Dealers--Changing Distribution Models

Electronic data interchange (EDI)—a subset application technology within e-commerce—is not a new concept, yet it is finding new applications facilitating transactions between members of the print supply chain. "Time is the biggest competitor that we have today," states Fred Heinkel, vice president of sales and marketing for PrimeSource, citing the effect that tools such as e-mail and fax machines have on his company's transactions. Now accustomed to such instantaneous communication, commercial printers want quick turnaround from their distribution vendors: fast order submission, fast response, fast results. In the early 1990s, PrimeSource developed an EDI solution—Remote Management System—to keep pace with the increasing speed of its clients' businesses.