The online procurement platform will be a first example of the way that properly managed data and integration can make businesses more efficient.
The Zaikio procurement platform will be the first to reach the street. The idea is to connect printers to the ERP systems that paper suppliers have. There has been previous work to connect merchants to mills using data exchange formats, but any attempt to expand this to printers or paper management companies has foundered. As things stand, a merchant would end up creating as many bespoke integrations as it has customers, and printers would need different APIs to connect to each merchant.
Zaikio wants to change this, creating a single view to connect a printer to any number of suppliers ending the phone calls and conversations about availability, volumes, delivery dates and if necessary alternatives to an out of stock paper.
There are conversations underway with MIS providers and paper merchants in central Europe starting to test the software. Heidelberg Business Manager and Keyline will be among the first to support the procurement platform, says Christian Weyer. “It will be possible to manage the entire procurement process from the MIS. The printer will be able to see all orders and supplies and can monitor all deliveries, connecting to the stock levels in the warehouse.
The merchant will see the same information along with pricing set for that customer and the option to present promotional pricing or specials. By making this a computer driven process, the main savings are at the merchant end and they pay for using the platform.
There will also be savings for the printers. And a dozen suppliers and paper merchants are agreeing to find out in the test phase.
“From a printer’s perspective, procurement can be hell with so much time lost on calls or emails,” he says. “We believe that human beings should not be used to do tasks that can be automated. In future we know that printers will need their time to be creative, not to handle mundane processes.
“This will not solve all problems and eliminate calls entirely, say the order is for 50 tonnes of a paper and only 35 tonnes are available. This is where a human will need to decide what to do. But 95% of orders will not need interaction.”
Christian Weyer says Heidelberg Business Manager and Keyline will be among the first to support Zaikio’s procurement platform, used to connect a printer to any number of suppliers and thereby ending the phone calls and conversations about availability, volumes and delivery dates.
