All being well, customers will also be able to use the platform to order everything from printing blankets, coating plates, and special blankets to print finishing (postpress) consumables and proofing papers before the end of the year.

Zaikio Procurement makes purchasing materials easier for print shops. Procurement staff can check the availability and specific prices of their materials and order them directly on a single platform. By giving print shops access to their portfolios, stock levels, and prices, the participating suppliers themselves also save a great deal of time when it comes to order processing. Management information system (MIS) providers can obtain easy access to the platform, too, which means print shops can place orders directly from their centralized MIS.

“We firmly believe that Zaikio will play a key role in the industry’s further digitization in the future, so it was a must for us to join the platform early on,” says Jörg Richter, Managing Director of Richter & Menzel.

In parallel to its market penetration in German-speaking countries, Zaikio is also actively working on internationalization. A few months ago, for instance, it introduced Premier Paper – one of the UK’s leading paper suppliers – as a new partner.

“We’re already in discussions with further suppliers throughout Europe. Our goal is to establish Zaikio Procurement as the go-to procurement platform for the entire European printing industry,” explains Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer.

There’s plenty of added value for suppliers, too. Direct access to their portfolio and prices eliminates the need for a lot of phone calls and e-mail correspondence. Alexander Stangel, Sales Director at Streb AG, has the following to say about the collaboration: “When it comes to supplying printing blankets for offset presses, we have long enjoyed a close and trusting partnership with Heidelberg. We are now digitizing Streb AG’s entire range by combining it on a single procurement platform, meaning we are able to offer our attractive portfolio to a wider circle of customers and users.”

Zaikio boosting options on procurement platform

Zaikio Procurement will now also be offering products for prepress and quality assurance via the platform. For example, iQIP – a proven specialist in web-based quality monitoring in the printing sector – is becoming part of Zaikio Procurement and adding proofing materials from CGS ORIS to the platform. These will be available throughout Europe on an exclusive basis. “Zaikio will help us get closer to our customers and offer users of the platform a digital solution for material procurement. As an SME, it would otherwise be impossible for us to implement our plans on this kind of scale,” says Stefan Spengler, CEO of iQIP.

Zaikio is already in discussions with all major suppliers and aims to facilitate material procurement with its open, freely accessible platform. Other interested suppliers can also connect with Zaikio and get in touch at www.zaikio.com/partner.