Print Monthly - May / June 2023 - Issue 342

40 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk May / June 2023 - Issue 342 offering more than just software – we’re a true partner that our customers can lean on for technological advice and guidance, and these new team members will be hugely beneficial to these partnerships.” Looking to the future and Tharstern is constantly developing both its Tharstern Desktop and the newly launched Tharstern Cloud solution for labels and flexible packaging. With that in mind, the company’s roadmap focuses on differentiation, accessibility, fulfilment, automation, and connectivity. McMurtrie explains that with its customers diversifying, Tharstern has been adding cross-sector support to Tharstern Desktop for many years. The company plans to continue to do this and ensure that should its customers wish to diversify, their MIS will allow them to quote for and manage as many different types of products as possible without causing confusion and unnecessary paperwork for their customers. In terms of accessibility, Tharstern strives to make it as easy as possible for customers to access their data by continually enhancing the functionality of its Remote Access Portal. McMurtrie adds: “Increasingly our customers are moving towards multi-step fulfilment solutions that allow them to offer a complete campaign management service to their clients. “We know this adds complexity to the fulfilment of each order and significantly increases the need for logistical planning. We also know that our MIS software can help in this area, which is why we’re always looking to add new features to our fulfilment functionality and help our customers streamline this part of their business.” To find out more about Tharstern and the solutions it offers, you can visit https:// www.tharstern.com/ or find the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram by searching ‘Tharstern’. opinions, and ultimately creating the best product and service for our customers.” 20 Years of Growth On the same breath, we asked McMurtrie what he is most proud of, having seen the company evolve and grow for over 20 years. He says: “All the cool things that my team have achieved with our software. I used to be very hands-on with the development of our MIS, but these days I’m only involved in the product vision and roadmap, not so much in the finer details. “And I so often find myself in meetings involving my colleagues and customers, where a customer asks if our software can help with a particularly challenging workflow, and I’m blown away when my colleagues excitedly say, ‘Yes, absolutely! Let me show you!’. I’m left feeling very proud of everyone that works for us, and what they do every day.” This investment in its team was demonstrated at the end of 2022 when Tharstern expanded its team with five new hires across two months after reporting a period of significant growth. Laura Woodward was one of two implementation specialists hired to help deliver customer onboarding and training. Having been in the print industry since her teenage years, Woodward ran the implementation of Tharstern at her previous company. The second implementation specialist to join Tharstern was US-based Zach Forest who was responsible for both pre-press and production in his previous role before leading the implementation of a web-toprint solution and its integration with the company’s MIS software. Stuart Walsh joined as a new technical lead with 15 years of experience working in C#, nNET, and associated technologies and will be a key contributor to Tharstern’s development strategy going forward. ICT apprentice Peter Birdsall also joined the helpdesk team increasing the number to 11 full-time members. Lynne Fairhurst also joined the company as executive assistant. Speaking at the time of the appointments, McMurtrie said: “We are busier than ever and happy to get all these new Tharsternians out there and working with our customers. We pride ourselves on ▲[L to R] Laura Woodward and Zach Forest both joined Tharstern as implementation specialists at the end of 2022 ▼Tharstern recently launched its Tharstern Cloud solution for labels and flexible packaging COMPANY SPOTLIGHT / THARSTERN

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