Impressions - February 2020 - 46

With DTG products' quick completion time,
inventory updates seamlessly occur in the system
and are pushed to the marketplaces in real time.
icated to each particular marketplace may be advantageous for
processing orders more efficiently. An ERP makes these workflow
automations possible and identifies cost and time savings.
4. Use barcodes to track garments. To effectively track
orders, a barcode label is produced and placed on each garment
when the item is picked. For each operational step of the process,
the item is scanned to provide access to all production and order
information - referencing job details and artwork. Integrated
data from your ERP allows for barcode scanning with handheld
scanners, providing real-time access to order information, permitting completion of operational updates in the order process
and identifying employees with user-based permissions to specific
order steps.
5. Stage for production when the order is received. After picking the garment, the production team scans the barcode
to determine an item's readiness to be prepped and staged for
production using a warehouse-management system (WMS) and
a mobile production application inherent in the ERP solution.
Order information appears on a screen in the production area to
provide specific job details, including the graphic, for the printer
to start the printing process.
This is an efficient way to communicate job specs to production
runners. Barcode data provides integrated information that is sent
from the ERP solution to the DTG printer, which automatically
adds the job to the queue. Each machine's capacity is evaluated to
balance orders across equipment lines to ensure efficiency.
Sharing data seamlessly between
e-commerce sites, such as Amazon
and Shopify, and your ERP solution
streamlines and simplifies the orderentry process, making manual order
entry obsolete.

Using a mobileWMS enables quick turnaround times for staging
and completing jobs in production.
6. Locate the correct artwork with production technology tools and spool to the DTG printer. As a garment makes
its way to the printer, scanning the barcode confirms the specific
artwork, placement and other job details required for printing.
The integrated ERP system maintains and locates the approved
artwork, keeping records of historical order and artwork updates
- as well as client approval - to reduce manual steps and limit
mistakes in the final product.
7. Complete the appropriate finishing steps prior to
shipping. Before shipping, complete the required finishing steps
detailed in the order instructions that indicate what happens after
printing. Does the garment need to be folded or wrapped, or are
there other requirements?The customer provides this information
during the ordering process.
For this to be a viable option, the ability to add instructions
must be available during the order process on the e-commerce
site, maintained within the ERP solution and communicated
throughout the workflow processes to ensure correct fulfillment.
8. Use shipping integrations to update marketplaces
and streamline order fulfillment. Details regarding the shipping instructions for the final product is one of the last steps in
the order-fulfillment process. This includes when and how the
item will ship.With shipping integrations to the ERP solution,
addresses can be verified, shipping labels produced and tracking
information sent seamlessly to the marketplace and
customer.The solution identifies when consolidating items or jobs based on "ship-to" location
is available and should be used when possible to
reduce shipping costs.
As a DTG-printing business seeking profitability
in a competitive marketplace,embracing automated
integrations and workflows with an ERP solution
will help you meet customers'on-demand printing
needs.The time and resources required to reorganize business processes, implement a business
management solution and achieve automation can
be daunting.The appeal of competitive advantages,
organizational structure, capitalizing on new markets and technology, and overall company growth
are drawing increased attention to automation
workflow recommendations and solutions.
These DTG workflow best practices can help
synchronize your order processes with your initiatives for growth, allowing you get the most out of
your company and meet the industry's challenges. 
Adam Brister is the director of Impress and FlexPack. He
has been with OSAS for more than 11 years and oversees
the Impress division by focusing on ensuring technology
solutions meet current and future market demands. For more
information or to comment on this article, email Adam at
Adam.Brister@osas.com.

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Impressions - February 2020

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