Ingenuity Delivers Powerful Results

Sept. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- One of the most ingenious inventions ever has been delivering powerful results from the time it was invented. From it has come recorded history, literary masterpieces, works of art, mathematical problem solving, musical composition, architectural drawings and the thank you note.  That invention is the pencil.  It has been around in various forms for some 300 years.

Today, the pencil is graphite encased by wood.  It began as a Roman stylus.  Whatever form, it has made it possible to communicate better.  Different concepts over the years have enhanced its appearance and improved its functionality.  The mechanical pencil, the fountain pen, the ballpoint pen, the typewriter, copiers, printing presses and, yes, the computer and computer systems can link their heritage as communications tools to the pencil.

Along the way, each improvement has provided greater value.  One enhancement, the fountain pen, was invented by insurance salesman Lewis Waterman in 1884 after a valuable contract document was destroyed by ink spilling from the pen that he was using.  He patented a pen with a built-in ink well and made the concept of the ink pen better.
Similarly in today's world of complex computer development and software creation, there is an invention that is so ingenious it begs the question:  "How in the world did someone think of that?”  It, too, is a communication tool.

It is not actually a writing, printing or duplicating instrument.  It is a technology that makes it easier, more efficient and less costly to acquire quantities of written documents, art prints, musical scores, technical manuals, annual reports, catalogues or any image that can be put on paper, plastic, textiles, wood, metal or any other substrate. It is a new technology for ordering and buying printing, and, for that matter, all customized goods and services.  Customized goods and services are basically non-inventoried items that are produced according to specifications following the issuance of a purchase order, like commercial printing and direct mail.  

Called the Automated Vendor Selection (AVS) Technology, it does for print procurement what the pencil did for the stylus, the fountain pen for the ink well, and the computer for the typewriter. It makes its possible, with the click of a mouse, to put a print job out for bid to just those printers capable of doing the work.  Those not qualified for the job are not included.  All printers that are considered are pre-approved by the buyer so there is no doubt about their capabilities and dependability when it comes to delivering quality work on time, regardless of price. Each pre-qualified printer is entered into the buyer's database of printers.

"The true uniqueness of AVS Technology becomes apparent when the computer does the automatic matching to create a qualified list of vendors ready to price in a competitive bidding environment," said AVS Technology inventor William Gindlesperger, chief executive officer of e-LYNXX Corporation.  Within that environment, printers know that the buyer sets bidding parameters that encourage low pricing. Typically, this means printers are free to price a job high, low or not at all based on their own respective needs to fill production gaps -- an ongoing challenge for printers since most have 30% or more of their production schedules to fill at any given time. Printers bidding low do not have to worry about the buyer expecting the same low pricing for other work, because all involved know the same printer is unlikely to have open capacity to fill every job the buyer puts out for bid. The winning bidder wins work to keep revenue flowing and staff and equipment busy, and the buyer saves 25% to 50% on the print job.

The process does not stop with the awarding of the job.  The process has just begun, Gindlesperger emphasized.  The communications and workflow system that drives this process tracks and archives every detail, from concept to planning to changes to production, packaging, delivery and invoicing.  It is a secure (no e-mails), web-based system that is tailored to the needs of each buyer.  It also is a system through which the buyer and the printer determine who on their teams should have access and when.  Accountability is established early on, and every decision is documented so all involved know who approved what along the way. This provides 100% transparency.  The archive created for each job is an indelible, auditable and invaluable reference for similar work in the future.

Automated Vendor Selection Technology was invented in 1998 after it became apparent to Gindlesperger that there must be a better way of locating, vetting and contracting with printers.   Face-to-face negotiations, endless interviewing of new printer candidates and lack of competition seemed to be bogging down what could be a streamlined process given the power of computers.  AVS was born.  Patents for it were awarded by the United States Patent Office in 2002, 2008 and 2010. It is today changing how print is bought for license holders.  AVS Technology is a 21st century example of how ingenuity delivers powerful results.

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e-LYNXX works with print buyers to reduce their cost for procured print by 25% to 50% and with printers to win government awarded print jobs and improve their annual profitability from a national average of less than 3% to more than 10%. e-LYNXX also licenses its patented Automated Vendor Selection (AVS) Technology.