The previous Industry Insight in this series dealt with the importance of aligning a managed print service (MPS) provider with a company's output management goals. This time, I will discuss output assessment considerations and the best way to streamline the design process.
Keeping output management goals in mind, the simplest and most visible way to measure savings is by using a consumption-based 'utility' approach, ie, cost-per-page, exactly as for a contract for electricity, gas, telephone or water. This allows savings measurement at the unit cost level, and makes costs absolutely transparent and predictable.
A cost-per-page contract relies heavily on understanding precise fleet and usage levels. A rough estimate is not sufficient. The best way to contract for guaranteed savings on any project is to establish an accurate total cost of ownership (TCO), which enables both parties to contract for guaranteed savings and measure savings against that baseline.
Weighing up
Building an effective TCO picture requires a thorough assessment in all but the smallest offices, using specialised tools. Most often, managers in mid-sized operations will be unsure of the exact number or type of output devices in operation, associated costs, or the true output volume of those devices' print, fax and copy operations. A quick assessment based on their rough estimate will likely miss the mark significantly.
What's needed is a thorough study to establish the true baseline, performed jointly by the client and the service provider. In that way, both can establish and agree upon a guaranteed savings level based on TCO. This way, the customer knows the savings are real, delivering genuine bottom line benefit to the organisation, and the service provider has clearly defined and achievable goals. This process culminates in a mutually agreed service level agreement (SLA) that forms the basis for future measurement - both quantitative and qualitative.
It can take several weeks to conduct a thorough and accurate assessment. The provider will need to identify all assets, how many users share each asset and determine which capabilities are needed and/or used.
The team will work with IT and finance departments to quantify all costs, including the cost of acquisition, true total costs of consumables, and charges for break-fix and management, including the associated cost burden from the IT department.
Design
For output savings to be sustainable, it is important to take an end-to-end approach to developing an efficient device fleet. Involve key stakeholders in the process from an early stage to ensure they (as well as the service provider) truly understand and support the objectives.
A quick assessment based on their rough estimate will likely miss the mark significantly.
Rabin Ram is MD of the Xerox division at Bytes Document Solutions.
It is crucial for the design to reallocate or consolidate unnecessary devices to realise efficiencies. However, designers must take into account the specific needs of each business department and user, along with any specialised applications that might have special output requirements. The design should also incorporate a phased transition and provide for checkpoints during the transition to ensure special user requirements haven't been overlooked.
We can't overstate the importance of protecting existing output investment; the final design must be able to manage the current infrastructure and introduce new devices only when necessary to realise true, tangible cost reductions or improvements in efficiency. It's important that the service provider responds to the business needs and doesn't just look upon this as an opportunity to sell new equipment.
It is essential to choose a service provider that can easily manage third-party devices cost-effectively. If not, it's highly likely that the provider will recommend significant equipment refresh at the outset of the project. However it's presented, such a strategy will likely prove costly, and reduce returns on the MPS investment.
The MPS contract must support all vendors represented in the output fleet design, with the service provider taking control of spend and processes associated with each retained device. These costs should be covered in the cost-per-page utility agreement.
The service provider's design should also cover all types of output devices in the fleet. Most especially, it should cover non-networked devices. This ensures the stated TCO and projected cost savings are real; they incorporate the entire fleet, not just networked printers.
It's unlikely that a mid-sized organisation has the in-house expertise necessary to effectively assess and analyse an output fleet's TCO. By partnering with an experienced service provider, the organisation can design an output fleet infrastructure that maximises savings, enhances business processes and frees business-critical resources to higher priority tasks. Moreover, the partnership can develop long-term strategies for additional cost reductions and capability enhancements that ensure sustained benefits.
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