alfa Media is working with German neighbour Compass to integrate its Advantage subscription and distribution management system into its newspaper workflow.

Compass managing director Dirk Westenberger says his company is looking forward to a long-term relationship: "Our products already enjoy a high level of integration, for example between our advertising systems and alfa's Stylo and PageOne, with development departments working hand-in-hand," he says.

"The close proximity of our two companies works not only for internal communication, but also to provide optimal customer service."

alfa Media director Jens Emmerich says he is delighted to have Compass as a partner, enabling customers to get a complete solution from a single source. alfa's 'open media' concept covers a range of publishing processes including advertisement-taking and processing , CRM, customer self-service , web publishing, editorial, subscription and sales, product planning and production as well as mobile applications for smartphones and tablets.

Established in 1992, Compass develops customisable software for the advertising, subscription, sales and production areas. The companies point to cost savings and market development potential through the integration including "additional forward-looking business models".