45 Issue 257 - February / March 2025 email: editor@signlink.co.uk advanced analytics and reporting to help businesses make data-driven decisions. “When investing in MIS, sign companies should look for industry-specific features such as support for large-format printing, custom job quoting, and material-specific workflows,” Thurston says, adding: “A user-friendly interface that simplifies complex processes is also a must. “I would also recommend working with cloud-based solutions, which allow for access from anywhere, offering flexibility and scalability. Seamless integration with existing tools like design software, CRM, and accounting platforms should also be key, along with real-time reporting across dashboards and analytics to provide insights into business performance.” Integration Importance Also weighing in is Piet De Pauw, head of marketing at Enfocus, who says having access to a centralised platform that can manage orders, estimate costs, track production, and ensure smooth communication across departments helps businesses streamline operations. This, he adds, helps to reduce errors and provide critical insights into performance and profitability. However, De Pauw says the true potential of a MIS is unlocked when it seamlessly integrates with other workflow tools, such as Enfocus Switch. He explains: “While the MIS excels at managing data and planning, tools like Switch enable you to automate the flow of that data across your production environment. “For example, Switch can extract job data from the MIS to trigger automated workflows. It can deliver real-time production updates back to the MIS for precise tracking and reporting. It can also bridge the gap between the MIS and other production tools, ensuring the whole process runs optimally. “This two-way communication ensures that your MIS becomes more than just a database – it becomes an active part of a fully automated and efficient workflow. A MIS on its own is a useful tool – a MIS complemented by Switch is a revolution.” Offering words of advice to sign companies seeking a new solution, De Pauw says many sign-makers invest in a powerful MIS but fail to connect it to their production systems. This, he says, leads to manual data re-entry, increasing the risk of errors and wasting valuable time. “The MIS should integrate seamlessly with other systems, such as workflow automation tools like Enfocus Switch,” he says, adding: “This allows for efficient data exchange between the MIS and production systems, minimising manual interventions and errors. De Pauw also warns of ignoring real-time feedback, saying without realtime updates from production, the MIS becomes a static repository of outdated information. He comments: “That’s fine, but inefficient to access and use productively. By using Enfocus Switch to send live production data back to the MIS, sign-makers can ensure accurate tracking, better scheduling, and more informed decision-making.” Finally, he notes the danger of overlooking customisation and scalability, saying some sign-makers rely on outof-the-box MIS setups that do not align with their unique workflows. He explains by leveraging the flexibility of Enfocus Switch, sign-makers can customise how the MIS interacts with other systems, tailoring your automation to fit your specific needs. Speaking more about Enfocus Switch, De Pauw continues: “Enfocus Switch was recently updated in our 2024 Fall update, making it more efficient than ever for MIS integration. We’ve improved scripting functionality with JDF support, enhanced the file clean-up, and squashed a few bugs to make the user experience smoother and faster. “A quality MIS should adapt to the unique needs of the business and scale as the company grows. It should support both simple workflows and more complex, automated ones driven by tools like Switch. Sign companies should look to invest in an MIS that does not just organise their business but also empowers them to streamline workflows and scale operations effectively.” Clearly, an MIS is something that should no longer be viewed as a luxury for sign businesses, but necessary if they are to keep pace with competitors in the busy modern market. However, as sounded out by all contributors to this feature, companies in the sign-making and wide-format print sectors shouldn’t throw their money at any MIS but instead carry out careful research of the market to ensure they invest in a solution that is compatible with their business and its specific requirements. ▲ PrintIQ tailors MIS solutions for use across the print and signage industries ▼ Enfocus recently updated Enfocus Switch to make it “more efficient than ever” for MIS integration MIS
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