything about it is variable. Size, format, content, purpose, complexity (or simplicity), design, method of distribution – you name it – all varies from item to item. What doesn’t tend to vary is the need for consistent branding across all variants and the fact that collateral changes frequently to stay up-to-date.

Some organizations rely on hundreds, if not thousands, of forms of marketing collateral. Sometimes collateral is produced by multiple teams from different locations where each may be responsible for its own sourcing. Keeping information, branding and targeting current in the face of such an environment can be tricky at best. The simple act of having reprinting last year’s brochures suddenly isn’t so simple. In a well-managed marketing supply chain, marketing collateral can be a model for efficiency instead of a black hole where “everything else” ends up.

Snow, Rain, Heat and Gloom of Night Are One Thing – Project Complexities Are Another

Even today, direct mail is still considered one of the most effective ways to reach a client and customer bases. The ability to put a highly targeted piece of communication right in the hands of its intended audience is powerful. And say what you will about the state of the post office, it still does a remarkably reliable job of getting the message where it needs to go. Even though neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night, as the old saying goes, are supposed to hinder the delivery of your next direct mail campaign; its own complexities could hinder its production. The term direct mail, like marketing materials, is another convenient phrase that oversimplifies a not-so-simple concept. Direct mail campaigns run the gamut in terms of design, format, content, purpose and complexity. About the only thing that remains constant across direct mail campaigns is the fact that they rely upon the post office for distribution. Even that is a point of complication.

Take for example a postcard campaign. It’s a single piece that’s self contained. No envelope is needed; postage indicia, and even addresses, can be printed directly on it. But like any marketing material there’s always a catch. There are stipulations on everything from physical size to stock thickness, finish and even layout and content. Significant attention must be paid to providing the appropriate space, on a printable and clearly visible surface, for bar codes to be applied for proper routing. Copy that is too close to the designated address area could cause machines to misread the address. Even when designs account for all postal regulations, simple production errors or variances, that are negligible in other instances, could render a postcard campaign undeliverable or much more costly to mail. Precision specifications and strict adherence to them in production are absolutely crucial to direct mail even in its most simple form.

In more complicated forms of direct mail, not only do size, thickness and weight come into play, but often multiple pieces as well. In some of the most effective and powerful direct mail campaigns there may be many creative assets with production spread across different vendors. Traditional (think ink on paper) and non-traditional (think plastic cards or product samples) media are frequently combined. Personalization is often involved in more than just the address. Mix in kitting, list and mailing services and direct mail project management might be as complex as it gets. In an organized marketing supply chain these complexities can be harnessed and the full power of direct mail channeled when you use tools that were built for the job.

Keeping the Publication Gears Turning

The fact that some catalogs, newsletters and other marketing and public relations publications are going strong while others have given up paper for pixels clearly illustrates that people take one of two sides on them. Those who continue physical publication of catalogs and outreach obviously see value and power in them with their specific audiences. The ongoing impact of printed publications seems to remain very strong where specialties, special interests and niches are concerned. Such audiences tend to be more deeply connected and involved and hard-copy publications speak well to that involvement.

Anyone who is involved in projects involving publications of any kind is sure to tell you that while techniques and strategies may be similar, each and every publication is unique. Because of the number of moving parts within them, there is a lot of opportunity for things to go awry in the creation, production and distribution of a publication. Nothing is inconsequential managing a publication project. Even a simple approval getting held up in the works could bring a publication that is critical to an organization’s marketing communications goals to a grinding halt. Big money could be lost and that deeply involved and connected audience could be left hanging. It is hard to squeeze something as individual as a publication into a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s near impossible to manage a publication project without the ability to adapt your tools to the specific resources, needs and purposes of your publication.

Join us next week when we continue to break down the many different kinds of marketing material projects the marketing supply chain is responsible for creating, producing and distributing.

The Marketing Supply Chain Field Guide: Part 9 – Materials in the Chain