Most enterprises simply have no idea how much money they spend on printer hardware and accessories. Or, even worse, they thought they knew but were off by a country mile. That's where a top-to-bottom assessment of an enterprise's document output costs and hardware costs gets the ball rolling.
Here are the five steps that we take to deliver a managed print services solution that works:
1. Assessment
The assessment stage has two parts. The first includes a questionnaire that we go through with the customer to gather information about deployed printing technology and workflow needs.
For the second part we use the Rapid Assessment Key from PrintAudit —a small USB device the size of a thumb drive that is inserted into an endpoint on the network and searches the network for all attached printing devices. The application files the information into a census that is repeated again at a later date. We use the infotmation from the key and the completed questionnaire, to generate an assessment report that offers complete details on device usage, consumables usage, costs and potential areas of consolidation, management and savings.
2. Review
Once the assessment is completed, we will explain the results to you.
On the sample assessment report we provided, the results begin with an executive summary that noted the organisation spends $41,129 annually on its printed document fleet and identified potential annual savings of $27,627 through removal and re-deployment of assets, modification of standards and printer upgrades. That data is followed up with the news that the savings can be reaped through a one-time capital outlay of $18,000 or a monthly lease of $360 over the next five years for a technology refresh.
The assessment provides page after page of detail to support the bottom line.
We will show you examples that show potential savings in an easy-to-understand manner.
3. Consultation
We can provide the most critical piece of the puzzle: the consultation. For the trusted local IT advisor, it becomes critical to understand your business and point out the best solution to put all that assessment to work. An assessment can tell if Printer A on the network is underutilized compared with other, similar printers on the same network. But if Printer A is in a secure area and is only used by the confidential executive assistant to the CEO, that's not a printer that could easily be consolidated with one in use by the marketing team. However, if three marketing writers at the company have their own desktop with off-network printers nestled away in their cubicles, that could be a prime area for consolidation and savings.
4. Deployment
We can provide you with different options for deployment of managed print services—either remotely or on-site. We offer Konica Minolta's office printing lineup that includes combinations of on-site service with single-invoice monthly fees for consumables and hardware.
With all your printers on a network, you will be able to predict toner and consumables use and replenishment requirements. We can work out management plans with you to provide top class service including toner and paper replacement.
5. Follow-up
As with any of our services, customer follow-up is an essential best practice. Here, all of the assessment and consulting tools mentioned can be re-deployed on a quarterly basis to inform the customer of trends in use, workflow and cost.
Device consolidation can also be a continuing process, rather than an event, as a business's workforce—or workflow—changes. Regular follow-up is simply essential to stay in touch with you as your needs change to ensure you keep getting value from the solution.
Call us on 4124 2266 to arrange an appointment and let us show you how we may be able to help you.
AATEC Office Technology
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