Setup - Operations in printIQ

Setup - Operations in printIQ




printIQ implementation strategy

Planning your operations and structure


Introduction: What is an operation?

Within printIQ, we have a concept of an operation which is a task that is completed on a job. One or more operations are then completed in a pre-defined order to form the manufacturing process.  An operation is the high level task under which you define materials, labour and machinery which determines the method by which the operation is to be carried out on any particular job.

An operation can be service or product based with the result being a traditional finished good or alternatively, it can produce a digital product or service.

The operation is a key component within printIQ as the majority of pricing is driven from the operation, so if you understand this you’re well on the way to mastering printIQ.


If there is one thing to remember, it is that in printIQ, an operation is the high level task and it is the components relating to the operation that defines how the task is performed and how it is priced.


Overview of the structure








An explanation of printIQ terminology



Operation

A task that is performed during the manufacturing process.  Generally an operation is completed on a job in a specific order.

Component

An attribute of an operation that defines how the operation is to be carried out, e.g. which materials, labour and machine resources will be used and how will it be priced.

Parameter

An attribute of an operation that modifies the way that the operation is to be carried out. Generally it is used to specify quantities to be used on an operation.

Operation question

An attribute of an operation that captures operation specific information about that task. Sometimes known as a Quote Question, they have no pricing implications and serves to capture production / instructional type information.

Quote  question

A question / information capture option that relates to a product on a quote. It is more high level than an operation question.

Simplified quote

The estimating / ordering process available within printIQ that is used by customers and less technical staff. It introduces a child proof layer over the top of the estimating process to ensure that you only offer products that your factory can produce.

Custom quote

The estimating process used by trained users familiar with your factory capabilities. It provides more flexibility within the estimating process to accommodate more complex / less frequent requests.

Cost price

The pricing layer within printIQ that represents the true direct costs of manufacturing, i.e. raw materials, labour and machine usage for the product being produced.  

Cost price is driven and controlled by the Component record

Cost plus price

The secondary pricing layer that can be used to add indirect costs and overheads to the cost price or alternatively, can be used to deliver a base sell price.

Cost price is driven and controlled by the Component record

Wholesale price – mark-up layer 2

This is a mark-up layer which is added to the Cost Plus price to add margin to the costing elements of the job. It adjusts the price of the quote by adding / removing from the total price and does not adjust each operation within the quote.

Wholesale price is driven and controlled by the Wholesale Pricelist that is assigned to a Factory and / or Site.

“Wholesale” is our standard term and can be adjusted to suit your business. It is generally used to deliver a transfer price to resellers, brokers or sales reps from which they can add additional mark-up.

Retail price - mark-up layer 3

This is the final layer of mark-up that adjusts the wholesale price of the quote. Again, the term “retail” can be adjusted to suit your business.

Retail price is driven and controlled by the Retail pricelist which is assigned to a customer. It is generally used by resellers, brokers or sales reps to complete minor adjusts needed to close the deal or where there is potential to increase margin.



Planning the structure of your operations

When setting up printIQ, you effectively have 4 options when deciding how to structure your tasks and related selections. 

Depending on which option you use, the user experience when completing an order or constructing a quote, will be different.


Multiple
operations


Component
selection 




Operation
parameters


Operation
questions


In this section, we look at each option in more detail including why you would use the approach and what are the up and downsides of each.


Multiple operations

This approach is more like how you would set up a traditional print MIS with very defined operations with the name defining exactly what it does. In this approach, the components would be more simplistic as the task is defined more by the operation description.

  • Operation selection is available within the Simplified ordering process as a filter where you can separate out your filters by categories.
  • Operation selection is available within the Custom quoting process as Side / Section, Job or extra based operation types. Within each type, you can add groupings to keep similar operations together for ease of selection.


Up-sides

Down-sides
  • You can have more defined operations that are specifically intended for a single task
  • More suitable when you are using operation parameters or questions as the information captured can be more targeted to the operation rather than the component
  • More appropriate when you need to be more specific about department, reporting and general ledger codes on the basis that these are assigned at an operation level.
  • There are potentially more choices for a user and it relies on them knowing what to choose
  • This approach is less in keeping with the child-proof nature of simplified quoting where estimating is pitched at a less technical user or a customer.

Component selection

Component selection is all about the user choosing which of the component records relating to the selected operation they want to use on this particular quote. Generally, printIQ makes this decision for you based on the most appropriate component record. However, in this scenario, you are allowing the user to decide. You would do this because the options are subjective, they may be something we can’t determine from the specifications provided or where you simply want the user to choose themselves.

  • Component selection is available within the Simplified ordering process as a sub filter under each operation.
  • Component selection is available within the Custom quoting process by selecting a component once you choose an operation.


Up-sides

Down-sides
  • The user sees fewer options to choose from so is a more simplistic approach with a reduced chance of picking the wrong thing
  • Achieve consistency between pricing within Simplified and Custom quotes
  • Separate prices are calculated for Cost and Cost+ which means you can margin each operation independently
  • You achieve a consistent setup with all pricing based around the component record
  • The component selected is then displayed on the pricing grids so that you can troubleshoot and edit the selection later
  • The operations are more generic with rules held in the component – reduced visibility for users which may be a good or bad thing
  • In plants where you have a lot of equipment, it can mean duplicated setup.  This is minimised by the concept of sharing component records from one operation to another
  • There is more visibility over margin for staff. This can be an issue for some business owners that do not wish to give that level of transparency




Operation parameters

This technique allows you to have an increased level of control over quantity, price and time. It’s generally used when the information is subjective, it cannot be read from the job specs or where you want specific details specified by the user. 



Up-sides

Down-sides
  • It’s a perfect way to get more exact information about the specs of a job.
  • A good way to manage raw materials on a job where the number of units is variable.
  • Using multipliers and overrides allows you to be more specific about quantities and units of measure on a job.
  • There is no child proofing linked to parameters so it is a direct adjustment to the operation.
  • It is not available to customers within Simplified quoting on the basis that there is no validation or child proofing layer
  • It should only be offered to staff on Simplified quoting where they can be expected to insert sensible inputs
  • Parameters apply to the operation itself and apply across all quantities. They cannot be applied to each quantity

Operation questions

This technique allows you to capture additional information about an operation that are important to the job specification but does not affect price.  The general purpose is to provide essential information to be displayed on the Job Bag and avoid having to contact the customer during the job’s production process. Operation questions can be optional or mandatory and they can be delayed until quote acceptance / Checkout to ensure that the initial pricing phase can be completed without wasting time on capturing additional data.


Up-sides

Down-sides
  • They’re a good way to capture data with a child proof element added
  • A good way to capture very specific information about a particular task so information capture is focused around the task at hand.
  • The application reminds the user when they have failed to enter important info
  • Operation parameters do not affect price
  • Operation questions relate to the operation itself rather than the specific component record




Things to consider when deciding how to structure your setup

When deciding how best to structure your operations and pricing setup within printIQ, you might like to consider the following:


Concept

Multiple
operations

Component
Selection

Operation
Parameter

Operation
Questions

Affects pricing

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Minimises the number of selections for a user

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Available in Simplified quotes for staff

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Available in Simplified quotes for customers

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Provides the child proof layer/validation to ensure only valid selections are made

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Available in Custom Quotes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Ability to pre-set on a Custom Quote template

Yes

No

No

No

Associating a department code

Yes

No

No

No

GL account assignment

Yes

No

No

No

Assigning Reporting Codes

Yes

No

No

No

Will pricing remain in place when you edit the job

Yes

Yes

No

N/A



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