MIS platforms are increasingly being adopted to improve business operations across the large format signage and printing industries but do people really understand the true value they can bring?
MIS (Management Information System) at a very basic level serves as the backbone of an organisation’s operations. An MIS will gather data from various online systems, analyse the information and report data which helps to influence and plan business decision-making.
Such planning can span across many different business functions which can include sales and marketing, inventory control, profits, document flows and cash balances amongst others.
The ultimate goal for any company using a management information system is to increase the value and profits of their business as a whole.
The information gathered from an MIS allows managers to run their business in a more efficient manner. For example, they can identify problem areas that require attention such as instances where performance levels have shifted from the expected results and require intervention to get things back on track.
At its very core an MIS will enable the user to produce job quotes, highly accurate estimating, as well as customer relationship management (CRM), production and delivery scheduling, purchase orders and stock control in a central easy to use platform.
Other key benefits include:
– Greater efficiency levels
Users can get access to information they need to identify weaknesses and strengths in their operational processes.
– Informed quality decisions
Better availability of information means that managers can make business decisions based on reliable and accurate data.
– Better communications between departments
Users can share information from a central location which allows for communications to be more joined up.
– Customer insight
Having more data about customer needs means greater analysis can take place to identify trends in behavior which can inform improvements to customer service and help shape effective marketing and promotional campaigns that provide greater ROI.
– Increased employee productivity
Employees are more productive because they don’t have to spend time gathering data from various sources for management reporting. An effective MIS will collect data without requiring manually intensive input from staff.
As well as significantly improving the speed, accuracy, and consistency of processes such as quoting and invoicing, a good print MIS will provide full visibility of your true business running costs and profit in real time. This is crucial for many businesses if they are looking to increase revenue and grow their business.
Automation as a driver of change:
Automation is now commonplace across many industries including wide-format printing, sign making and packaging. Print MIS software now provides job tracking and visibility over production workflows which help to ensure a business is running at maximum efficiency and nothing falls through the cracks.
Users can see what a job is costing them to produce, complete and what is making money. In contrast, they can also see what is wasting resources.
With regards to functionality, the features required from an MIS are usually just the start. As a business grows, so can the MIS. From an integrations perspective, most are flexible and can integrate with many common applications. In the case of invoicing and accounting applications these can include popular packages such as Sage, QuickBooks and Xero amongst others.
A good MIS ultimately has the power to help a business become more competitive through the analysis of data to highlight what is working and more importantly what isn’t.
To learn more about how business management software could drive your company growth, call Clarity Software on +44 (0)121 248 2448 or visit www.clarity-software.com
