If on one hand, there is a printer willing to do work for discounted pricing to fill downtime, and, on the other, there is a print buyer who wants to reduce significantly its printing costs without compromising quality or on-time delivery, wouldn't it make sense to put the two together?

profitable work. That's the goal. Realistically, there are going to be times when there are production gaps -- those times when there is no work. Downtime.

In the printing industry, for example, 30% of the typical printer's production schedule is downtime. That is because the printer must have sufficient capacity available to meet the needs of its customers at peak times, only to have it unused at non-peak times. When work is not forthcoming, the printer is stuck with downtime, no income, idle staff and machinery and an unproductive period.

Now if you were a printer and were confronted with this predicament versus bringing in some work with lower than normal pricing, you probably would gladly accept -- even seek -- the work for which you would be charging less than optimum fees. Of course, the customer whose work is being done is going to be pleased as long as a quality job is produced on time.

So, if on one hand, there is a printer willing to do work for discounted pricing to fill downtime, and, on the other, there is a print buyer who wants to reduce significantly its printing costs without compromising quality or on-time delivery, wouldn't it make sense to put the two together? Obviously, yes. However, until recently there has not been a procurement process that could make that happen to the benefit of both the printer and the print buyer. Now there is a way to match the two thanks to the Automated Vendor Selection (AVS) TechnologyTM.

AVS TechnologyTM was invented in 1998 after it became apparent that there must be a better way of locating, vetting and contracting with printers. Face-to-face negotiations, endless interviewing of new printer candidates and lack of competition seemed to be bogging down what could be a streamlined process given the power of computers. AVS was born. Patents for it were awarded to e-LYNXX Corporation by the United States Patent Office in 2002, 2008 and 2010.

This new computerized technology is designed to match the buyer's job specifications with only printers capable of doing the work needed and then create a competitive bidding environment that encourages low bids to fill downtime. Each printer entered into the AVS Technology's vendor database is selected by and thoroughly vetted by the buyer so there is no doubt that quality work will be done and delivered on time regardless of price. Only printers in the buyer's database are chosen to participate.

For the print buyer, AVS Technology use can save 25% to 50% on costs for procured print when compared to traditional procurement approaches that rely heavily on negotiated pricing job after job. Traditional procurement is time consuming, expensive, very manual and not predictable.

For the printer, AVS technology can boost its profitability by making work available that the printer otherwise would not have. It keeps the presses running, the staff productive and income flowing. AVS also creates a stable bidding environment -- one in which the printer participants do not worry about having to bid low on every job because all involved know that bids are based on filling downtime and it is unrealistic to expect that the same printer will have downtime for every job put out for bids.

While savings for the buyer and increased income for the printer are compelling motives for using AVS Technology, it is the streamlining of the procurement process that makes AVS truly unique. Its communications and workflow system drives the process, tracks and archives every detail, from concept to planning to changes to production, packaging, delivery and invoicing. It is a secure (no e-mails), web-based system that is tailored to the needs of each buyer. It also is a system through which the buyer and the vendor determine who on their teams should have access and when. Accountability is established early on, and every decision is documented so all involved know who approved what along the way. Notes, images and documents also are archived. This provides 100% transparency. The archive for each job is an indelible, auditable and invaluable reference for similar work in the future.

Understanding the Benefits of Filling Production Downtime

The buyer-vendor matching and workflow advantages gained with AVS Technology can be repeated as often as the buyer needs work done, and it is as easy and as quick as clicking a mouse. The buyer does not have to spend time making calls to seek a vendor for every job. The computer matching does that. The buyer's preferred list of vendors already is in the AVS system and ready for job specifications to match with just those vendors capable of doing the work. All participants understand the rules set forth by the buyer to create a fair, competitive bidding environment. Outcomes are predictable.

For Automated Vendor Selection Technology license holders, AVS is today changing how print is bought. It also is changing how buyers and vendors look at the benefits of filling downtime.