Melville, NY – Entourage Yearbooks, one of the most innovative yearbook producers, has implemented the SpencerMetrics CONNECT® platform for data-driven print production management. CONNECT; automates Entourage’s data collection and reporting, enabling real-time visibility to understand and control their print and finishing production capacity and operational costs.

During yearbook peak season, Entourage utilizes its total production capacity and outsources orders that exceed its in-house capacity. Knowing what they can produce in-house, maximizing the utilization of equipment and labor resources available, and tracking production metrics in real-time to control schedules and manage Service Level Agreements is critical for operators and management. Yearbook deliverables are time-sensitive, and it is of utmost importance to know when production issues may impact timelines and to ensure expected targets are being met daily. Entourage’s Princeton Junction, New Jersey-based production site uses high-quality production machines, including HP Indigo Web and Canon varioPRINT iX-series sheetfed presses. They also have a variety of analog book finishing equipment for binding, stitching, and casing-in to produce and ship the fully finished yearbooks.

Entourage engaged with SpencerMetrics before the 2023 yearbook season started. The easy and quick installation of CONNECT’s support for multi-vendor digital devices and the AUTOMATER™ module for analog machine data collection made it a breeze to install the system quickly and reliably in time. SpencerMetrics’ CONNECT’s multi-vendor, multi-technology platform provides a standardized and automated method to capture and analyze metrics accurately, identifying effective ways to track and improve machine and labor utilization, maximize productivity, and control costs

Elias Jo, CEO and co-founder of Entourage, said, “CONNECT allows us to know what is going well and also what is not going as expected so we can take action before the problem escalates. We are delighted with our investment in CONNECT. During our yearbook season, we’ve already seen a good return on our investment.” Edward Jo, COO and co-founder, added, “The SpencerMetrics team has been very responsive, and their support has been outstanding. We look forward to getting more in-depth with the capabilities available to drive our operational excellence initiatives.”

SpencerMetrics Exec VP Vishal Sahay said, “It has been a pleasure to work with the Entourage team and to share in their exciting environment. My team and I look forward to continuing the close working relationships.”