LOFTWARE
CONTINUED a whole lot more complicated, but provides more data and security, especially for anti- counterfeit measures. “Again, as you get visibility over your supply chain, you can identify holes and gaps and fill them,” says Paul. “Two areas that are critical here are pharmaceuticals, because you don’t want to get rogue pharmaceuticals into the supply chain and food – again, there are horror stories of contaminated food or fake food getting into the supply chain. Those two are areas of where our technology is being applied in a very practical and vital way to protect the supply chain.”
“What many are doing now is centralising and streamlining. So their production facility, their warehouse facility, their receiving warehouse and shipping are all on the same printing and data capture systems, and we’re a part of that. “We hit another milestone last year of having 20,000 printers connected into our cloud. That’s 20,000 devices which are part of this new connected chain, so that individual customers have got visibility and control over everything they’re printing. “Companies are trying to reduce the number of software packages and different processes they’re having, simplifying it, streamlining it, ideally into one process. So that’s a big thing. Companies are adopting our printing platform as the standard throughout their supply chain.” Bright future With these strong trends set to continue into 2024 and beyond, Paul is optimistic for Loftware – and the wider print sector’s – prospects for the future. Moving to the cloud has an impact for channel partners, and while it might not be easy to do – and it requires a big shift in business model – now is the time to do it, Paul says. “Part of my job is to support our partners to make that shift, to make it as painless as possible,” he says. “Those that made the shift three, four years ago are now really seeing the benefits of it. “It can be tricky, because you actually reduce your income on day one, as rather than selling a perpetual licence for the full value, you sell just this year’s portion and then next year you invoice for that again, and then next year you invoice for that again. In year one, it’s quite hard, but the results are there over the medium-term and that’s what we are looking to.”
Changing demands This is also indicative of how customer
demands are changing, and how innovation is being driven by this. But where will it go next? Paul points to a result from Loftware’s recent survey. “This was the highest number in our survey, so it was very eye catching: 91% of respondents said they are seeking a single printing platform,” he says. “What that means is, again, the digitisation of the physical supply chain. In other words, automating, simplifying, streamlining the IT behind the supply chain. “Companies have been doing barcode supply chain for 30 years. Of course, legacy system after legacy system has grown up over the years, with little fixes here, a little solution there. So now, you get these modern, sophisticated companies with a broken supply chain, because in my area of printing, they’ve got one print solution over here and another there and another there, and they’re all disconnected. “Supply chain owners now realise this presents a risk of error and they’re facing fines for mistakes, and it’s costing them money to maintain all these systems. Thirdly, and probably most importantly ultimately, is lack of traceability, because if they’re disconnected, then they can’t see what’s going on.
“
So their
production facility, their warehouse facility, their receiving warehouse and shipping are all on the same printing and data capture systems, and we're a part of that.
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printinthechannel.co.uk
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