Registered customers will be able to complete an order form, wait for printers to respond to their job requirements with bids, then select the most attractive. Once the deal is arranged, both the customer and the printer can continue to use PrintConnect.net as a platform to communicate job changes, data files or other information. The company will collect from the printer a percentage of each job ordered at the site. The potential cost and, especially, time savings for customers are obvious. And Harrell said printers, too, will benefit, by cutting inefficiencies in the ordering and production processes, streamlining relationships with customers and improving service.
Customer service equals satisfaction equals loyalty equals more business equals increased profits.
That's what gets their attention. Harrell said printers are ready for the Web, in part because the industry has gone through so many technological changes in the past decades, most recently to digital print production. Other industry observers are less certain. The ultimate change to online ordering is inevitable, but I think the industry will be very slow to adapt. With online services, I'm afraid people will order by cost alone and end up settling for less.