Who is the Ideal MPS Client?

Virtually any organization that deals with paper would benefit from outsourcing their printing services. Gartner research shows that actively managing office printing can reduce operating expenses by between 10 and 30 percent. Reducing the density of ink or toner alone by 10 to 20 percent would result in per-page savings of 5 to 10 percent, or up to $10 per user per month. A 1,000-person organization would cut up to 1.6 million printed pages from their operation with MPS, a saving of $33,500 or more. However, there are some types of companies that would see immediate returns and are the most likely candidates to buy Managed Print Services.

Target Paper and Paperless Processes Logically, organizations that consume more paper are better candidates for MPS savings. Paper-intensive professional service businesses such as law offices, accounting firms, ad agencies, and marketing firms are prime candidates for MPS. And then there are manufacturing and other companies that deal with paper invoices and paper processes. And what about offering managed printing for operations with business-critical paperwork, such as financial institutions, investment firms, and health-care organizations?

Any organization can be a candidate for MPS, especially if they:

a) Operate with paper-driven workflow processes; b) Need to file and track large amounts of paper documents; and c) Are concerned with security and regulatory compliance.

The more critical paper is to business processes, the more valuable MPS can be. For example, organizations that have to maintain secure paper documents and deal with regulatory issues, such as HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley, can benefit from MPS in multiple ways:

• Secure paper processing using MPS.

• Secure document storage on-premises of off-premises.

• Digitization of sensitive documents for archiving and eDiscovery.

Performing a needs-assessment for the prospective customers is a good way to understand their business challenges and how MPS can be of benefit.

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The Need for C-Level Support In most organizations, print operations and budgets are managed at the departmental level. Printer hardware, paper, toner, and ink are included in the departmental budget, although it often falls to the IT department to deal with maintenance and out of-the-ordinary issues. Managed Print Services are typically purchased on a corporate level, spanning an entire organization to realize economies of scale. To successfully sell MPS benefits you need to find an executive advocate.

A study by Aberdeen Group shows that even though MPS can save the organization as much as 30 percent of its operating budget, only 38 percent of organizations see MPS as “high value.” With senior management support, it will be easier to get the organization to embrace MPS as a business-critical service that has a direct positive impact on every department’s budget.

Keeping It Green And then there are the environmental benefits. Adopting MPS is ideal for companies concerned about their environmental impact. The ability to demonstrate waste reduction and a reduction in the company’s carbon footprint are compelling arguments for executives who want to show environmental responsibility.

With MPS customers can monitor company-wide device usage and supply consumption. They also can see metrics that demonstrate energy savings, the resources conserved, reduction in wasted paper and materials, and responsible disposal and recycling of supplies and outdated equipment.

Of course, there is nothing like a good argument for return on investment to justify making a positive environmental impact.

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“Managed print services (MPS) are services offered by an external provider to optimize or manage a company’s document output. The main components provided are needs assessment, selective or general replacement of hardware, and the service, parts and supplies needed to operate the new and/or existing hardware (including existing third-party equipment if this is required by the customer). The provider also tracks how the printer, fax, copier, and MFP fleet is being used, the problems, and the user’s satisfaction.”

There are three primary service areas within Managed Print Services:

1. Assessment of a company’s existing print and document creation environment,including tracking printing costs across all budgets. 

2. Optimization of the print environment, including managing the number of printers peruser and printing policies.

3. Ongoing management of printer work flow, including replenishing consumables and

equipment maintenance.

Most successful VARs embrace two or more of these areas as part of an MPS offering. Much of the offering depends on what their customer demand.

What MPS Services to Offer When considering which of these services to offer, consider the specific needs of SMBs. According to market research conducted by analyst firm IDC, the overwhelming reason companies adopt MPS is to reduce printing costs.

Beyond cost savings, reasons cited for MPS adoption include:

• Changing user habits to reduce waste;

• Short-term cost savings;

• Fleet rationalization or equipment consolidation or optimization;

• Streamlining document work flows;

• Environmental sustainability; and

• Improving security.

Print processing assessment: When you consider the demands cited by companies that have adopted MPS, it’s clear that being able to assess how and where to manage printing for real savings is the first place to start.

Aberdeen Group estimates that SMBs spend typically 10 percent of their overall budget on office printing. Being able to demonstrate how centralizing and managing office printing will result in immediate savings is a compelling sales pitch.

Optimizing the print environment: One of the biggest expenses to result from office printing is waste. Not only is there waste paper and materials, there also is waste in terms of time spent running to and from the printer, the space taken up by printing hardware, etc. By optimizing the print environment SMBs can realize savings in a variety of ways:

• Reducing the number of printers needed to support the office;

• Saving staff and IT time with printer management;

• Reducing user output and materials waste;

• Improving efficiency and facilitating document work flow; and

• Improved efficiency for stocking paper and consumables.

These are just a few of the ways that MPS can optimize office printing and save operating overhead. All of these benefits have costs associated with them that can be easily calculated and incorporated into the savings formula.

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Benefits of Remanufactured Toners:

Remanufactured, refurbished, compatible, refilled... call it what you want. It all ends up meaning the same thing. There are millions of second hand toner cartridges out there that are quite a bit cheaper than buying from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM.)

Cost

Remanufactured toner is significantly less expensive than OEM toner. While your savings vary based on the type of cartridge and the vendor you choose, you can expect to save 30 to 60 percent. Usually the saving are 1/3 to 1/2 less than OEM, but can be even more. This can equate to some pretty big numbers if you are buying thousands of dollars’ worth of cartridges every month or every year.

Quality

A good quality remanufactured cartridge should provide the same print quality and life as as OEM product. Typically, remanufacturers dismantle cartridges, replace moving and wearable parts, and refill them. In some cases, the toner they use is exactly the same as what the manufacturer uses in its cartridges.

Environmental Impact

Every cartridge that you buy from a remanufacturer is one that didn’t originally end up in a landfill. The same applies to cartridges that you return or, in some cases, sell back. The environmental savings from remanufactured toners are meaningful.

Why you should by from a local vendor?

Remember, you are trying to save money with rebuilt cartridges and its all for nothing if you get stuck with cartridges that do not work, or worse yet blow up in your printer.

Try to buy locally when possible. Customer service is much easier when the person you are talking to is down the street instead of across the country. Most local dealers can replace defective cartridges much more quickly than from the web. My company also guarantees to fix any problem incurred by a cartridge that has dumped toner. Before you buy, make sure you know the companies return policy and ask what they will do if the cartridge wrecks your machine.

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