As well as completely integrating with Impact, Arden Software’s powerful, market leading CAD suite, WEBcnx is also a hugely powerful project management tool, handling projects from the first point of customer contact, through design, virtual 3-D proofing, design approval and graphic design, to tooling manufacture. ”Just as an example of how it can improve workflow, triggers can be set so that email notifications go to particular individuals or groups, reminding them of the tasks they have due,” explains Jim. “Something like that means that projects never get stuck with any one person for longer than is absolutely necessary.”
By managing every element of every project, WEBcnx significantly reduces the amount of repeated procedures packaging producers have to go through, while also eliminating errors, and maintaining a secure, auditable record of every request, amendment and document. With a dashboard style interface the system includes advanced, customisable reporting and analysis tools that allow managers to track performance, identify the most profitable accounts or market sector, and assess the performance of suppliers.
American success story
The advantages of WEBcnx have not been lost on the North American market, where the company has met with considerable success since opening its subsidiary a year ago. The North American division has already signed up several large corporations and independents, all of whom cite the benefits that WEBcnx, Impact, Arden Software, and its partners, bring to the table. “For example, our strategic alliance with Kodak means that brand owners and packaging manufacturers can bring new or redesigned products to market more quickly,” explains Chris Rogers, General Manager of Arden Software. “Kodak was excited to tie Arden’s Impact structural design applications in with their CTP, proofing products, and consumables, so that together we can offer customers a complete, seamless workflow from product design through to print production. The two ranges of products complement each other perfectly.”
The alliance between Arden Software and Kodak involves the use of special implementation teams, pulled from both companies, who deliver the specific requirements of each customer.
As well as partnering Kodak, Arden Software is also part of Oracle’s Partner Network, membership of which ensures that integrations between Oracle Applications and applications written by Arden Software have been tested and work together as designed. This reduces risk, improves system implementation cycles, and provides for smoother upgrades and simpler maintenance. “It’s gratifying that big brands like Kodak and Oracle have identified Arden Software as a company they want to have as a long term partner,” says Chris. “They’re working strategically with us because they see the value in our products and services, and they know that we will still be growing and developing tomorrow.”
The opening of Arden Software North America heralded a shift in the company’s distribution model, one which clearly has paid dividends. “Traditionally we have worked through a network of distributors around the world,” explains Chris. “This is the first direct subsidiary we have established, and its success is largely down to potential customers liking the strengthened support available in their home country.”
Arden Software was established in England twenty one years ago, and now employs twenty two staff at its head office in Marple, on the outskirts of Greater Manchester. Another six staff are to be found at the new North America office in Park City, Utah.
“We’re first and foremost a software house,” says Chris. “But alongside this we have specialist teams of software engineers, support engineers, training personnel, and technical consultants who combine their talents to create and implement workable solutions for every sector of the packaging industry. Over the lifetime of the company we have developed a strong ethos of producing best in class products and achieving high levels of customer satisfaction, whether those customers are small sheet plants or large corporate carton makers.”
Impact in 3-D
Until the development of WEBcnx, the company had concentrated solely on its Impact CAD product, which has become the market leading solution for structural design and die manufacture. Using Impact’s design components, users can quickly and easily create drawings from scratch, while libraries of standard designs maximise productivity without compromising customisation. These standard designs include literally thousands of design styles for corrugated, folding carton, point of purchase and plastic packaging.
A key feature of Impact is its range of design and manufacture tools for die-cutting. These extend from tools for designing cutting layouts, rubber laydowns, matrix, strippers and blankers, to drivers for a host of manufacturing machines such as plotters, lasers and water jet cutters.
With a worldwide install base of over 7500 users for Impact, the importance of a web-based support system has become clear, which has led to Arden Software establishing the Impactcad.net support and download web site. Here Impact users can ask questions, make suggestions and get access to troubleshooting articles, frequently asked questions, product tutorials and downloads. The site also supports RSS feeds, which allow users to be automatically notified about new content via an RSS newsfeed reader on their office or home computer, PDA, or even on their cell phone.
With Impact currently on version 5, September’s Print 09 exhibition in Chicago will see the launch of Impact 2010, which will offer a significant upgrade for existing users and will include a key new feature, 3-D TruView. “There’s a move in the industry towards ultra realistic 3-D virtual models,” says Chris. “We’ve been modelling packages with graphics on them for many years, but now the move is to make these models much more realistic in the way they display characteristics such as board textures, embossing & debossing, foils, varnish areas, rule types, and even Braille. It’s as close to a perfect representation of the finished product as possible with today’s technologies.”
With the move towards collaborative web-based solutions such as WEBcnx, brand owners and designers also want to see their products at much earlier stages in the approval process. Chris says that top flight 3-D images produced by Impact’s 3-D TruView technology meet this need and can allow users to proof, mark up, and approve designs virtually. “I think we have got the jump on others in the field by integrating 3-D TruView in the standard version of Impact 2010.
Impact and WEBcnx are products built from the ground up, and with powerful databases at their core and a comprehensive set of programming interfaces, both are highly scalable and highly customisable.
“It means we can mould both products to whatever the customer requires,” says Jim. “Whether they are a large corporate or a small independent, whatever ERP or scheduling systems they have, and whatever hardware they are using in design and pre-press, we can pull it all together for them. It’s not just about design anymore; it’s about the enterprise.”
