Web to Print from Vpress turbocharges Route 1 Print’s growth engine

Route 1 Print’s long-term strategy is to harness cutting-edge technology so it can deliver new levels of value to its trade-print customers.

Indeed, in an increasingly competitive industry, printers need to find a way to get noticed for all the right reasons. Print quality has never been higher, turnaround times have never been faster, and prices have never been cheaper. So, what can they do differently?

Part of the answer that Route 1 Print is delivering to its customers is the partnership it has with Vpress.

“It has allowed us to significantly streamline integrated accounts using Vpress technology. Not only that, it has helped us strengthen customer service and ultimately provided a tool for our clients to win contracts they wouldn’t have done otherwise –– specifically through the creation of bespoke ordering portals,” explains Sarah Kilcoyne-Guilliam, Head of Sales and Integration at Route 1 Print.

Sarah adds: “We want to be an engine of growth for our customers and Vpress’s Coreprint Web to Print platform is helping us turbo charge that ambition.”

Sarah also confirmed the usage of Vpress technology has led to a significant increase in streamlining when it comes to ordering process for Route 1 Print.

A key example is that it saves more than 5 minutes for every order directed through Coreprint – the advanced Web to Print system from Vpress – versus processing it in a traditional way.
This means when processing an average of 500 jobs through the system, Route 1 Print can eliminate over 40 hours of laborious and repetitive work. But that is not the only critical efficiency saving, as with the Coreprint system, Route 1 Print can support its account managers with automated processing and status reporting for its customers.

A strong partnership

The partnership between the two organisations began in 2017 and Vpress was initially brought in to support Bluetree Group’s Instantprint brand. Since then, Route 1 Print – part of the Bluetree Group – has grown exponentially to be one of the largest trade printers in the UK and a key surgical mask manufacturer for the NHS.

Vpress meanwhile has expanded internationally and helped support its customers weather a seismic and rapid transition to e-commerce models due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Sarah continues: “Route 1 Print is trade only, and for a segment of our clients, an integrated solution offers a big saving in transactional costs. Coreprint – Web to Print system and its flexibility is a really good fit for these organisations, and it means their customers can order directly through it.”

Many of Route 1 Print’s customer’s use its Vpress-based systems –– with a common denominator being that its extensive integration features mean that manual order processing becomes a thing of a past and can plug directly into Route 1 Print’s workflow.

“When integrations became a key focus point for Bluetree Group, Vpress was a key ally, as it assisted us in supporting our customers with very little technical knowledge. It helped to get them up and running online quickly and professionally,” continues Sarah.

Sarah went on to explain that when customers start ordering regularly through their Vpress-backed system, and find how easy it is to use, they funnel additional trade work to Route 1 Print.

This is because the work flowing through the system is often low-margin – and so it frees their print business customers up to focus on complex, bespoke or value-added speciality print projects.

Additionally, Sarah says Route 1 Print can also happily take on bespoke projects through the system when their trade customers require overflow capacity, or a longer run makes it less economical to do in-house.

Strength in flexibility

Another key facet to Route 1 Print’s working relationship with Vpress is their proactive approach to building bespoke systems and modules to assist with the rapid evolution and expansion of the operation.

“They always say ‘yes’. They set out the time line and cost of a development project realistically, but that attitude to tackling any challenge is a really important element of our relationship,” says Sarah.

A core focus of Vpress is ‘lightning quick’ customers service says Sarah, who emphasises: “When you put in a ticket and ask for something to be done, then it’s always less than an hour before they are on it.”

The next stage for Route 1 Print is for its customers to be able to quickly and seamlessly integrate its entire product line-up into their e-commerce portal –– so there are no added stages or barriers to specification and ordering.

Sarah continues: “Vpress wants its customers to succeed, as the more we grow and they support us in our ambitions, the better it is for both of us.

“You would think that was the norm these days, but it isn’t. Most vendors sell you a product, charge you a licence, and it’s up to you what you do with it. Vpress are proactive and help give us ideas to maximise our usage of their technology and resources.”

Route 1 Print is also increasingly seeing a trend where its trade print customers need a full ‘self-service’ platform for their clients. But critically, this is so they can spend more time building a partnership with those businesses outside of the day-to-day work of transacting print projects.

Sarah concludes: “Vpress ultimately gives us a tool to help our trade customers be more profitable, deliver more effectively for their clients, while being safe in the knowledge that we are simply an extension of their factory.”