Aug 30, 2006
The ADF: Lean Manufacturing and Production Intelligence Drive Mailstream Efficiency
By Nick Khatri, Worldwide Marketing Manager, Emtex Ltd., a Pitney Bowes Company
In a supersize-me, more-is-more world, there are a few select areas where an elegant, do-more-with-less approach continues to be the organizing principle. One of these is the manufacture of goods and services. Driven by a number of factors and enabled by super-efficient production techniques, manufacturing has evolved into an intelligent and lean, zero-defect world. In this world, those companies that achieve the highest level of quality and efficiency with the least amount of errors and the lowest costs are the ones that thrive.
For more than a decade efficiency-minded companies have worked to re-engineer processes, reduce overhead and eliminate redundancy in pursuit of the holy grail of manufacturing—a super efficient company. The hallmark of the super-efficient company encompasses enhanced quality, streamlined internal processes, lower costs, less waste, better use of assets, and the ability to anticipate and solve problems at the source. In short, lean production and intelligence gets the right products to the right place at the right time with the right quality.
And now, savvy business mailers are seeing the benefits of process automation and applying the same techniques to print and mail. And for good reason. Who among us isn't eager to increase integrity, minimize bottlenecks, manage capacity and optimize scheduling? Like our counterparts in general manufacturing, print and mail facilities are recognizing how process automation can help get products to market faster with fewer errors and more profitability. And forward-thinking business mailers today have a powerful weapon in their arsenal—the Automated Document Factory (ADF).
The ADF is not a new concept. If you've been in the document business for more than a few years, you probably know the term. The concept of a large-scale print, mail, messaging and document management process that integrates document creation, production, distribution, receipt and updating of enterprise systems was first introduced in the late 90's. Like a lean manufacturing environment, an ADF combines process automation and computer-based production intelligence to use the least amount of manpower, materials, time, money and space to produce the highest value output. With lean production techniques, business mailers can make the most of existing assets, extend the life of legacy applications, support multi-vendor, multi-site operations, and improve operational control and efficiency.
Trends and Issues Driving the Migration to ADFs
Obviously change doesn't occur in a vacuum. In "The Field of Dreams", the film was based on the notion that "if you build it they will come'. This isn't necessarily the case with technology. Simply because the technology is there doesn't mean companies will rush to adopt it. Human nature being what it is, most businesses—print and mail operations included—adopt new practices when external factors such as competition, inefficiencies and customer requirements mandate change. When it comes to the ADF, converging market dynamics are making the benefits of document process automation irresistible to any company seeking an edge:
- Industry consolidation—to improve efficiencies, many companies have been involved in mergers and acquisitions. Larger operations must assimilate disparate locations, platforms and technologies, and integrate multiple data streams, applications, and systems.
- Multi-vendor, multi-platform environments—many operations struggle with managing a mix of legacy and modern applications. In the print environment, the challenge is managing a wide range of PDLs from a variety of hosts including mainframes, ERP, and Windows-based applications. It also means dealing with legacy finishing platforms that don't always support the flexibility and integrity today's business requires.
- Regulatory compliance—organizations are under pressure to meet mounting regulatory compliance requirements, driving the need for mail-piece integrity, piece-level tracking, and cost accounting.
- Cost pressures—with document costs accounting for between 6 and 15 percent of revenues and postage costs rising, tighter controls, tracking and accounting are becoming a fundamental requirement.
- Improved competitiveness—mailers need ways to differentiate by reducing cycle times, handling and lead times.
- Demand for higher-value communications—as recipients are inundated with mail, breaking through the clutter means transforming transactional documents into strategic, data-driven, "trans-promotional" marketing tools that establish a one-to-one dialog with customers and prospects
- Multi-channel communications—it's not just a lean, lean world. It's also a multi-channel world. Customers want the option of receiving communications via the mail, the web, and email.
- Data privacy—companies are under pressure to protect customer privacy and maintain solid audit trails and controls to meet strict privacy rules.
- Production intelligence—one of the great benefits of an ADF is that it enables improved control of and access to data that enables informed business decisions. Tools that track outbound mail and inbound customer response can help companies fine-tune campaigns, time reminder notices, and improve service
The ADF—More than Bells and Whistles
Clearly, as the ADF concept approaches its 10th year in existence, it's more than a flash in the pan and it's more than bells and whistles. It's a concept whose time has come. So what is an ADF? In brief, the ADF is a document manufacturing model that applies super-efficient factory production techniques to improve efficiency and reduce costs in producing and distributing documents. An ADF provides a single point of control for the entire document production process, from data creation, print job acquisition and input through printing, assembly and mailing, enabling a real-time view of the various stages of production and the ability to quickly intervene when necessary. By automating manual steps with an ADF, mail operations are assured that the right documents are inserted in the right envelopes and mailed to the right recipients—to generate the right response.
In my next Output Links column, I'll go into the essential components of an ADF. Emtex has identified four major building blocks that can be used to deploy an ADF to deliver maximum return on investment in a phased rollout. In the meantime, I invite you to contact me directly with your thoughts and comments. Contact me at nkhatri@emtex.com.
To find out how an ADF can help you improve productivity, efficiency and quality of your document operation, read the Emtex white paper, "A Common Sense Approach to Building an ADF".
Nick Khatri is the Worldwide Marketing Manager for Emtex Ltd., a Pitney Bowes Company, the leading provider of enterprise output management solutions (VIP, VDE, FlexServer and OptionPROM) for mission-critical, high-volume document production operations. Prior to Emtex, Nick spent 10 years at Xerox Europe, and held numerous technical and marketing positions covering Systems Test (in El Segundo, California), Customer Support, Product Management, Product and Industry Solutions Marketing. Initially starting out as a Petroleum Engineer, Nick switched to IT and held IBM Systems Programming roles at Conoco UK, Chevron Oil UK and LloydsTSB Bank. Nick holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of London. Nick has developed a number of white papers, authored several industry articles and has presented at Xplor and On Demand.
To learn more about Emtex solutions, please visit our website at http://www.emtex.com.
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