Cross-Wind is a Web Based Print Procurement and Sourcing application. All you need is a web browser to use Cross-Wind.
Software as a Service
Since Cross-Wind is Software as a Service (SaaS) your license fee entitles you access to all software updates. Cross-Wind is constantly undergoing improvement which gives you the ability to stay on top of the latest developments in the purchasing process. Since Cross-Wind is web based there is no need for interaction with your IT department, Cross-Wind is ready to go on day one! Cross-Wind is a hosted system which means that we maintain the application and the servers of the system. There is no need for you to do upgrades or install new software! We are supported by an In-house hosting staff that responds 24 hours a day 7 days a week to our customers needs.
Flexible
Cross-Wind is a highly flexible application that can meet the needs of your organizations processes. This flexibility is done by providing a set of administrative tools that will allow the organization to establish the workflow that best fits the organization. The administrator has the flexibility to establish product templates, vendor relationships, and user permissions to allow your organization to meet your print production criteria.
Product Templates
Cross-Wind allows the administrator to build their own product templates with their attributes and values that are specific to their need. We can also provide a set of templates pre-built and ready for use that can be modified later as you find areas that you desire improvement.
Your print vendors, your relationships
Cross-Wind makes establishing and maintaining preferred vendor programs a breeze! Cross-Wind does not lock you into a set of vendors that you have never worked with or have no idea about their quality of work. With Cross-Wind you add your vendors and associate them to your product templates. We believe that your application should be a tool to improve supplier communication not force you to use a set a vendors that you have never worked with. In addition, your print suppliers are never charged a "Transaction Fee" to use Cross-Wind. They are your suppliers and your relationship not ours! Add as many suppliers as you like and never have to worry about your pricing being marked up because of hidden fees.
Reporting
Cross-Wind allows you to report on virtually any information that is captured in the system. As an administrator you can even build reports to meet your specific needs and then choose to add those reports to the system to allow users to run those reports or you can schedule the reports to run overnight and then emailed to you or a supervisor on a schedule basis. Cross-Wind reporting is extremely flexible and allows you to retrieve the data for reporting in third party systems.
Bid Analysis
Cross-Wind is NOT a reverse auction tool like many other tools. Cross-Wind allows the print buyer to submit Request For Quotes to multiple suppliers and then review and analyze those quotes comparatively to allow the buyer to make the best choice based on multiple criteria, such as, Price, Turn Time, Freight, etc,. Cross-Wind gives the buyer the tools to do this analysis in several different formats to ensure the buyer is making the best choice possible.
Purchasing
Cross-Wind allows the print buyer to submit a purchase order directly to the chosen supplier with all of the specifications completed thereby reducing production errors based on specification. In addition, this allows additional tracking and reporting within Cross-Wind to track project costs against budget. Cross-Wind purchase orders can be integrated with any ERP system however this is always an additional cost and development issue as each ERP system is unique to your organization and requires an understanding of how your ERP is set-up.
Additional Functionality
Cross-Wind provides lots of other features and functionality like File Transfer, Email Alerts, Work Team Environments, and Supplier Scoring. This is just a small amount of the additional features that Cross-Wind currently provides, not to mention the on-going system enhancements.
Continuous Improvement
We are continuously working with our customers and their suppliers to provide additional functionality and features within Cross-Wind. New functionality releases are done 4 to 6 times per year, adding new features like reminder notices and scoring enhancements. Cross-Wind customers drive our development! We meet with our customers regularly to understand their needs and to add features to meet those needs. We have a dedicated development and hosting team working constantly to make improvements to Cross-Wind.