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MWM heading forward to 2020

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Looking back, 2019 has been an intensive, challenging and successful year for MWM! We have signed deals with new clients. We have extended our collaboration with loyal customers and also initiated exciting internal projects in India. All this exemplifies how MWM is constantly in the process of developing and customizing support at the highest level.

Printing clients are updating systems

Before heading off for Christmas check a couple of examples below of printing plant clients that have chosen new Print 365 modules or updated their earlier systems to rationalize the work process in prepress, press and post-press.

Collaboration with Pressgrannar extended

MWM is supplying Pressgrannar’s four printing plants with Print 365 pre-calculation and post-calculation tools. The customer producers 13 daily newspapers in central Sweden and a large amount of external printing material.

This latest deal follows on a from a previous agreement in which MWM supplied Pressgrannar with printing modules within the MWM Print 365 system. The pre-calculation solution enables Pressgrannar to calculate the printing costs of staff, paper, colour, press-plates and time required in the presses. It gives details about the expected costs. Post-calculation, on the other hand, analyses data from the actual production. This can only be accurately measured when a comparison is available – through pre- calculation. The budgetary tool, for the invoicing system, also acts as a planning system for prognosis and creates profit in the long run.

Peter Ihre, CEO of Pressgrannar, welcomes the upgrade to the company’s system.

“Our present system for pre- and post-calculation is outdated and limited”, he says.“We need better tools and better opportunities to follow up the financial aspect of our production. And now we can do that, as we have a system adjusted to our needs.”

“We have a long and successful relationship with MWM which has supplied different systems that support our business. MWM is a competent and skilled supplier of systems for the industry and also skilled in implementing the projects with our staff.”

Gota Media simplifies production and administration

Gota Media is to introduce MWM’s Azure cloud-based Production Planning, Copytrack and Post Production modules at its Borås Tidning Tryckeri and Sydostpressarna printing plants.

Installation comes as Gota Media is about to take over 100 percent ownership of the Borås Tidning Tryckeri printing plant at the end of 2019.

Johan Lundin, CEO of Printing and Distribution at Gota Media, says:“We found that Print 365 was appropriate for us instead of building modules based on different systems. MWM has the modules that can help us with our main objectives – production and management control. We want to rationalize the work process and simplify invoicing.”

Tommy Johnsson, CEO at Borås Tidning Tryckeri, who operates the printing site, welcomes the new system for monitoring and managing the workflow.

“Earlier we needed five to ten hours per week for manual planning and there is also a tendency to duplicate work,” he says. “In the future, the time needed for planning will be reduced, as will the risk of making mistakes in planning and production.”

Borås Tidning Tryckeri has already used Copytrack, but will now shift to an upgraded and cloud-based version. Copytrack ensures operations are run more securely, overviewing the printing process in real time and terminating automatically when the correct number of newspapers has been printed.

“Today we only print about 50 extra copies per production and since we installed Copytrack, we’ve reduced overprinting by 80-90 percent,” says Johnsson. “It saves us money and we boast that we’re among the best in the country at reducing overprinting.”

The Post Production tool will be introduced to modernize and streamline the administration process. An advanced economical system, the tool calculates and includes all agreements and contract details, so as to avoid invoicing mistakes.

The core of Gota Media’s printing business is to provide a local printing facility for western and south-eastern Sweden mainly by printing 30 local newspapers, but also the national Bonnier newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Dagens Industri for distribution in western and southern Sweden. Gota Media’s Sydostpressarna printing plant in Karlskrona will also implement the MWM-modules.

“The two printing plants will be monitored and administrated in the same manner,” Johan Lundin says. “With one system, we can do more effective productional and economical comparisons. We can get common key figures and set goals and benchmarks for efficient production benefits. MWM is one of few providers of systems, that enable us to achieve this.”

New digital solutions headhunt subscribers

New strategies are required today to reach subscribers in a world flooded with free news. MWM has broad experience of working with digitalization projects in the Scandinavian market. This market is already in the tight grip of digitalization and MWM is now in a position to optimize solutions for companies on the continent too.

German and Dutch media companies are digitalizing

The Dutch Erdee Media Group and German newspaper group ZGO Zeitungsgruppe Ostfriesland are developing their digital data platforms together with MWM.

MWM has extensive experience of digitalization at Scandinavia’s foremost media companies. In Scandinavia media operators have been experiencing a decline in print circulation as readers have switched wholeheartedly to consumption of digital news. The media companies have been monitoring developments from several systems that collect customer data collection in order to benefit from the new situation. However, they have lacked a complete and analysed overview of customers. MWM provides them with a solution by offering a framework for working with the customer journey through the MWM Media 365 cloud-based data platform. The platform provides insights, analytics and real-time dashboards for media organizations. The aim is to increase the number of digital subscribers by developing new strategies, improving content and setting out a customer journey for the readers. MWM offers the Scandinavian model to several European media markets today.

Readers of German newspaper Ostfriesen-Zeitung (OZ) were already introduced to paid digital content in 2016. Its readers showed great interest in visiting the website but despite this the increase in digital subscribers had been slow. ZGO Zeitungsgruppe Ostfriesland, which owns OZ, therefore turned to MWM Group for guidance in June 2019. The goal of the digitalization project is to become more data driven and to increase the digital subscribers to 15,000. MWM can guide publishers in reducing trial and error in the decision-making processes, provide insights, analytics and real-time dashboards. The system can quickly be up and running, as it is based on the experience of testing different paid models over many years.

Emma Bakovic, consultant at MWM, says:“With the help of Media 365, ZGO will receive insights about their customers and what content seems to be key for driving customer acquisition. The customer journey is crucial and continuously needs to be optimized as more findings and insights are revealed. This is the path to increase digital revenue.”

The Dutch media company Erdee is in a similar situation with its regional newspaper. MWM is currently working with Erdee’s the digital products, the digital offering to subscribers and the e-paper. The platform also includes printed products as it gives an overview of the customer offering, in addition, the platform leads the print customers towards the digital sphere through new insights.

Developments behind the scenes

MWM is not just reaching out for clients, after all the task of perfecting and customizing our products is the main goal for MWM, in order for us to be at the leading edge of technology and demand.

Centre for development established in India

Activities in India have taken a big leap forward in 2019 through an establishment of a development section for Print 365 in Chennai.

Developers Irshaad Abdul, Kamlesh Bokdia and Vinoth Kumar are working with and further developing products related to Print 365. Since spring 2019 they have been involved in customizing the modules for some of our key clients, such as Polaris, and they will continuously be involved in client support. The business will be expanded early next year, as another two senior developers will be hired in India.

Tony Svensson, CEO of MWM, sees great benefits in the project.
‘’We get 2,000 development hours per employee and with five employees we have 10,000 development hours for assisting clients. This orientation offers us flexibility. We can engage in bigger projects and find faster solutions for our clients.”

In Stockholm, Haseeb Baluch, scrum master at MWM, handles the daily contact and follow-up with the team in India. He also conveys orders between purchasers Philip Petersson and Björn Nickau at MWM. In the Stockholm office Henrik Edström, CTO and reviewer, approves the solutions according to the market’s most up-to-date development standards.

Young adults bring new knowledge

Competence has increased in the Stockholm office as additional staff has been employed.

One aspect of looking forward is also about scouting for young adults. Dina Chanyalew and Miro Bakovic have joined the team in Stockholm in 2019 within the Media business field and specifically Media 365.

Miro Bakovic, who has studied computer science at KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, has been employed as a software developer. He is mainly working with back-end coding.

Dina Chanyalew joined MWM in summer as a consultant trainee for a year-long programme. The programme provides insights into different roles and business fields through work experience in various projects. At the end of the programme the consultant takes on the role of an expert.

MWM aims to offer trainee programmes to more ambitious young adults.

Great expectations for 2020

A quick glance in the calendar for 2020 shows that several agreements will be put into action. MWM is looking forward to next year with confidence and expectation.

What’s the latest buzz in the media industry?

Which paths lead to profitability, efficiency and growth for media companies? What are the topics of tomorrow? The Event of Key Figures will offer valuable input into these areas.

The MWM Event of Key Figures takes place on 15-16 of January in Trondheim. This annual event will focus on Norway in 2020, which is why it is being organized in Trondheim, where media company Polaris has its headquarters. The gathering, which will bring together 30-35 representatives from 23 printing plants in Sweden and Norway, gives an opportunity to network, debate and analyse present issues within print- and media-related topics as well as printing plant visits.

Two of the keynote speakers at the event are: Per-Axel Koch, CEO at Polaris Media, on the media industry in Norway and the investment in Stampen and Haakon Onstad, CEO of Polaris Distribution, on how to handle effective newspaper distribution and growing complexity. Other speakers will include John Kvadsheim, CEO of Amedia Print and Distribution and Magnus Henriksson, sales manager at SCA.

But before we look forward to 2020, let’s enjoy Christmas!
MWM wants to wish all its partners, clients and future collaborators a Wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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