The original Automated Document Factory (ADF) that Gartner unveiled 12 years ago was an architecture for creating and delivering mission-critical documents, using factory production techniques to lower costs and improve document quality, integrity, and process controls. It consisted of four modules—Data Input, Transformation, Delivery Preparation, and Control and Reporting. ADF 2.0 adds two modules that help ensure print remains a key component of your company’s comprehensive, multi-channel customer communication program.

Implementing an ADF enables not only cost-effective transaction document production, but also the addition of the targeted, personalized content that is now referred to as TransPromo. Technology providers spanning the entire production process, from customer relationship management (CRM) and database output through digital printing to mail piece insertion, now offer comprehensive tools to place ADF’s integrated processes within the reach of every in-plant and for-pay print service provider (PSP).

ADF 2.0
Most importantly, ADF 2.0 is about a closed-loop, integrated workflow. The original concept was comprised of the four modules previously mentioned, set out in a linear fashion covering data received by the factory through production and reporting. But it predated today’s intense pressure to integrate the print production process with all corporate communications. The original architecture did not result in a workflow that reached back into the company’s CRM systems and databases, nor did it facilitate the development of marketing and transaction materials that met production needs and creative designs. Instead, the focus was on accepting output from existing batch IT applications such as invoices, statements, and cancellations.

ADF 2.0’s closed-loop workflow reaches into the company’s CRM systems and databases, enabling collaborative designs of highly personalized and targeted marketing and transaction materials to meet production needs while also implementing compelling creative designs and enabling marketing departments to rapidly respond to evolving customer needs.

ADF 2.0 adds two modules—Design and Integration and Response Management—to the original four modules to ensure print facilities remain a key component of their organization’s comprehensive customer communication program. The document Design and Integration module is where designers and design tools integrate with operations management and variable data printing tools. The Response Management module comprises integrated response analysis techniques.

ADF 2.0 retains the original ADF interfaces, that is, the standards that hold the integrated process together. The input requirements of each module dictate the output options of the module providing the input. Building on the original concept, ADF 2.0 interfaces provide additional output options necessitated by technological advances, such as creation of personalized URLs (pURLs), or dictated by heightened concerns about the security of confidential customer information.

Siloed Print Output to Integrated Communications
As multi-channel customer communications become more important to the enterprise, a well-thought-out and well-implemented CRM vision directly affects printed communications. Implementations of the original ADF concept focused mainly on cost-effective, high-quality print communications that existed alongside the publication of documents in various non-print media such as the Web, email, and fax. This siloed approach to multiple channel document production resulted in multiple, and often unrelated, communication threads.

ADF 2.0 facilitates a customer-centric approach by integrating the tools in your print factory with the company’s financial and marketing databases. For customers who prefer printed communications, the result is more than a TransPromo document with a generic message or limited advertising. ADF 2.0 tools create truly personalized relevant communications by integrating with your knowledge of that individual consumer or business. This knowledge is held in the various CRM and financial databases.

At the beginning of the customer communication cycle, ADF 2.0 software applications reach into multiple customer information databases and assemble content from them. The software engages with other tools, such as enterprise content management (ECM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP), to create relevant communications. ADF 2.0 supports all forms of print output, for example, high-volume monochrome statements, reminder notices with highlight color, and personalized four-color marketing materials. The files are then annotated with the quality and tracking information needed to follow individual pages while in production and to track the recipients’ responses to the pieces.

The assembled customer communication package is then sent to the factory, where ADF 2.0 software tools acknowledge the file’s presence, schedule it for production, and alert the staff that the job is available. In some cases job order entry is handled directly from the customer by Web-to-print procurement tools. Regardless of the source, operators subsequently print and mail the job while software controls track every piece to insure document integrity, facilitate reprints, and generate production management reports.

Database integration comes full circle as the ADF 2.0 software tools provide data to the CRM systems. At their simplest forms, the tools provide data on what was mailed, to whom, and when. Systems that are more complex will generate personalized uniform resource locators (pURLs) and provide the details to the CRM databases. Regardless of the extent to which the ADF 2.0 tools are employed, software utilized in the factory provides data used by marketing organizations analyzing customer responses to various media campaigns.

Technology Providers’ Support
Suppliers recognize that providing ADF 2.0 tools will enable their success as PSPs reap the benefits of increased productivity, lower labor and material costs, improved quality, and heightened document security. Certain software and hardware technology providers have already developed some of the tools necessary for a successful ADF 2.0 implementation. These providers must continue refining their offerings not just for competitive reasons but also to enable end users to maximize the value inherent in their CRM systems.

Integration of software and hardware tools is a critical element of the ADF 2.0 concept. Whether in partnership with other providers or through the development of a comprehensive suite, providers must demonstrate how their products are modularized, whether they are able to stand alone or integrate with other providers’ tools.

ADF 2.0 and Your Bottom Line
Gartner’s original ADF concept has met the test of time, facilitating the document production environment’s evolution as technology providers develop and refine the software and hardware tools to reduce costs, improve productivity, and create compelling printed documents. Today, an ADF architecture provides for a solid foundation to build on.

For enterprises without an ADF solution, the original issues remain. How will you implement targeted marketing while lowering production costs and improving document integrity? These organizations remain at risk of not only incurring excessive costs, producing low-quality output, and having insufficient document security, but they are also at significant risk of not adapting to the rapidly changing demands of their internal and external customers for true CRM-based publishing. Indeed, the lack of an ADF toolset significantly increases the likelihood your print and mail operation will be outsourced.

ADF 2.0 is crucial to the future of document-based customer communications. Document production is expensive and complicated. Today’s regulatory environment requires the highest level of document security, while market pressures dictate high-quality, targeted communications. Implementing the ADF 2.0 architecture enables you to facilitate the targeted, multiple-media document production that converts operations from cost centers to revenue centers.

Recommendations
End users, whether in-plant or external print-for-pay organizations, must employ printing software and hardware tools based on the ADF 2.0 architecture to ensure that low-cost and high-quality output integrates with corporate CRM, content management, and financial systems. End users must also embrace the ADF 2.0 concept to ensure the documents they produce meet customer expectations for quality and cost while supporting output to multiple channels.

Technology providers must offer the tools that facilitate the publication of targeted, personalized, and relevant multimedia communications. And, technology providers and end users must review the current state of their ADF initiatives to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to print communications.

Pete Basiliere is Gartner’s research director for print markets and management, conducting research and providing advice on best practices, market strategies and technology trends. Pete assists suppliers and end users with practical insight relating to Gartner's Automated Document Factory 2.0, trans-promo and customer relationship management printing strategies, production, office and 3-D printing systems, and operations and security matters. Pete has 30 years of industry experience, including roles as operations manager for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, purchasing manager for PVA-EPVA, and engineering manager for NEBS. The National Association for Print Leadership (NAPL) published his two books: Diversifying with Mail and Fulfillment Services: Unlocking Hidden Profit Potential and Successful Print Buying: A Guide to the Cost-Effective Procurement of Printing.