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GraphExpo_ShowDaily_September_26_2016

Workfl ow Automation: A Competitive Differentiator for COT Holdings Limited “Barbados is a small island, just 166 square miles, and there are a total of 40 registered printers here,” says Nigel Worme, CEO and Managing Director of COT Holdings Limited. “In order to remain competitive, we need to deliver a wide range of services from under one roof, and we need to do so as effi ciently as possible.” COT Holdings needed to establish an automated workfl ow to take time and cost out of the process and to ensure availability of real-time information for more effective management of the business. That need led COT to consult with EFI (Booth 1349) and, as a result, Worme’s team has implemented an EFI workfl ow to boost its effi ciency. The company boasts one of the most advanced, automated commercial print production workfl ows in the Caribbean, fueled by the EFI Enterprise Commercial Print Suite with EFI Monarch as its core ERP component. “While utilization is not always high on some of our equipment,” Worme explains, “we don’t have the luxury of outsourcing a lot of services to partners. So we have built a full-service operation that makes us the go-to shop for our clients’ printing, packaging, and marketing services needs. But that also means that managing the business effi ciently becomes quite complex.” COT’s operation is based on the Suite’s EFI Monarch ERP and customer portal software end-to-end integration with critical components for dynamic scheduling and shop fl oor data collection into its production workfl ow. “We use Digital StoreFront as the basis for our Web-to-print offering,” Worme adds, “which we have branded COT PrintCloud. This has enabled us to directly link our ordering system into the production workfl ow, eliminating non-value-added touch points. We predict that within fi ve years almost all of our work will be ordered online.” Estimating and scheduling processes are particularly strong because of the company’s workfl ow automation. “The Suite gives our sales force the ability to quickly and easily build quotes wherever they happen to be, leaving only the more complex work to be done by our estimator,” Worme explains. “And PrintFlow is absolutely dynamite for scheduling. I don’t understand how any business can afford to schedule manually anymore!” Looking ahead Continuing training is one of the ways COT’s investment in an automated workfl ow continues to pay off. COT is a regular attendee at EFI’s annual Connect conference. “This is a very worth-while use of our time,” he says. “The amount you can learn there is incredible, and we always have new ideas to put into action when we return home. Knowing the positive experiences it has had growing its profi tability, driving down costs, and improving throughput through workfl ow automation ion COT is committed to taking its Productivity ductivity Suite to the next xt level with the latest st advancements. “EFI’s eCRM component,”omponent,” says Worme, “will ll give us the tools to to better manage our r customer relationthis relationships. With all of this in place, we will take the operation operation to an even to an better level level of effi ciency.” Offi cial Show Daily | PrintingNews.com GRAPH EXPO 16 | September 26, 2016 | 23


GraphExpo_ShowDaily_September_26_2016
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