Claritum is a specialist print management software company based in Bath. They are one of just three main companies that offer such software in the UK.

When they were still quite young, and relatively small, they landed a major client (Océ UK) and were struggling to effectively manage the work. Mismanagement by a former project manager had lost Claritum large amounts of revenue, and soured relations with clients. They were overdue on their delivery dates, and desperately needed to turn things around.

Initially, the major problem was the amount and complexity of work to be completed. We worked with them to take on some of the development burden, and were solely responsible for the reworking of the software's invoicing system. This was done in our usual way, with the work being scoped and specified in advance. This was the first time that any formal specification had been put in place at Claritum, and it had a huge impact due to the high level of quality and internal stability that we delivered.

The invoicing system is now live and in use by all of Claritum's clients, handling a throughput of millions of pounds annually. Obviously, as with any financial transactions it was important to ensure that the system was of a high level of quality, well-tested, and robust. Dotfive won the business on the basis that we could deliver such a system.

The invoicing system handles many kinds of invoice, including multiple order spanning; consolidated invoicing; part-invoicing; credit notes; etc. It interfaces directly with the quotation and order process. The result is that each invoice is a complicated entity, with a large number of operations that can potentially be performed, and a similarly large number of possible states for each invoice.

Once the system was complete, it was required to integrate with a JDEdwards financial system, running on an IBM AS400 mainframe. This was successfully implemented, as was separate integration with an automated reprographics system.

We delivered the project on time, and on budget.

• Scope, identify, and plan Claritum's exacting requirements to deliver the system
• Design a new invoicing system capable of handling various different invoice types
• Ensure that the new system interfaced with external systems correctly

As we continued to work with Claritum we ended up managing their technical project development, and immediately implemented critically needed procedures in order to stabilise these processes within the company. Prior to working with Dotfive, Claritum started development work without proper specification, and this led to a typical task-artifact cycle.

We established a project delivery agreement with Claritum's largest client, Océ, and then ensured that the project was delivered to the agreed specification - early. This was the first time that Claritum had ever delivered any work on time for that client, and led to not only the payment of outstanding invoices, but also the continuation of work for the UK branch of Océ, and an agreement regarding internationalisation of the product. The rewards spoke for themselves.

We continued to successfully manage projects for various clients on behalf of Claritum, including the production of technical specifications and implementation strategies for rollouts to Spain and thereafter the rest of Europe. We were also responsible for the production of technical proposal documents which were instrumental in winning new business.

We took charge of all technical aspects of the projects, from initial client meetings and needs assessment, right through to the final signoff.

This is an excellent example of an occasion where we provided far more than would suffice - business consultancy and client account management as well as product development.

Claritum are still successfully trading, and have established themselves as an international force in the print management industry.

• New solution saves a huge amount of administration time
  
• Implementation of best practice to enable targets to be met successfully
  
• Dotfive took ownership of project tasks, alleviating pressure and ensuring work stayed on-spec