Solopress was launched in 1999 after the founders identified a gap in the market for a fast turnaround, cost-friendly, full-colour printing service. Catering for all printing and design needs - from business cards and leaflets to posters and brochures – the Southend-based company has gone from strength to strength, winning a number of regional business awards including 'Business of the Year' and 'Business to Business of the Year'. Today the firm employs over 90 individuals who work with around 55,000 customers nationwide. Solopress also has a number of environmental accreditations and has made a strong commitment to mitigating the environmental impact of the business with staff making use of recycled paper pulp and eco inks wherever possible.
Solopress
“Our whole business is run from FileMaker, and without it we couldn’t function. It took our people a bit of time to get used to it but now it is established, we would never go anywhere else. We think we have the best database for our requirements.” says Adam Wilson-Bowen, Operations Manager, Solopress
Solopress make a real impression using FileMaker
FileMaker Pro database improves efficiency, accuracy and customer service for Essex based printing service.
Overview
- Company needed a fast and efficient way to access and compare costs of bespoke printing work for clients.
Industry
- Printing: Essex-based printers, which provides fast turnaround, cost friendly full colour printing services for 55,000 customers nationwide
Solution
- Provides fast, efficient and accurate pricing information for job quotations received through the web site or over the phone.
Benefits
- FileMaker improves efficiency by making information instantly accessible.
The challenge:
Central to the Solopress business is the ability to offer customers a quick and efficient service where they are able to access and compare price information about individual printing jobs.
This means the sales team taking orders on the phone needs to be able to pull up different sets of prices instantly, so customers are not kept waiting.
Similarly, with so many different print finishes and styles, it is key that the firm’s website provides straightforward information about the different products Solopress offers and allows users to easily compare prices as well as giving them options to upgrade their purchase.
With thousands of customers, the ability to keep track of each client record, their orders and accounts is vital to the smooth running of the business, as is the capacity for different team members to access only the parts of this database relevant to their responsibilities within Solopress.
I can quickly view a breakdown of how much individual companies are spending on a monthly or weekly basis and get a detailed report on the level of business we have completed...
—Adam Wilson-Bowen, Operations Manager, Solopress
The FileMaker solution:
According to operations manager, Adam Wilson-Bowen, FileMaker is a key element of the Solopress’ sales function.
He says: “Whether clients place orders over the telephone or via our website, FileMaker is integral to the process.
With all items listed in FileMaker, sales staff talking with customers on the phone are able to quickly call up individual products and provide a price quote straightaway.
“A customer might, for example, want a price for a batch of one-sided business cards but then want to know what the difference would be if they were printed on both sides or laminated,” says Adam.
“With all our product prices instantly accessible, we are able to offer efficient customer service, which is vital in our business.”
Using FileMaker and with the help of developer Data Artistry, invoices are automatically generated after each sale and e-mailed to the client, reducing the administrative burden on staff and ensuring the company does not generate a backlog of invoices.
In recent months, Solopress has also gone through a major overhaul of its website and e-commerce functionality with FileMaker underpinning this key element of its sales operation.
“Customers purchasing online are now used to the level of service provided by the likes of Amazon and Argos and we wanted our website to offer the same provision,” continues Adam.
The website features a cross-selling function which informs customers that they can upgrade their order and gives them a range of choices. For instance, if a client orders some posters online, the website will automatically offer them the choice to purchase a vinyl banner or a roller banner instead.
Likewise, the website also offers customers a range of different products that are related to the last purchase they made, similar to Amazon’s ‘If you bought this, you may be interested in this’ service. Other functionality on the website enables clients to log-in and see their order history and simply re-order a previous purchase, simplifying the sales process and saving time.
“All this was made possible by writing scripts for FileMaker,” adds Adam.
“Emma, my PA, has learnt how to manage the coding and tells me it is very straightforward.”
Adam also uses FileMaker to keep track of the business and runs reports.
“I can quickly view a breakdown of how much individual companies are spending on a monthly or weekly basis and get a detailed report on the level of business we have completed in a certain timeframe,” he says.
According to Adam, the security features embedded in FileMaker are also crucial, allowing different users accessing the database to be assigned distinct privileges depending on their role.
He adds: “Obviously, there is a lot of sensitive information on our FileMaker, so it is important we have systems in place that protect the data. For example, our drivers only need to see what deliveries they have for the day, so they have access to a limited part of the client information compared to our sales staff who need far wider access to customer details and sales history.”
Notable benefits:
- Improved customer service – the ability of Solopress sales staff to quickly call up product information and prices enables the company to offer top customer service.
- Online functionality – Solopress’ website offers functionality that matches customer’s increasing expectations – all underpinned by FileMaker.
- Easy coding – because it is straightforward, the scripting required to publish products on the web is a carried out in-house at Solopress avoiding costly IT consultancy fees
- Information security – different access privileges can be easily assigned to individuals working in various job functions, so they only get to see the information they need to see.
- Business overview – with a large client base Solopress is able to use FileMaker to run reports breaking down business activity over a given timeframe
Follow FileMaker on Twitter