MMU undergraduate prospectus printing
Manchester Metropolitan University is The Sunday Times University of the Year for Student Retention 2021. It hosts over 33,000 UK and International students. In December 2020, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) went out for formal review of their 2021/22 Undergraduate Prospectus printing contract.
A key component of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) was the supplier's ability to offer a market-leading print and fulfilment service supported by an in-house IT team. MMU required their chosen print partner to print and bind their prospectus, fulfil and mail it out in an eco cardboard wrap. The University team also required a bespoke Application Programming Interface (API) to integrate within MMU's own system, fetch student prospectus request data and report back on stock usage figures automatically.
The solution
Once Belmont Press were awarded the contract, we immediately assigned a dedicated Account Management team to MMU. The team consisted of one internal Senior Account Manager, one Manchester based Project Manager a web developer and our IT Manager. The team worked with the University and together set out key mile stone dates to ensure a smooth transition from MMU's current fulfilment partner, while our IT specialists designed a powerful, branded, online Management Information Systems (MIS).
The MIS enabled MMU staff to monitor and order goods we hold on their behalf. It provided regular pre-agreed reports at intervals to suit MMU's Student Recruitment team so they could monitor their UG Prospectus request conversion rate. All the information was harvested via a bespoke API, designed specifically to integrate within the MMU system.
The result
As a value-added service the Belmont print team applied an antimicrobial coating to the prospectus. The coating, which prevents 99.9% of bacteria from living on it, is completely transparent and didn't detract from the finished article.
In summary the production of the Manchester Metropolitan Undergraduate Prospectus was managed with the following objectives achieved:-
- A full printing, finishing, fulfilment, mailing and distribution service was provided.
- Full stock and mailing reporting was made available via secure log in.
- The prospectus was mailed out in a fully recyclable environmentally friendly printed wrap.
- Antimicrobial coating was used to finish off the prospectus.
After a successful delivery of the 2022 prospectus, MMU extended the contract for our team to produce the 2022/23 publication.