Managed Print Services

Optimising the Desktop and Corridor Print Environment - Article by Jannes du Plooy on 20 August 2009The procurement of output devices (copiers, faxes, printers and scanners) is fast becoming a science in its own right. This commodity group traditionally falls under an organisation's 'indirect spend' category (i.e. non-core business requirements), and as such is often not on the radar of the procurement department. This is partly the case for the reason that "various personnel organisations usually have the authority to procure hardware, software and / or consumables for the output devices spend, and thus the spend will accordingly be spread across many different items in the income statement", Jannes du Plooy, Chief Executive Officer of Solution WorX, told SmartProcurement in a recent interview.


Furthermore, organisations procure hardware as a commodity because it is easy to evaluate hardware tenders. However, procuring hardware based on individual and collective user and business requirements is far more complicated than merely buying some hardware. These requirements, coupled with sustainable savings through Desktop and Corridor Managed Print Services, is essential if an organisation wants to ensure that they print effectively, efficiently and economically.In recent times, South Africa has caught up with the international trend of utilising the services of specialised Desktop and Corridor Print Management Services. Du Plooy pointed out that "we, as a specialised service provider, are not in the business of selling hardware or consumables, but rather focus our expertise on managing output and reducing the exuberantly high cost of running print devices. Very few organisations know what their actual cost of printing is and in most cases do not understand the total cost of printing. Hardware vendors have also traditionally dominated the market and prefer that buyers do not know what they are actually paying. We, on the other hand, look after an organisation's entire fleet of output devices and clearly demonstrate to a client what they are currently spending on document output. This includes all geographies where the organisation operates, thus no printer, copier, scanner or multi-functional device can or must be left out of the equation. Only then will an organisation enjoy the maximum benefit of what we offer".When examining the domain of output devices, there is a clear distinction between the concepts of 'Office Automation' and 'Desktop and Corridor Managed Print Services'. The following table sets out the distinctions between these two processes below.

http://www.smartprocurement.co.za/images/OA%20vs.%20MPS1.php

In closing, Du Plooy pointed out that "in our experience most clients have over-invested in hardware and do not need a complete technology refresh, but rather a redeployment of hardware and better utilisation and management of this hardware". In our next article on this topic we will investigate why the above trend seems to run rampant in the industry.Jannes du Plooy can be contacted on the details below: Telephone: +27 86 170 5907 +27 86 170 5907Cell: +27 83 397 7739 +27 83 397 7739E-Mail: jannes@swx.co.za

The leaders in MPS in Africa

Solution WorX was founded in 2002 as a brand independent Managed Print Services company. The company is currently managing more than 12 000 devices, with over 20 000 users in four countries. Our clients include multi-national companies like JD Group, Glenrand MIB, Investec, GijimaAST, Debswana and Old Mutual (Namibia).

Three important elements must be identified that distinguish Solution WorX from all the hybrid vendors and service providers in the market that claim that they provide MPS services. These elements are:

1. Brand independence

2. Managed Print Services (or more encompassing – Document Output Management)

3. Methodology

Brand independence

A company can only be brand independent if it has no hardware sales targets or minimum reseller targets to attain. The main aim of the company must be the protection of the current investment (irrespective of the brands) and to satisfy the user requirements rather than do fleet management that makes up a small portion of a total MPS solution. Another factor that we have found impacts severely on brand independence, is the payment of commissions on hardware sales. This drives the wrong behaviour and is not conducive to a successful MPS solution.

Managed Print Services

The term MPS is loosely used by everyone remotely involved in the document output device, software and /or related consumables business including the traditional ICT companies that have realised that there is an opportunity but has very little understanding of the concept.

Traditional hardware companies will call every device they have on a cost per copy basis, “an MPS solution” and in many cases it will be called a “HP/Canon/Minolta/Xerox” solution.

MPS is the total management of the document output environment without exceptions i.e. all hardware devices (irrespective of brand, printers, copiers, facsimile and scanners) within an organisation, all consumables (cartridges, paper, spare parts, etc), all rentals and maintenance irrespective who it is with at the moment, with no minimum bill – consumption billing only. It is about total outsourcing – the Service Provider taking the full risk and not hiding behind “tricky rental agreements” – i.e. escalations, minimum billing, early settlements, “ever greens”. An MPS solution is a solution that protects the customer against the traditional cannibalistic approach of hardware vendors and finance companies and allows the customer to only pay what they print for at a clearly defined, all inclusive, price per print.

Hybrid Solutions

Everyone in the Output hardware and consumable industry (and even now in the software arena) claim to be doing MPS. If we look carefully at the model, they have excluded several elements (i.e. certain range of devices are excluded (traditional copier companies often exclude printers and vice versa), paper are almost always excluded, minimum billing on all devices are built into the contract and software is seldom offered as a Service (SaaS)). A traditional cost per copy model is now often called an MPS solution – a bulldog with lipstick on is still a bulldog!!

If you do what you did, you get what you’ve got

Methodology

Solution WorX has developed and documented a detailed methodology to provide an end to end MPS solution. As far as we can establish we have the only standard documented MPS methodology globally (not a hybrid adapted pay per page or cost per copy methodology).

Undisputed leaders

With more than 110 people full time employed focussing exclusively on MPS, more than 2,400 printer support specialists in its channel network across 60 service centres in Southern Africa, coupled with the unique MPS co-opetition / collaboration approach that Solution WorX created, we have established ourselves as the first choice in several industries with very large / prestige clients that include several Financial Services, Retail and Mining companies. Our clients appointed us as their MPS partners where document output devices were not merely a peripheral add on to some other outsourcing contract and support / break fix is the main aim of the appointment. Our clients entrusted us with the total cost of printing which make us the undisputed leader in MPS in Africa.