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AM Service ZiggZagg Increases Proficiency with DigiFabster Quotation Engine

Anthony Lowder March 6, 2018

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ZiggZagg is a 3D printing service bureau located in Aalter. The company was founded in 2011 with the goal of becoming the a leader in emerging technology. Today they operate 13 different 3D printers using various technologies including FDM, SLS, SLA, and most recently HP MultiJet Fusion. ZiggZagg also provides other manufacturing technologies, including vacuum forming, laser cutting, and CNC milling.

ZiggZagg’s plans to utilize DigiFabster software-as-a-service (SAAS) platform to automate quoting, order entry, and customer relationship management, with the goals of adding new orders to help fill utilized print capacity.

Users create an account, populate and configure the software’s administrative area with the correct pricing and specifications, and deploy DidigFabster’s widget on ZiggZagg’s webpage. Then market the site’s newfound capability, encouraging prospective customers with small orders to quote and order online.

“We were looking for a way to smooth out our production. Small orders are useful in helping us fill out our build trays, but we couldn’t afford to manage them offline. We needed an online tool that would handle quoting and order entry.”

Stijn Paridaens, CEO at ZiggZagg

DigiFabster’s web-based software platform, iFrame-based web widget

The ZiggZagg Challenge

Service bureaus invest a significant amount of time educating customers on pricing and teaching them how to submit jobs for 3D printing. With contract work and larger jobs, it’s easier to absorb those costs. Smaller, infrequent customers require a similar amount of attention, but provide much less revenue. In some cases, they cost more than they’re worth.

But lower volume jobs can play an important role in helping 3D printing service bureaus improve their productivity by helping them fill unused areas in their machines’ build space. Filling the build area completely allows companies to spread their fixed cost over more volume, reducing the cost of every part in a print run.

For some customers, labor isn’t the solution. Service bureaus need technology!

The DigiFabster Solution

“DigiFabster offered us the potential to have our cake and eat it too. We could use the web to attract smaller jobs to fill our builds and maximize our efficiency, without the typical costs of customer acquisition.”

Michael Vandezande, COO at ZiggZagg.

When ZiggZagg signed on with DigiFabster, they were immediately able to configure the site based on their capabilities. They provided information about their company, including their machines, materials and finishing options. With that in place they were ready to install DigiFabster’s widget on their website.

The widget enabled customers to instantly quote and place orders for their 3D printing projects, automating much of the effort that was previously handled by people.

“We were to serve more customers with similar resources. The solution provided by DigiFabster will help us be more efficient, lowering costs for all of our clients.” Stijn Paridaens, CEO at ZiggZagg

With the DigiFabster software configured, ZiggZagg began marketing their new set of online tools. New customers began submitting quotes and orders.

In 2017, ZiggZagg produced over 9,100 models for nearly 650 clients. DigiFabster played a significant role, helping them grow their client base by 20%. In January 2018 alone, the DigiFabster system helped ZiggZagg generate over 6,000 euro ($7,350) in new revenue, with an average order size of 150 euro ($184).

Not only does new work from a new channel provide additional revenue, it also helps lower cost and improve profitability on ZiggZagg’s core work.

Prior to utilizing DigiFabster, print runs at ZiggZagg averaged about 60% of total capacity. Today they are over 70%. This has reduced the overall cost of each part by approximately 10%.

The customer relationship management software features provided by DigiFabster also helped ZiggZagg increase work with current customers, creating a pathway from self to full-service support. As ZiggZagg continues to expand its business, DigiFabster’s software will be upgraded to support offline quoting and other capabilities.

ZiggZagg is also working cooperatively with DigiFabster to develop specific features that help improve workflow. For example, they have asked that packing slips created by DigiFabster include a thumbnail of each model so employees can visually confirm that models and orders match. This will be helpful at each stage of production and provides a final confirmation for the team that packs and ships each order.

With each new innovation, the company will continue to help service bureaus like ZiggZagg, reduce their labor costs, simplify their workflows, and create more relationships with new customers.

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