"WhatTheyThink.com" conversation with Filip Buyse, Prism CEO
A Conversation with Filip Buyse, President and CEO of Prism Group Holdings, Ltd.
By Jean-Marie Hershey, Senior Editor
March 20, 2008 -- When his appointment was announced in August of 2007, it was said that Filip Buyse had been recruited to lead Prism into a new growth phase, which would include the significant expansion of both its North American and international businesses, as well as consolidation of its dominant market position in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Almost six months later, the company is reporting additional U.S. implementations of its Prism-WIN MIS System and QTMS-iQ Accounting and Production Management System, the formation of strategic partnerships to broaden and deepen the integration it can offer its customers, and more staff appointments to service Prism’s existing and prospective stateside clientele.
WhatTheyThink took advantage of an opportunity to discuss these and other developments with Mr. Buyse and ask him to comment on why Prism believes it is “perfectly positioned” to take advantage of the potential growth in the U.S. market.
I see a great opportunity to grow our business in North America.
WTT: Thank you agreeing to speak with WhatTheyThink.com. In August, Prism announced a new growth phase. What initiatives are involved, and how are they progressing?
FB: Our Prism-WIN MIS and QTMS-iQ products are well established in some markets but not so well known in others. We entered the North American market about seven years ago, and companies like Stevens Graphics, Williamson Printing and Jet Litho, Inc. started with us early on. Recently we’ve added implementations with companies like Outlook Group, Walsworth Publishing and ColorCraft of Virginia. With Prism-WIN, we offer a highly adaptable solution that fits enterprises ranging from lithographic sheetfed and web printers, to specialty producers such as flexo label converters, packaging, envelope, book and directory printers. With the introduction of the QTMS-iQ production management workflow system at Graph Expo 2007, we offer cost saving on the production floor which is resonating with our customers. I see a great opportunity to grow our business in North America.
WTT: Do you have targets or timetables in that area?
FB: We want to do it the right way and not just grow for growth’s sake. It’s not that we wouldn’t like to be in a dominant position five years from now, but we’re going to pursue controlled growth in North America as well as in Europe and provide superior support to our clients along the way. Although we occupy a marketleading position in Australasia, we’re also focused squarely in that market on providing superior service and value-added services and solutions to our customers. As we continue to grow here in North America, it’s important to me and the organization that we support our customer base on a high level and continue to expand with them. We are also looking at services like the facilities management we provide to some of our Australasian customers, where we maintain their MIS systems.
WTT: How has Prism expanded its operations in North America?
FB: In the last four or five months, we have added five implementation people to our staff, all dedicated to the North American market. We also have added staff in Europe and Australasia, and we have expanded our help desk coverage by tying in the capabilities of our UK and New Zealand help desks to support our North American clients. We’ll be investing in some new tools in the help desk area to help us better manage the support function on a global scale.
WTT: What is the market opportunity as you envision it? Are you concentrating on particular segments or geographic areas?
FB: Within market segments we are looking at larger sheetfed operations, combined web and sheetfed operations, label printers, specialty printers and combination shops that have offset and flexo or offset and packaging. Our focus is driven by the fact that the Prism-WIN application is a full-featured, modular and configurable product set. As a result, it is ideally well-suited to an evolving marketplace in which printers want to get into fulfillment or flexo or package printing, or want to develop their web front ends or purchase existing web front ends and tie them into their MIS system. All of those things play to our strengths, and that’s where the opportunity lies for us. As a result of the potential, our geographical concentration is certainly North America.
In a down economy, if you’re not efficient, the risk is much higher
WTT: Does the prospect of a U.S. recession affect Prism’s North American marketing strategy?
FB: Any downturn in the economy makes all of us look inward to see where and how we can obtain more efficiencies. That said, there are still many companies in the market that can gain efficiencies and achieve more accurate and timely control of their costs through the implementation of an up-to-date MIS and production monitoring system. In a down economy, in fact, one could argue that getting control of your costs and better visibility as to what’s going on in your business is more critical than in a growing economy. In a down economy, if you’re not efficient, the risk is much higher.
there’s no question that installing an MIS system is a complex task because it touches everybody in the organization. But it shouldn’t be a daunting one
WTT: The concept of MIS/ERP can still make printers’ heads swim, and many avoid the implementation of a new system or integration with legacy systems because of the cost and the disruption they fear it will cause. What evidence do you see that the printing industry is finally ready to tackle computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)?
FB: The industry is in an evolutionary period and this presents opportunities to graphic arts firms that are adding new services and new capabilities. Equipment manufacturers, prepress vendors and solutions providers are providing capabilities today that enable the exchange of information in real time, and CIM capabilities exist today in prepress, press and post press. JDF integration and two-way communication is a reality and we at Prism will continue to be at the forefront leading this effort..That said, there’s no question that installing an MIS system is a complex task because it touches everybody in the organization. But it shouldn’t be a daunting one.
The MIS supplier community needs to take responsibility and resist the temptation to oversimplify these implementations and integrations
WTT: How can suppliers neutralize the “fear factor?
FB: The MIS supplier community needs to take responsibility and resist the temptation to oversimplify these implementations and integrations. Frankly, because some in our community already may have oversimplified these things, it makes our common customers understandably nervous. On the other hand, if we set realistic expectations with our customers and the implementation is done correctly, there are great benefits to be gained across the organization. Our recently announced alliance with Lithotechnics is an example of a proactive move on Prism’s part to work with a growing company to offer deeper integration for the benefit of our customers.
System implementation projects run amok when the project planning isn’t very good, or the project management execution didn’t go well, or the overall project or task was underestimated or oversold
WTT: How does Prism help facilitate integration and implementation?
FB: System implementation projects run amok when the project planning isn’t very good, or the project management execution didn’t go well, or the overall project or task was underestimated or oversold. At Prism, we base our planning and project management on ITPM, a planning and controlling IT project management methodology developed by KPMG. We’ve been very successful using this technology to ensure that projects meet their stated objectives, budgets, and schedules. We assemble a project team that works alongside our customers onsite to implement the system. At the end of the day, even if it’s an MIS system for a small or mid-size printer, it’s still an ERP solution for that particular operation. From our perspective, to do it remotely or by training one or two people to train the rest of the staff is inefficient. We work alongside with our customers to make sure these implementations are successful and provide the desired results.
WTT: Developers of MIS/ERP products have to show that their products can operate effectively in a multivendor environment and perform multiple functions. Would you comment on Prism’s activities/strategy in this area?
FB: Prism operates in a multi-vendor environment. We have an open system and a proven history of promoting and using industry accepted integration, like JDF. Prism is a member of the CIP4 organization and was a founding member of the Networked Graphic Production partnership (NGP). While we offer a fully modularized product suite, we also recognize that customers occasionally want to keep using an existing or homegrown module. They may have an accounting system they like, or they may want to continue using an Internet portal they’ve built rather than the Prism e-Service Desk. We provide an easy integration path to these third-party solutions. We offer market-leading modules but will give our customers some choice and provide integration via JDF or through an open API.
The QTMS discussion is a process of engagement with the people on the production floor in both the pressroom and the finishing department
WTT: At Graph Expo, Prism unveiled the QTMS-iQ intelligent workflow control Shop Floor Data Management System. Why is the market interested in this product today?
FB: Printers are looking for real, measurable savings on the production floor, as well as from an overall production standpoint. That, essentially, is what QTMS-iQ does. Since Graph Expo, interest in the product has been very strong, especially from web printers. We’re being told they see the value in a system that handles not just equipment counting and the management and tracking of paper, but also the overall workflow of the whole shop floor through to finishing and shipping, that helps reduce overruns of work-in-process and finished goods and can analyze and evaluate that input. The QTMS discussion is a process of engagement with the people on the production floor in both the pressroom and the finishing department.
WTT: What’s next for Prism, and what can we expect to see from the company in 2008 and at drupa?
FB: At Drupa we will be showcasing our new Prism-WIN production management and scheduling module for the first time in Europe. We’ll also be showing live JDF integration with multiple partner products. We’ll also show the full QTMS-iQ shop floor data collection and workflow management system as a standalone system, as well as fully integrated with the Prism-WIN MIS solution. We have an aggressive product development plan in place for WIN and QTMS in 2008 and you can expect to see more strategic partner programs as well.
we intend to earn people’s confidence and trust as we move forward
I am very excited about the future. Our employees are a dedicated, knowledgeable and passionate group and, although we are not yet a “household name” in North America, we intend to earn people’s confidence and trust as we move forward. Thank you for this opportunity.
WTT: You’re entirely welcome.