Case Study: Associates International boosts productivity and cuts costs with Xerox FreeFlow Process Manager

Associates International Shines with Lights Out Productivity

Associates International (Ai), a Wilmington, Delaware-based commercial printer and marketing services provider, was looking to win and support a large pharmaceutical print-collateral account that demanded 200 to 300 new print-on-demand orders per day, 36-hour turnarounds, and a 40% cost reduction. Even after building its AiConnect™ Enterprise Storefront to automate prepress, printing, finishing, and shipping, Ai still faced delays in job costing, invoicing, inventory control, and production scheduling. Xerox Corporation helped address this challenge with Xerox® FreeFlow Process Manager®.

Xerox Corporation implemented Xerox® FreeFlow Process Manager®, integrated with Avanti JDF-certified Print MIS software and CREO Spire Color Services, to automate job routing, generate integrated job tickets, and enable “lights out” overnight printing. The solution sent job and cost data back to the MIS automatically, improved stock management, and cut invoicing time from seven to ten days to less than 24 hours. Ai also eliminated one entire shift of manned operation, increased throughput, reduced costs, and improved turnaround times.

Associates International

Jeff Booth

IT Manager