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New questions and answers for RFI / ROI.
This Request for Information / Registration of Interest is specifically for seeking 3rd Party Supply Associates and Partners to help service our wholesale and retail network on a local, regional and / or national basis.
Size of client base that has access to the on-line procurement system?
Currently, we have over 10,000 companies on our system.
Would I receive the Quote Requests directly from the client, or from you?
Directly from the client, and you will set the wholesale and retail price, that the trade or retail client will see.
Exclusivity of preferred suppliers, ie how many similar companies will we be competing with?
Supply positions are strictly limited to ensure worthwhile / manageable volumes. A maximum of 3 partners nationally in each specific service and on average 1-3 suppliers regionally (subject to regional population size).
Would we compete with Preferred Suppliers from our area only ?
Depending on the region, a Preferred Supplier may be the only one in a particular region, and will therefore compete with up to 3 National Partners, should they choose to quote on the job. Clients that prefer to purchase from a local or regional supplier will be informed of a suppliers local, regional or national status.
What are the benefits of this system over buying a franchise?
Unlike a franchise...
- You choose your own pricing and margins
- You keep your own brand and don't just become another 'McDonalds'
- Your clients remain YOUR clients. If at any stage you decide not to continue the supply arrangement with The Production House then you can, without forfeiting your client base to the Franchisor. PLUS YOU GET THE OPTION TO KEEP USING THE SYSTEM FOR YOURSELF.
- You can choose whether or not you want to buy collateral to promote any specials etc.
- There are no minimum volume quotas or target levels that you must achieve to avoid having your franchise cancelled.
- Your retail market is not limited to one suburb,it can be unlimited - allowing you to service anywhere locally, regionally, nationally or even internationally.
Like a franchise...
- You get the opportunity to be part of a national network at sourcing wholesale product EXCEPT unlike the franchise YOU ALSO GET TO utilise the smart online tools to promote YOUR OWN products / services for yourselves.
Is there a guaranteed amount of work that I'll get by being a supplier?
No, simply because a lot of it will be up to the supplier, ie. The license they're running, how many products they promote, their quote response times, pricing, service ability etc.
What happens if you take on three national partners for say digital printing, and I'm a preferred supplier?
Preferred suppliers are regional and will still get an opportunity to quote on regional work. Preferred Suppliers also have the opportunity to apply for Partnership, and are likely to be be given preference over a supply company coming in 'cold', however the final decision over supply partners is at the sole discretion of the The Production House.
What if I have a design business AND a printing business. Can I just sign up for the Associate supplier (as a designer)?
Yes, although this is less likely, as you would be required to use our printing services first.
What happens if I never get any quotes becoming orders?
Then it's likely that your product / service descriptions or the prices you're quoting may need revising. You will get to see how many of the jobs that you've quoted on were handled by another supplier or never went ahead.
I would like to register as an Associate Supplier. Can I have my own branded website or does it have to be in the same style as The Production House?
As an Associate Supplier you get your own branded website based on the same framework as The Production House - but without The Production House branding.
Can this website be integrated into my own or is it separate?
Yes, it can be integrated into your own site by setting up a frameset - and that part of the site will be served up by our servers, but will appear as though it's part of your site.
Will any orders coming in through the site be my own orders, or will I be supplying the product to you?
Any products that you have uploaded on the site yourself will be yours. Any other products from our range of catalogue products would need to be put through to us. For example, if you are a digital printer - then we would make all products that are not digital, available to you for use on your site. Depending on the license you have, you would then create and upload your own digital product range to your own site - and, if licensed as a partner, have the opportunity to display it also on ours.
As an Associate Supplier, can I supply nationally or just regionally?
An Associate Supplier would usually supply regionally. However if we have not filled all partner spots for a specific service industry, then Associate Suppliers will get the opportunity to receive national quotes - but this is not guaranteed.
How many jobs do you envisage I would receive per month - i.e. how soon will I receive my investment back, plus the monthly costs?
How many jobs you receive will be dependent on your product / service offered, your responses to quotes, your own service levels and your pricing structure. The license you apply for will also affect the number of leads / enquiries / orders you receive. In short, a lot of it will depend on you.
What and how much are the Transaction Fees?
Transaction fees vary from 1% - 4.5% depending on license (4.5% INCLUDES on account, DC and credit card charges), and only apply to individual supplier sites.
Cost to an A3 or A2 Printer to become a preferred supplier, initial start up and ongoing commitment?
Setup and initial training : from $7495 - $10k
Monthly : From $99 (transaction fees may apply).
Before making a commitment, can our IT people be briefed on the concept?
Yes. The system is primarily web-driven and the database behind it resides on our servers. PatchPRO is the desktop application you receive which connects to our servers via your web port. It does not require any installation and runs in both Mac OSX, WIndows 98 - Vista and Linux environments.
Is there any support to purchasers after the software application is installed?
Yes. Depending on the license purchased you will receive 1 - 3 months phone and online training, and help links are available within the PatchPRO system. Additional help services are available at the conclusion of the initial training period at an economical per minute rate.
System requirements to run software?
See "Before making a commitment, can our IT people be briefed on the concept?"
Can access be from multiple stations within our offices?
Yes. 3 user licences are included within the licence package. Additional specific PatchPRO licenses are available from $249.
If I become a preferred supplier, what other benefits are available?
Your own e-commerce website.
Your own licensed procurement and customer management system.
Opportunity to quote to our lead-generated clients.
You talk about a revolutionary way to promote our business and generate qualified leads. Can you be more specific?
Sure. First, I think a recent email from one customer sums it up best...
..."Wow, you offer so many services, getting all these types of printing from one supplier will be so much more convenient, that is excellent".
Depending on your license, suppliers will have the opportunity to promote their products / services and a range of complimentary products that they 'clip the ticket on' through;
- their own integrated site
- The Production House site
- Associated resellers, suppliers and partners sites
Imagine having multiple sites - giving you multiple exposures to clients throughout New Zealand - and only paying for the one site! Plus, registered clients may request quotes. You receive the quote requests directly, respond, and then you have the opportunity to upload your products to those multiple sites. Will people do business online? Ask 'TradeMe'. 96% of NZ printers do not even have their own e-commerce site, let alone a supply network - so, yes, this IS revolutionary!
If we all use our own price structures, how would a higher priced supplier be able to differentiate and justify a higher price in a quote?
Good question. The same thing could be said for Toyota and Lada. They both get you from A to B... the difference is how they're promoted ie. the features, benefits, the emotional drive and marketing / promotions.
PatchPRO allows you to;
- create your own product descriptions
- upload a sample picture
- state turnaround times from signoff
The system will also display;
- if you are local, regional or national
- how many products you've sold
and general feedback.
Remember, people do not buy on price alone.
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Can I advertise your product range from my own website?
Yes. From as little as $99 a month (setup from only $249) you can promote a huge product range to new and existing customers, as yours - all pre-set up and ready to go, immediately saving you hundreds of hours in product loading and setup. You can also chOose from 2 different pricing schemes.
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Can I set my own prices?
Yes. To do this you will need to have the full PatchPRO system.
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What if I decide not to renew my monthly fee / use the system anymore?
In the unlikely event of this happening, your license will still allow you to become a supply partner for any other company or organisation utilising the same current system version and including you into their supply network.
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Can I onsell the license?
Yes. The potential purchaser would be able to use the system for themselves, however they would need to be approved by TPH before becoming a TPH supplier. A re-integration fee would apply to the purchaser wanting to take it over, as well as any standard monthly costs.
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How much does the PatchPRO system cost?
Pricing starts from as little as $2495. See attached documentation.
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Can I have my own branded website without the PatchPRO system?
Yes. This will allow you to run a basic catalogue site - with an existing product range. If you want to load your own products and prices online then you will need a Supplier lite version of PatchPRO.
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How do I become a supply associate / partner of The Production House?
Simply register your interest above complete the initial ROI form. We will then contact you to find out a bit more about you and give you some further details on what happens. If we both believe there is a synergy between our two companies, then we'll discuss where to from there. There will be some requirements that we both need to check off and once those have been attended to we can get started.
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Is there a cost to becoming an associate / partner of The Production House?
Yes. Based on the industry and service you're in, pricing is from $2495 to get set up with the system, and then monthly costs from $99 plus a minor transaction cost.
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Are you making this available to every print supplier.
No. We have set specific limits on the number of supply associates and partners that will be a part of our supply network. Our goal is to only have 3 core partners from each main service ie. 3 x A3 offset printers, 3 x Digital houses, etc. We want to ensure that our clients have the opportunity to receive 3 quotes from suppliers - and that our supply partners are assured that they have a fair chance at winning quotes requests.
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Isn't this just going to create a price war?
No. We don't believe so. The model focuses on making it easier for clients via a seamless procurement system - not necessarily the cheapest price. Supply partners will need to have a high quality - great value for money approach based around quality, service and price. In our experience the cheapest deals are at the sacrifice of quality and service, and therefore NOT the type of value proposition we wish to support.
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How do I know I'm getting real quote requests and not just 'tyre kickers'?
Supply partners will be able to see the number of quote requests a client has requested in a 12 month period, the number of quotes that have become jobs, and the number of jobs the client has ordered in total.
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Can I personally contact the client?
That will depend on the product / service being offered. Contact details will be displayed (subject to the service level / industry) once supply partners have responded and the client accepts the quote / estimate. The quoting process will remain 'blind' until a quote is selected.
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Can I host my own company website with you?
Yes. Contact us for further details.
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Do I have to pay the hosting / maintenance fee or can I have the system hosted with my current provider?
Unless you are looking at licencing a full server system, we host the system to ensure all server systems are adequately maintained.
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