Enterprise solutions software: can you compete without it? Software solutions specifically written for the converting business have become the difference between being a profitable company and one that's just treading water.(Special Report)(Business management software)

Go to the store and one of the first questions every consumer asks is, "How much does it cost?" If it costs too much and buying it will break your budget you won't buy it, right? It's the same with converters of flexible packaging. When costing a job, or quoting a price to a customer, often converters don't know their real costs. They'll take a stab at it, an educated guess, and more often than not the wrong choice is made. That's no way to run a business. Especially when a proven software solution is only a phone call away. Because the missing link that separates the winners from the losers in this industry is good, quality costing information.

"The converting industry is low-margin, high-volume. What you'll find is people focusing on those small margins and trying to maximize them through the application of technology. Where you get your biggest bang for the buck is when you really understand the costs associated with the production of each individual job and how it is then composed on the shop floor," explains David Taylor, president of Radius Solutions.

Jacob …