Improving Your Document Output Environment

Are you the one who has been tasked with improving your organizations document output environment – where will you begin?

Taking the common path will mean following the recommendations of most of the vendors you will encounter and focus on reducing the operating costs of your network printer fleet. You may even contract with one of them to "manage" it under an MPS or fleet management umbrella.

Obviously, the network printer fleet is a major component of your document output environment but only that, a component. If you do not consider other elements such as user behaviors and workflow, or try to address the network printer fleet in isolation from the rest of the environment you are missing the greatest opportunity to maximize your environment.

It is my belief that it is just as important to understand how and where the documents originate as it is to know where they are output. Analysis of the data I find in my document environment assessments invariably allows me to identify expense reductions as high as 35% without ever addressing operating costs. Without this knowledge how can one truly maximize both the fleet and user productivity?

Three simple examples to illustrate this point:

In a recent assessment I discovered that the client was printing approximately 36,000 color pages per month from e-mail. At a contracted cost of $0.075 per page they were wasting a minimum of $2,700 per month on this unnecessary activity.

In another project the client's equipment supplier recommended they upgrade a color-enabled MFD due to increased volume. Analysis of the data showed that just over 40% of the volume was coming from another workgroup who had an MFD that did not meet their needs. Replacing the device with too much volume would not have solved the core problem.

It is not unusual to discover that a percentage of users print 100% of their documents in color without any application-based requirements to do so. Additionally they often do this on desktop printers with a cost per page averaging 20 cents.

When performing assessments many vendors map the client's devices, some even map the volumes produced by those devices but mapping the volumes by user really provides a view of how the document output assets should be placed to best meet their needs.

More often than not I encounter prospects and RFPs that are only addressing the network printer fleet without consideration of the desktop printers, facsimile machines and MFDs. It is only with a balanced deployment of all these classes of devices that you can maximize your environment. Detailed data that shows job characteristics such as size by pages allows you to develop an effective least cost printing strategy.

The point of this post is if you are setting out to re-engineer your print output environment do not shortchange yourself by limiting the scope of the project. Assessing and analyzing all components will provide you with the knowledge of their interdependencies and ultimately allow you to maximize each one individually. Stay in touch for more detailed discussions of these topics.

Will the Xerox ColorQube Revolutionize the Industry?

I recently attended the launch of the Xerox ColorQube where I heard a number of industry analysts declare how much it was going to revolutionize the industry.

After listening to the presentation I have to say I would agree .... well sort of!

In my opinion, the technology within the ColorQube is a market-changing development but for entirely different reasons that Xerox would probably want me to believe. Xerox has leveraged the controller within the new ColorQube to finally make color more affordable and practical for the average organization. They are actually using the pixel counting that occurs during raster image processing to differentiate color pages and their associated costs. This is one of those things that is brilliant due to the simplicity of concept but potental impact.

What this is going to do is allow Xerox to profitably charge for color pages as low as one cent per page and an average that is probably somewhere about three to four cents. The potential cost savings to an end-user is in the thousands of dollars per year per MFD, something I think will be attractive.

There are additional benefits such as sustainability due to the low waste associated with this technology, variable color print speeds and application driven color quality but none are as impactful as the simple pixel counting.

The solid ink technology, similar to laser and inkjet, has its limitations and I am not sure how well the end-user community will accept it to drive the success of the ColorQube itself. In spite of this, if Xerox has done a good job with patents and can exclusively apply this billing approach to their other technologies such as color laser they may well revolutionize the industry.

It will be interesting to see how other manufacturers react to this simple application of technology - and how they will get around any Xerox patents that may exist.

Link to the ColorQube 9200 on the Xerox Web Site

Print Management versus Device Management - One Last Try

My first three posts developed the idea that MPS was more than device or fleet management - discussing the roots of the confusion and the reason(s) it should be important to providers and end-users alike.

It was my intent to move on to more granular discussions of MPS at this point but some of the responses from various sources causes me to make one last attempt to differentiate the parent from the child.

Managed print services (MPS) should do just that; manage print or the print environment. Some of the responses pointed out that MPS is more than CPP programs; it is management of the fleet and fleet strategy. This indicates they missed the point of my postings which leads me to pose the question; "how does device or fleet management fully equate to managing print?” Does it not manage print devices - a subset of managing print? In fact, the term MPS was coined to define a broader set of services than fleet management. I hope the folks who responded by offering various definitions of fleet management as MPS take a moment to read the earlier posting Managed Print Services, Blind Men & Elephants

Since users generate the documents to begin with and their workflow and behaviors determine the methods of output how can we as providers or end-users maximize our print environments without managing user behaviors, workflow and change. How does one maximize the fleet without knowing the sources and characteristics of the documents? Are we trying to just reduce the costs and resources required to print a page or possibly reduce the number of pages, implement a least cost printing strategy or improve productivity?

For those who thought this was all about semantics, it is not! It is important for all parties to realize the full potential of MPS so they do not limit the scope of their strategies to just devices and fleets. End-user clients can maximize their print environments and providers can build a complete set of complementary services. This obviously does not mean every end-user or service provider will implement all possible MPS components but the key idea here is that they should be armed with the awareness that lets them "choose." If MPS is constantly limited to managing the fleet or fleet strategy what choices will be available?

There was at least one suggestion that it did not matter how you defined MPS or what service mark you applied to your offering but rather how you consummate the client engagement. I completely agree with this observation and would suggest that a robust service offering which includes more than just fleet management can significantly increase the ability to meet the client’s needs.

Stay tuned to this blog for expanded discussions of MPS offerings which may shed some light for those with a view limited to device management or management of the fleet and the fleet strategy. I certainly appreciate any and all feedback; the discussion is necessary and excellent. I especially welcome comments from those who are in fact taking MPS beyond the devices and fleet.

MPS – A Contrarian Viewpoint?

First off, let me acknowledge that some of the following assertions and observations are generalizations but that is germane to this posting.

It appears to me that the majority of participants in this industry equate managed print services with cost-per-page or device (fleet) management programs which include supplies, fix/repair services and some degree of usage reporting. If this observation is correct then my view of MPS is contrary to the industry in general.

I have been arguing for some time that MPS is actually a collection of service offerings designed to help clients design, implement and manage a digital document output environment rather than just manage output devices. Further, I would outline the MPS roadmap as follows:

• Assessment services
• RFP & bid management
• Supply sourcing and management
• Fix/Repair services
• Technical support
• Hardware placement
• Workflow design & implementation
• Strategic management services

The question you should be asking is “why is this important to me or my clients.”

While CPP or device management programs may reduce end-user client expenses they do not necessarily solve the underlying problems – a lack of environmental management. A comprehensive MPS engagement on the other hand will address these causative factors and deliver additional benefits such as efficiency, productivity, sustainability and additional savings.

If, as a service provider, you ignore the MPS components other than device management you are not only short-changing your own business but your client(s) as well.

Maybe even more important is the following question:

“As device management services mature, what will be my differentiator other than the cost of my services; will I be able to compete with other service providers who offer more robust managed print services?”

We have seen margins decline in both traditional MFD and printer markets; what makes us think that competition will not bring the same results to device management services?

I realize that every dealer may not have the resources to enter this market with a full set of managed print services but at least you should be aware of the long-term prospects so you can plan accordingly. Enter the market now with what you can do but plan your offerings to fit into a larger professional services practice or develop partnerships to supplement your capabilities.

A case in point is the practice of providing free print assessments to capture the supply and service revenue from network printers. If you are investing the time why not execute them with enough value to charge a reasonable fee? If margins do decline will you be able to continue to bear the costs associated with assessments? The rush to free assessments reminds me of the rush to provide free copier trials as that industry matured or no-charge networking support for MFDs: where did that get us all?

MPS services provide value to the client if executed with their best interest in mind and most reasonable clients expect to pay for services which deliver measureable benefits to their organization.

It seems to me that providing MPS components free of charge indicates you are trying to sell services using a hardware (or supplies) sales model rather than the appropriate model for a professional services offering.

I invite you to view my version of the MPS Roadmap on my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=3614067&trk=tab_pro

Are You Still Thinking About Managed Print Services?

Managed print services should no longer be ignored or merely contemplated by either the provider community or end-user client. MPS can resolve the issues resulting from the convergence between component-based copiers and cartridge-based printers and continued use of early print workflows by the end-user community.

MPS will deliver expense reductions, improve technology ROI and increase employee productivity for end-user clients who have seen an explosion of cartridge-based assets and associated pages.

MFD dealers who experienced erosion of page volumes can recapture lost revenues or traditional printer dealers can protect or increase their share of the clients document output spend.

Change

In order to cross the chasm most of the interested parties will need to rethink their strategies.

End-user clients can benefit from transitioning to a truly digital document output environment versus simply employing digitally-based technology in a predominantly analog workflow. Virtually all available output technology enables advanced digital production workflows, management and modification of user behaviors, high level proactive support and effective business processes to measure and manage their environments.

Service providers from both sides of the technology spectrum will need to rethink their objectives from simply selling more hardware, supplies and fix/repair services to assisting their clients design, implement and manage a digital document output environment. Most will need to change their approaches from selling hardware, supplies and service to being a services provider much the same way as IT related organizations did a decade ago.

Opportunity

Implementation of managed print services provides the greatest savings for the end-user client; these high value services deliver the highest margin potential for the service provider: both parties win.

All of the managed print services components—assessment services, strategic planning, fleet management, technical support, hardware placement, workflow design and strategic management services provide revenue opportunities for the provider.

The good news is that you probably have many of the resources in place required to enter managed print services and only need to understand it better. If not, you can find partners that will participate with you in building your MPS strategy. Armed with this knowledge and a good assessment of your objectives, expectations and resources you can plan a successful MPS strategy.

Next Step

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is MPS?
• What are my reasons for getting into it?
• What are my expectations and how will I measure success?
• What commitments am I willing to make to succeed?

Additionally, service providers should consider:

• Are my clients requesting this service?
• Am I meeting competitive pressures?
• Am I looking for new revenue opportunities or am I simply trying to sell more hardware, supplies and fix/repair services.

Once you have answered these questions, you can determine what commitments it will take and what returns they will render.