# DTG Order Fulfillment Software



## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

We're about to head into a new application that we've been needing to keep track of orders properly in a more automated fashion. With so many 1-sies or 2-sies, it gets difficult to properly track the entire fulfillment process.

What I am going to work on is a new application that lets sales produce an order that gets sent to production, and production gets an automated system for fulfillment.

Here's what we want to do:

1. We're going to add a barcode scanner onto our Easy T printer (or printers, even). This will go where the platen rests before a job is sent. The scanner will basically just be aimed at the left side of the platen, where the shirt hangs over the edge.

2. We're going to add a small label printer that prints QR-style barcodes. Whenever an order is processed, the labels are printed and ready for the warehouse to pull or order. That part is pretty easy. The label will include the job name/number, the shirt manufacturer, style, color and size. It will print both the QR code as well as human readable text on each individual label. 12 shirts in an order, 12 labels.

3. The jobs get ripped-to-disk instead of ripped-to-printer. Our application then takes the RIP file and queues it.

4. When a production worker loads a shirt on a platen (we have more than 1 platen), he confirms the brand, style, color and size, and attaches a label to the side of the shirt. He then loads the platen when a printer is available (any printer).

5. As he pushes the shirt back to the rest area, the barcode scanner will read the barcode and send our application the information. The application will then load up the RIP file and send it to that particular printer. Since it's just a queue-and-send application, all it has to do is keep track of how many shirts are needed for each job, and which file is to be sent to that particular shirt. As the shirts are printed, even in random order, the application deducts a shirt from the to-print total, and lets the production manager review efficiency.

6. If a shirt is ruined for some reason, that label is removed and given to the manager to scan. The application will automatically correct the quantity and reprint a new label for the warehouse to pull a shirt and send it back to production.

7. As shirts are cured, the label can be disposed or re-attached after curing for the packing/fulfillment department to manage.

Overall, this should be a time-saver during busy production. It allows jobs to be printed in any order, and should be an efficient way to monitor printers and production workers.

Anyone use anything like this, or tackle the idea themselves?


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

We have something similar with barcoding and work order management. It's not fully released yet, but it's called JobVault.


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

Cool, Jerid. Good to know the OEM manufacturers are working on something.

We're rolling our own because I want to set up a direct-from-web fulfillment add-in. That way, when people order stuff from one of our websites, it'll plug right in as long as the artwork passes approval.

We're spending too much labor on job setup and workflow. I think we're losing 33% of our overhead just to job management and I want to zero that out as much as possible.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

When consumers develop this type of software, it's usually top-notch. 

User's know what they want and how to cater to their needs. The good thing is, I've been an end user for years. So I've been able to head up the project to give more of a user's prospective. The problem is, I'm a bit rusty and may not have covered all my bases!

Good luck, it's been a long road for us and there's always more to develop, even after you think you've finished the task!


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## LocalCustomz (Jul 20, 2010)

Did anything ever come of this? I need this solution so bad right now!!


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## Think It Ink It (Jan 28, 2017)

Brown Manufacturing just released something like this but due to each machine needing it's own setup it's very expensive running around $7k per machine. Still worth it but lots of money if you have more then one machine.



treefox2118 said:


> We're about to head into a new application that we've been needing to keep track of orders properly in a more automated fashion. With so many 1-sies or 2-sies, it gets difficult to properly track the entire fulfillment process.
> 
> What I am going to work on is a new application that lets sales produce an order that gets sent to production, and production gets an automated system for fulfillment.
> 
> ...


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## Justin86 (Mar 19, 2010)

Think It Ink It said:


> Brown Manufacturing just released something like this but due to each machine needing it's own setup it's very expensive running around $7k per machine. Still worth it but lots of money if you have more then one machine.


Sounds interesting have you got a link to their website?


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