Because a primary focus of the Hirt & Carter group is the integration of its systems with those of its clients, it has developed a substantial software capability that enables it to develop customised software to suit a client’s specific needs.
This capability has made it an acknowledged leader in technology and service, with a proven history of saving many millions for its larger clients, particularly in the retail field.
The group uses tailor-made systems and processes to manage the entire print communications process. It is the only company in South Africa to offer such a complete end-to-end service.
The focus on total workflow rather than bits and pieces has produced staff who understand both the entire process and service client needs, and systems that link those involved in strategy, execution, production, delivery, distribution and post-promotion analysis. At every level there are cutting-edge tools and equipment that make the whole cycle function as seamlessly as possible.
Hirt & Carter has tailor-made Job Tracking software that is in daily use by three of the largest retailers in the country, who between them spend hundreds of millions of Rands every year on print advertising.
It offers a web-based portal system that allows online ordering of trade marketing material.
It has specialized catalogue systems for illustration-heavy clients that integrate into control and production systems.
It can include OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) via a range of user-friendly software tools developed to help the marketer or executive extract and analyse software stored in a database.
OLAP integrates data that has been stored in different formats with ease, and can even correlate and spot trends from data that has been captured in a less than perfect form. Of great use in forecasting promotional volumes, it facilitates collaborative planning and helps provide an integrated facility for all those involved in the selling process.
Many Hirt & Carter systems incorporate an electronic version of the traditional print-oriented guard book, which can include television and radio commercials and print ads stored as PDFs. All are accessible on the desktop of any user.
All these systems are made possible by Hirt & Carter’s unique combination of skills – decades of experience in the technical side of pre-media and print, combined with software development skills that are unmatched by any of its competitors in South Africa.