Heidelberg makes Zaikio free for all

Heidelberg is offering all print shops free access to the Zaikio Procurement industry platform with immediate effect, which it says is a further milestone on its way to becoming the printing industry’s leading platform provider.

Zaikio networks print shops’ IT systems with those of their suppliers, which Heidelberg says enables print service providers to establish an automatic link with these suppliers.

Following a successful test phase with selected print shops and suppliers, all print service providers who wish to do so can now register on the Zaikio platform free of charge.

They will then have direct, automatic access from their management information system (MIS) to the portfolios of the suppliers already linked to Zaikio, and can place orders at the latest prices with just a few clicks. Following approval by procurement staff, the orders are transferred directly into the relevant supplier’s ERP system, which reciprocates by providing the print shop’s ordering system with information about availability and delivery options.

This process lays the foundation for fully automatic orders based on various factors – from the current paper or ink consumption to stock levels. It also optimises the digital procurement processes of print shops and suppliers alike.

“With Zaikio, Heidelberg is gradually establishing an industry platform that is open to all companies, digitises and automates numerous value-adding processes between participants, and makes these operations transparent,” explains Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer. “By making overall processes and collaboration in the printing industry far simpler, Zaikio is boosting the competitiveness of everyone involved,” he adds.

Prior to the launch of the Zaikio Procurement platform, Zaikio already had some well-known MIS providers on board. Alongside Heidelberg with its Prinect Business Manager, the other participating MIS providers are Printplus, Printvis, Datamedia, Utraxx, Keyline, and EPMS – and Zaikio is currently in talks with many others. In the future, this means print shops will be able to access the ranges of suppliers, such as Sappi or Metapaper, and place orders directly from their MIS once it has been networked with Zaikio.

Zaikio Procurement costs print shops nothing. Zaikio’s business model is based on its relationship with the supplier – the print shop has no monetary outlay. Heidelberg says activating Zaikio Procurement in a print shop’s MIS is quick and easy, too.

“There are solutions on the market that already promise orders can be placed directly from an MIS. On closer inspection, however, it often turns out that all these solutions are doing is sending e-mails to the suppliers,” says Matthias Prinz, managing director and Head of User Experience at Zaikio. “With Zaikio, print service providers can now access the portfolios of a growing number of suppliers direct from their MIS in an automated process, which means they benefit from maximum transparency and needs-based supplies. It goes without saying that this also works to the advantage of MIS providers and suppliers, who can massively improve their level of service,” he explains.

Zaikio’s vision is to network all relevant printing industry systems to enable quick and easy data communication. Using Zaikio Procurement to digitise the procurement process between print shops and their suppliers was just the first step. In the foreseeable future, Zaikio will be using Web2Print solutions, workflow tools, and the further involvement of partners to fully digitise and link other key processes between printing industry players.

Around a year after the takeover of cloud software business Crispy Mountain by Heidelberger, the company launched Zaikio – a new open and independent cloud-based collaboration platform for the printing industry – half way through 2020.

Heidelberg says Zaikio unites all industry players on a single platform. The free Zaikio Account enables each and every user to log into all connected software systems with a single login. The aim is straightforward, standardised data exchange between software, hardware, and the partners involved on the basis of end-to-end automated process chains.

So far some 1300 printers have registered on the platform and set up their own personal Zaikio Account.