With some 285 magazines and newspapers in 20 countries, more than 12,500 employees and sales of about € 2.44 billion in the 2004 financial year, the customer is one of Europe’s largest printer and publisher. In 2004, the operating earnings before interest and tax (Operating EBIT) amounted to € 215 million. With foreign sales accounting for 62 percent of total sales, the customer’s foreign alignment renders it one of the world’s most international magazine publishers.

Initial situation

It is 1999. The new millennium is around the corner and the customer is facing the wide-ranging year-2000 problem. The company’s own attempts at migrating the existing database and solving the problem failed. Ultimately, the printer and publisher commissioned www Bitmanager AG with the task of developing and implementing a new system that supports all processes. With some 12,500 employees, 285 different products in total more than 5 million subscribers and a timescale of just 8 months, it was a challenging goal.

The challenge

• Illustrating the entire logistics & sales process
  The demands on the solution that is to be designed consist of illustrating and implementing the entire subscription administration and logistics, and the complete sales process. A comprehensive, overall process, that requires a high level of complexity from an appropriate system.
• Last-minute processing
  Just 8 months remain in which to develop and implement the new and hugely complex system.

Implementation – from the ACTUAL to the TARGET situation

• Analysis of business situation
  The short window and considerable complexity of the desired system call for an equally intensive and swift recording and analysis of the detailed company structures, and internal/external processes of the customer:
  • Management consulting and coaching of the specialist division management of sales
  • Weak point and risk analysis of the IT system for subscription administration
  • Weak point and risk analysis of the IT system in the advertising specialist department
• Illustrating the entire logistics & sales process
  Various subscription types, various sales types, various newspapers/magazines – the highly complex system that meets all these requirements was drawn up in the Document View architecture on the basis of Oracle 7.3.4 and a 3 processor HP Unix server. The outstanding performance features include:
  • Processing customer processes, master data, payments and invoicing
  • Links to print services (printing companies) and delivery control incl. alternative mechanisms and automatic rearrangement in the event of errors or breakdowns suffered by printing companies
  • Active support of launch of new magazines via analysis, reporting and campaign management functions
  • Illustrating and processing warehouse logistics and delivery
  • Conception, specification and realisation of a new web subscription shop
  • Conception, specification and realisation of the new IT system for subscription administration and settlement, and customer care

The result

The former system was successfully replaced prior to the new year by the IT system that was newly designed and realised by www Bitmanager AG. The integrated system for subscription administration & printing control provides the Hamburg printer and publisher with a variety of new opportunities for precise and profitable company management.