A Helping Hand
No one wants to become another failure in this economy. But, sometimes, it's difficult to outwit the competition and keep pace with ever-changing customer demands.
Some get a leg up by responding fast and efficiently. Easier said than done, right? Well, it may be that simple if you have distributor management software—software that can manage order processing, inventory control, accounting, supply chain and customer service.
To see if it's the right fit for you, check out some of the top providers Print Professional tapped to get the scoop on this technology.
DemandBridge Platform —Demand Bridge, LLC
The DemandBridge Software Platform is for distributors who are focused on aggressively growing their business organically or through acquisition.
At the core of the DB Platform is the most established distributor operations system in the marketplace.
DemandBridge Distributor (DB/d) is one of the most scalable, stable and dependable platforms for this market's unique requirements for accounting, commission structures, financial management, inventory management, wireless warehouse integration and electronic transaction processing. Billions of dollars annually are transacted through the DB/d platform. That number grows as our distributors expand their business with our client acquisition tools.
For client capture and retention, the best distributors in the market look to set themselves apart with the most feature-rich and extensible marketing automation and e-commerce system available: DemandBridge Enterprise (DB/e). DB/e boasts more than 2,000 sites with more than 1.7 million registered users. They enjoy such features as:
• Highly complex, multi-page variable documents
• Completely customizable site themes, URLs and private labeling
• Unlimited products, catalogs, users, transactions
• Full support for on-demand, customizable promotional products
• Third-party and customer-supplied mailing list integration
• Direct mail integration
• Digital asset management
• Office products
• End-to-end, seamless integration with any back-office platform
Recently launched features include Document Builder, the first truly integrated document publishing platform available in the distributor marketplace. This allows any distributor with DB/e to provide customers with a simple system to create, finish, publish and ship business documents and presentations all within the same platform they use for the capabilities listed above (and more). Distributors can give clients a way to better manage the money and time spent in line at FedEx, Kinko's and similar stores. Those potential competitors no longer have to linger around distributors' valued accounts. Instead, DB/e companies can further their value by giving clients a tool to control rogue spending without leaving their desks.
Also, DemandBridge recently announced "Virtuoso by DemandBridge," the most comprehensive workflow automation product available in our marketplace. With Virtuoso, distributors easily can connect their customers' creative departments with their customer service teams and supplier networks for automated file pre-flighting, spec sheet entry, collaborative proofing, airtight approvals, comprehensive reporting and automated file routing rules directly to the correct supplier for any given job.
There is no doubt that technology has become the most significant differentiator in the print and marketing services industry. DemandBridge can empower each distributor to face new accounts with confidence and win new business.
For more information, visit www.demandbridge.com.
Submitted by: Brian Fritsche, president, CEO
e-Quantum/Quantum Net— e-Quantum
More than 500 distributors have selected e-Quantum, a leading industry distributor management software, with more than 460 distributors using Quantum Net for e-commerce. e-Quantum includes order entry, inventory and accounting with all documents e-mail ready.
Quantum Net is an integrated e-commerce system for electronic ordering, custom client catalogs, credit card purchases, creating and proofing variable print items, office supplies, promotional products, apparel catalogs, restocking capabilities, online reporting and order tracking.
e-Quantum offers Q-Stores for retail consumer catalogs customized to match the look and feel of your client's website. Q-Store has sales tax tables, real-time freight charges and credit card processing during check-out. Shoppers can track their purchases, including links to UPS and FedEx websites.
Q-Design offers your client the latest technology for web-to-print, variable print and direct mail marketing. Orders can route through purchasing for manager approval, ensuring complete client control. Mailing lists may be purchased and attached to the order.
Other modules include an integrated CRM, PEAK award-winning Auto Scheduler, PEAK award-winning Vendor Center Catalogs, PEAK award-winning Online Digital Asset Manager, Doc-Q-Manage for an electronic office, XML integration with vendors and clients, punch-outs to various vendor catalogs for promotional items, apparel catalogs, financial documents and more.
e-Quantum offers on-site training, national client conferences, data conversions, website design and customized marketing presentations.
For more information, visit www.e-quantum.com, call (800) 328-7804 or e-mail sales@e-quantum.com.
Submitted by: Susan Godfrey, marketing director
ePay and eArchive— Data Management Center (DMC)
Let DMC be your data management center. Offer your clients a complete billing platform from traditional print-to-mail, mail, e-mail and fax to an integrated web archive solution with interactive updates, downloads and payment capability. Now, your clients can track the success of their billing programs and convert them from mail to electronic format.
Data Management Center offers the flexibility for companies to bill, invoice and receive payments from their customers. Companies can use e-mail, fax or traditional mail to send bills. Your customer can continue to receive payments by check or through our Internet-based ePay system. As companies embrace online billing and payment, we work to ensure a smooth transition by providing marketing tools to help their customer move to electronic billing and payment as well as design templates for a great look and an easy read.
ePay is a secure, online solution for electronic payment of open invoices and statements allowing your customers to view open and paid invoices as well as make partial payments. Our ePay system has proven to decrease the amount of time it takes to realize revenue and increase cash flow. It's easy to use and offers a fast learning curve, making their customers more effective and wanting to use the system again and again.
Combine ePay with eArchive for maximum value. eArchive gives your customer complete 24/7 access to stored invoices, statements, memos and any other supporting documents through the Internet in a highly secure setting. Only those with authorizations can retrieve stored, electronic documents quickly and easily. Search, sort and drill down to the exact document(s) by entering keywords. Once found, view, print, fax or e-mail the document for easy sharing.
Data Management Center is here to help you sell these powerful services. We provide a high value turn-key service to get you on-going revenue for just selling it once.
For more information, visit www.dmcilink.com, call (630) 384-0900 or e-mail sales@dmcilink.com.
Submitted by: Dale Dembski, president
Xetex Xebra Advantage and Xebra E-Commerce Advantage—Xetex Business Systems, Inc.
Xetex Business Systems, Inc. offers software to print and promotional products distributors through two subscription services: Xetex Xebra Advantage and Xebra E-Commerce Advantage. The Xetex Xebra Advantage subscription includes Xebra software, which is designed to aid distributors in running their businesses. Xebra can help distributors with tasks such as: sending vendor quote requests, producing customer quotes, entering customer orders, submitting vendor purchase orders, controlling inventory, generating invoices, receiving payments, paying vendors, managing sales activities and tracking accounting information. Over the past 25 years, Xetex has strived to include in Xebra every feature that a distributor might need. Rather than selling the software as many separate modules, Xetex offers everything except e-commerce websites in the Xetex Xebra Advantage subscription.
A Xetex Xebra Advantage subscription includes support and regular updates. Xetex releases updates several times per year to meet the changing needs of distributors as quickly as possible. The subscription also includes data backup services and optional server/database hosting services at no additional charge. More than half of current Xetex Xebra Advantage subscribers have opted to have Xetex host their server. End-users operate through Xebra Client software, which is Windows-based software that can be installed and used on any computer with Internet access. The Xebra Client software can connect to the Xebra Server database securely over the Internet with no complicated VPN (Virtual Private Network) setup or other third-party software required. This system design makes Xebra great for distributor companies with multiple locations and for people who want to have remote access.
As an integrated add-on to Xetex Xebra Advantage, Xetex offers an additional subscription called Xebra E-Commerce Advantage. This subscription provides distributors with a way to setup web portals for their customers to log in and browse product catalogs, place orders, check inventory, request inventory releases, review order history and repeat orders. Distributors also can use Xebra E-Commerce Advantage to setup business to consumer web stores with branded print and promotional items. Xebra E-Commerce Advantage features robust handling of customizable printed items, such as business cards, identification cards, envelopes, letterhead, brochures and any printed item that needs to support variable information with each order.
Xetex Business Systems, Inc. is unique because all Xebra software development takes place at Xetex's office in West Lawn, Pa. Xetex was founded by a programmer and continues to employ programmers. Because Xetex does not outsource programming and maintains a staff of capable programmers who are familiar with the software, Xetex excels at solving difficult technical support issues as they come up. The in-house development philosophy also enables Xetex to develop and maintain custom solutions for distributors who want to tailor Xebra to their specific needs.
For more information, visit www.xebra.com.
Submitted by: Fred Hickey, president