While 60% of the company’s volume is
derived from custom book manufacturing it also
does brisk business in its yearbook, web printing,
packaging, and digital book manufacturing divisions.
Friesens
is an employee owned company, and the pride
of ownership is apparent when touring
the four building campus. The equipment and facilities
are clean and the staff is friendly, focused,
and committed to producing quality product. Over
the years Friesen’s has amassed a wide
range of accolades. Three of the most impressive
are its 2004 Hall of Fame election to the NAPL
Management Plus program, three consecutive Canada’s
50 Best Managed Companies honors, and CEO David
Friesen’ selection as 2006 Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year.
These
honors show that the company not only knows
how to operate profitability and with distinction,
it does so in a manner that rewards and values
it’s staff. Yet amidst all the impressive
state of the art hardware; the most strategic
part of this operation may well be that which
is not immediately apparent - the workflow
systems and technologies that the company
uses.
| "It was quickly evident to all of us that Streamline Solutions was different. Laurence and his staff were comitted to seeing that we were successful.” |
These systems not only provide competitive advantage to Friesen clients, they
ensure that the customer support and manufacturing staff have the tools necessary
to maintain the company’s high standards for client service and productivity.
Taking
a tour of Friesens campus is a study in innovation.
From the point of initial sales contact through
final shipping of product, visitors will
immediately recognize that asking the question; “How
can we make it better?” has led to
some unusual improvements. One of the subtle
but powerful differences is the fact that
most officer staff have two computer monitors
on their desktop, and that they are more
productive as a result.
As Friesen Systems and Quality Manager Mike Fehr explains; “We have a
tremendous amount of information and systems available to our staff. Being
able to cross reference files and synchronize multiple views of an application
on two displays at once is extremely helpful.”
PRINTSTREAM BOOK ESTIMATING |
|
Our
Book Estimating is a great example – while
running What If functions on one screen, our
estimator can see the end results on the other
display at the same time. Or they can view
a previous quote while working on a new opportunity.” Having
multiple displays is not the only innovation
one will find in the Estimating team.
Business
analyst Jody Penner indicates; “We are
just in the final stages of rolling out the
new Printstream Book Estimating module that
we have been jointly developing with Streamline
Solutions and Sheridan Book Printing over the
last year. We have been a Printstream user
since 2001, and we are really excited about
what we have been able to accomplish on this module
with (company President) Laurence and the
Streamline team. |
|
