CERM O2 — Building the MIS for What Comes Next · Mathias Erlandsson · CERM
A year after Omikai became part of CERM, Mathias is back in front of the INKISH camera — but this time with something entirely new to show.
At Labelexpo Americas in Chicago, CERM introduces O2 for the first time. It is a new browser-based MIS platform combining the technology and thinking developed at Omikai with CERM’s four decades of industry experience and extensive customer base.
The first phase is aimed at label converters, initially targeting companies with around 10–20 employees. But the ambition is considerably bigger.
O2 has been built API-first. Everything that can be done through the user interface can also be accessed through APIs — and through MCP, allowing users and developers to interact with the system from LLMs, build their own integrations, develop alternative interfaces, and potentially automate processes in entirely new ways.
For Mathias, that architecture reflects a fundamental change in how MIS systems will be used.
Rather than seeing the MIS simply as an application employees log into, CERM sees O2 increasingly as an engine behind other applications, integrations, AI tools, and workflows.
The user interface itself has also been designed around simplicity. Customer service employees increasingly need to work quickly, often without years of specialist print knowledge, making ease of use just as important as what happens behind the scenes.
And O2 won’t stop with labels. The roadmap includes flexible packaging, folding cartons, multi-site organizations, and increasingly complex production environments.
For Mathias, the acquisition has also created a very different working life. As CEO and owner of Omikai, product development was only one of many responsibilities. Inside CERM, his assignment has become wonderfully simple — although perhaps not easy:
Build the best product possible.
O2 is being shown publicly for the first time in Chicago, with selected customers expected to begin using the platform in early 2027.
In this INKISH film, Morten B. Reitoft talks with Mathias about the journey from Omikai to CERM, API-first development, AI and MCP, simplicity in MIS, and why O2 may represent much more than simply another new management information system.
Steffen Haaga Director of Global Business Development CERM
At Labelexpo Guadalajara, CERM is present to showcase its growing commitment to the Latin American market, particularly Mexico. Steffen Haaga, representing the company, shares that this is his fourth visit to the country but the first time exhibiting at the show in Guadalajara. Previous visits revealed a vibrant and promising market, encouraging CERM to invest further and establish a stronger presence. Mexico has proven to be an exciting and significant region for the labels and packaging sector. With a large and growing population, increased demand for consumer goods, and a strong retail presence, the country offers substantial opportunities for companies like CERM. Some of the company’s largest and most impressive clients are based in Mexico, including Etiflex, a massive 500-employee printing facility in Mexico City, which stands out as one of the largest single-plant label operations. The conversation also touches on CERM’s recent acquisition of Swedish-based Omikai, a cloud-based MIS company. This strategic move is not just about expanding market reach but also about accelerating CERM’s technological development. Omikai’s advanced cloud architecture and highly capable team are expected to fast-track CERM’s cloud roadmap by several years. The synergy between the two companies is strong, both culturally and technically, making the integration a natural fit. Looking ahead, CERM sees significant potential in Mexico and across Spanish-speaking markets. With increased demand for automation and digital transformation in printing workflows, CERM is responding by building local capacity, including hiring support and implementation specialists in the region. The expectations for Labelexpo and beyond are high, driven by a belief in the region’s growth and a clear vision for supporting that growth with advanced solutions.
Esteban Garcia · Business Development Manager · CERM
Language Spanish - Subtitles Spanish/English At LabelExpo Mexico, Esteban García represented CERM as their Business Development Manager for the United States, Mexico, South America, and Latin America. With his deep understanding of the industry, García shared CERM’s focused vision and the value their specialized software brings to companies in the label and packaging sector. CERM, a Belgian company with over 30 years of experience, develops software tailored specifically for businesses in labeling, flexible packaging, and corrugated cardboard. García emphasized that CERM deliberately concentrates on this niche, believing that actual value lies in specialization. “This is what we do,” he noted, underscoring the importance of doing one thing exceptionally well rather than spreading resources too thin. During the event, García highlighted the challenges many companies in the sector face—particularly labor shortages and competition from larger, more modern operations. In response, CERM’s software is designed to streamline workflows, reduce unnecessary steps, and capture key production data accurately. This efficiency empowers companies to remain competitive without overhauling their equipment or expanding their workforce. One of the CERM system's most compelling features is its ability to deliver real-time quotes in minutes—a critical need in today’s fast-paced business environment. García explained how CERM eliminates redundant data entry across the production process, allowing information to flow seamlessly from quoting to invoicing, including inventory and warehouse management. The result is a fully integrated solution that supports operational excellence. CERM is making its debut at LabelExpo Mexico after attending the event as a visitor. Pleased with the experience, the team returned to showcase their platform to companies that may not have had the opportunity to attend LabelExpo in Brussels or Chicago. The goal is to introduce more Latin American businesses to CERM’s capabilities through live demos and direct interaction. When asked about the company’s performance in the Mexican market, García reported positive momentum, noting strong client relationships in Mexico and South America. He expressed enthusiasm about the future, sharing that CERM’s regional team has already tripled in size during his five-year tenure and continues to expand rapidly. Looking ahead to 2025, García remains optimistic. “We are growing fast and doing very well,” he said, reinforcing CERM’s commitment to innovation and industry collaboration. As the conversation concluded, García invited all attendees at LabelExpo Mexico to visit the CERM stand. “We’re excited to meet more people from the industry and build new partnerships,” he added. Interviewer: Nayelli González Menéndez · Revista El Impresor
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Wed September 16th
SCREEN + LabelHub — The Press Is Only Part ...
Buying a digital press used to be mostly about speed, resolution, quality, and productivity. That is changing. At Labelexpo Americas in Chicago, Morten B. Reitoft meets Charlie from SCREEN and Peter from LabelHub to talk about something increasingly important in label production: the entire workflow surrounding the press. Both come with years of hands-on experience from production environments. Charlie spent more than three decades in printing before moving to SCREEN, while Peter worked for 20 years as an IT manager at a Danish label-converting company before founding LabelHub. And that experience matters. SCREEN continues to develop its digital label portfolio, including wider and increasingly productive presses, but Charlie explains that customers today are looking at much more than specifications alone. They want to understand how orders enter the company, how files are prepared, how production is automated, how presses connect with finishing, and how errors can be removed before they become expensive. That is where LabelHub fits in. LabelHub integrates with established MIS platforms and combines production data with PDF files, simplifying ordering, reordering, and, increasingly, prepress processes in the cloud. The objective is straightforward: remove unnecessary complexity and make it easier for both converters and their customers to move work through the production process. And catching mistakes early matters. As Charlie puts it, the closer an error gets to the press, the more expensive it becomes to fix. Better upstream automation can save materials, labor, production time, and downstream capacity. For SCREEN, partnerships with companies such as LabelHub — together with finishing partners — make it possible to demonstrate something much broader than a printing engine. Even within a relatively compact exhibition booth, customers can see a complete label production environment from order and prepress through printing, finishing, and final product. For LabelHub, the journey has also changed significantly. Eight years ago, the company was still demonstrating concepts with PowerPoint because the software wasn't ready to be trusted live. Today, major customers run production through the platform, and prepress has become one of its fastest-growing areas. In this INKISH film, we talk about digital label production, workflow automation, MIS integration, cloud-based prepress, partnerships, and why selling a press today increasingly means being able to show the complete production ecosystem. Because the press may still be at the center of production. But it is no longer the whole story.