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Kosaido Printing Co., Ltd. - Using Groupmax to encourage communication and improve productivity -

Background for using Groupmax Using the Groupmax system Effects of introducing Groupmax Profile of the company

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"We wanted to construct a new system that would promote our multimedia business throughout the company, and we wanted to establish new business procedures not only at our production sites, but also in our clerical and managment departments.

Our production department has been using a leading-edged network system of host computers, workstations, and personal computers for twenty years. However, our management departments were only using word-processors and stand-alone personal computers, so most of their work was done in analogue style using the telephone, facsimile, and handwritten documents.

We could not easily share information in the company and we feared that valuable information might be lost in the future. This loss might obstruct the improvement of the business process.
Therefore, we decided to introduce groupware in order to encourage the exchange of information between each department and make a company-wide network using the Internet or an intranet as the core of the network.

We installed the personal computers because we wanted to encourage information sharing among management and improve productivity, as well as the use of word-processors and spreadsheets." (Mr. Seiichi Kirita, managing director in charge of the Multimedia Division)

• Business communication relied on the telephone and facsimile. Therefore, Kosaido Printing Co., Ltd. could not communicate with a person who was absent or on a business trip.
• Company-wide information was transmitted by circulation, so it took time for the information to be distributed to all employees.
• It took time to set up a meeting or training course, because schedules were managed by each person.
• Documents were printed on paper and sent by the company mail system.
• Employees in the sales department had to ask employees at the site about the printing schedule every time they placed an order.

• Documents about the business process are reliably sent with electronic mail, so employees can receive reports and quickly respond to events even when they are absent or on a business trip.
• Information about the company and affiliated companies is posted on the bulletin board system, so the information is reported simultaneously to all employees in real time.
• Scheduler enables easy management of schedules.
• Electronic mail enables immediate and simultaneous transmission of multiple documents.
• The operation schedule of the printing system is always displayed on the electronic bulletin board, so any employee in the sales department can comfirm the printing schedule when placing an order.

"We chose Groupmax because Groupmax is easy to use, requires a short time to customize, and provides many facilities designed specifically for Japanese companies.
Our employees like Groupmax because the electronic mail and bulletin board systems are very easy to use and because Groupmax provides a seamless link with the Internet and our intranet.

Currently we are constructing a workflow system to unify management of business procedures from accepting orders in the Sales department to planning, production, and delivery, and to improve the efficiency of business processes that span over different departments. At the same time, we want to use Document Manager to manage form-based documents so all employees can use them regardless of their department. Also, we want to promote the sharing of information and reduction of paper.

Also, we plan on linking Groupmax and our main host computer for printing to enable all employees to access the data on the host from their clients." (Ms. Emi Sato, director of the Personal Computer Promotion Department, Multimedia Division)