Tag Archives: print management

By implementing a managed print service strategy that saves time, money and is ‘green’.

I recently wrote about the differences between managing your print in-house V outsourcing/print management.

Here! Two similar sounding models yet distinctly different!

In the article, I refer to the management of print in-house often referred to as MPS (Managed Print Services)

The lines become easily blurred when talking about print management and MPS?

Many businesses don’t really understand or know the true cost of printing and often there is no method employed to manage and control print spend.

How can you take control of this seemingly mundane yet essential everyday business function?

Take Control of your print NOW!!

Why implement an in-house print management system?

Simple!

To manage and recover costs
Be able to print anywhere but with the right control mechanisms in place
Reduce paper waste
Increase productivity
Reduce adminstrative costs
Improve profitability by removing the hidden cost of printing and making it visible

Before I continue I should point out that a print management software/hardware solution employed in-house is not the same as print management and outsourcing all your finance/corporate printing.

Whilst the two sound similar and do cross paths, print management is a unique discipline that includes outsourcing anything from a business card, cheque to pens, mugs, mouse mats and all your finance/corporate print.

Managed Print Solutions are about managing the document process and print such as the printing of emails, photo-copying and document archiving in-house.

Implementation of an effective managed print program can see businesses reduce print costs by up to 30%.

Statistics can so easily be manipulated but for the purposes of this article let me provide an example of a US bank that implemented a strategic print management process and removed some 88 million print impressions, cut colour printing by just under 50% and paid for the initial investment within 8 weeks of it being set up. Impressive!

How does it work?

A suite of print management software tools designed for companies, universities and commercial enterprises installed on your network that help you take back control of what you print by monitoring, measuring ongoing management of print activity.

The software is designed to gain a clear picture of what a company needs and then involves the deployment of the proper equipment to meet these needs.

It also helps employees become more aware of their printing habits and enforces print policies where necessary such as routing jobs to the most cost effective devices or by limiting the amount of colour printing.

Using print management software brings accountability and control of printed output to an enterprise, school, university, law practice, and accountancy firm.

User level reporting hi-lights awareness of print habits, costs and helps influence print behaviour to make employees think more before they hit the PRINT button.

It is a simple one step solution which keeps track of output from all connected printers and copiers by providing:-

Take control of your printed output!

Accurate – information for all print and copy costs
Secure – only releasing documents for output after users authenticate at the device
Mobile – allowing users to send files to print from one location then pick them up across the building or campus
Green – as it can discourage waste and enforces rules for output
Reduce – print/copy costs and waste around the organisation
Redirect – large jobs +50 pages to a high volume multifunctional product (MFP)
Eliminate – unnecessary printing by allowing users to delete jobs sent in error
Auto delete – jobs in the print queue so they aren’t printed
Duplex printing – colour prints
Works with existing printers MFP’s and copiers
Adapts to any size

How do you regain control of your print spend and reduce print and paper costs?

Easy. Click here and one of our advisors will call you.

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Document Management, Featured Posts, Managing Print Costs, Outsourcing, Print Management

What's the difference – Managed Print Services v Print Management Services

January 11, 2012 Caroline 3 Comments

Managed Print Services vs Print Management Services?

When two seemingly similar sounding service offerings actually mean completely different business models?

Although they sound the same and are often used in the same context, they are in fact very different from each other!

Here’s how?

Print Management Services

Let me start by describing what print management is! Back in June 2011, I wrote about print management services and the benefits it can bestow on an enterprise or company, a more detailed understanding of it is here!

Optimising print management enables a business or enterprise to “control” costs through an external service provider for all their document and print needs.

This can be anything from a business card, USB stick, offset printing, wide format, apparel and promotional gifts to printed leaflets and magazines.

The benefits of working with a print management partner enables you to make gains financially as your print spend is centralised with one main supplier.

Their ability to locate and provide the print resources you lack in house such as buying power, print expertise, skill and cost budgeting are beneficial to the customer.

Most businesses have no idea what they are spending on print in fact many businesses view print as a necessary evil rather than an essential tool in their business kit and certainly one that can benefit from being outsourced to an external party!

Print management is about managing the purchasing. It really is a mixed print bag of stock control, logistics, distribution, storage, procurement of printed matter designed to deliver cost savings, time savings and controlled spending whilst providing a managed print solution.

Managed Print Services

Managed Print Services or Print Management Service

Often abbreviated to MPS also known as enterprise printing services and managed document services.

MPS refers to the active deployment of a centralised management of a fleet or group of hard copy output devices such as photocopiers, digital devices, laser printers and scanners.

In effect it enables the company, school, university to take control of their printed output from any or all of these devices.

Thus controlling what gets printed on what device.

MPS affords the ability to manage and control the cost of the output by providing secure, restrictive, re-directional access to printing devices by setting up company wide rules for output consistently, automatically resulting in responsible printing and minimising waste paper and ink toner.

It is a simple solution designed to keep track of all output from connected printers and copiers by accounting for and recovering costs therefore ensuring convenience but without sacrificing security.

What are the benefits of both?

For example a University would make substantial savings having a managed print service and a print management service provider.

With many staff and students accessing potentially thousands of devices on a network tight control of what gets printed and where is warranted.

Equally a print management service takes away the headache of how to go about printing the Student HandBook or Prospectus as the print management company will have the knowledge and access to the best trade supplier thus ensuring the university gets the job done at the best price.

Both services are in effect managed centrally with MPS enabling an organisation to control their print budget and PMS (print management services) although externalised also managed centrally albeit printing is off sited but with control over monetary spend provided by the PM company who as part of the service provision will seek to manage your print costs.

Which service is better for me?

No hard and fast rule really. A school, university or a law practice could benefit from a combination of both services. A business who has a spend of £50k p.a. on print might well benefit from a PM service as they lack the time and skill to source printed items and may well be running a number of desktop printers and maybe 1-2 copiers.

Compare this say to a university or a big city based law firm where personnel print either from a desk top or remotely and there is no real control over what gets printed and where it gets printed i.e. a document printed in colour when black and white will suffice. An MPS will give them better control over costs.

Where print is ordered on a “when we need it basis” and is managed by different personnel then its highly likely a PM service will save the firm time and money!

Both services can work in tandem or independently of each other! Both services have the potential to drive a business’ print costs down substantially making the management of print less fraught and time consuming!

By requesting a print audit we will be able to establish what service will benefit your organisation.

So call us now for a free impartial discussion and we will show you how to save money on your print!

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Document Management, Managed Print Services, Managing Print Costs, Outsourcing, Print Management, Secure Print Management

How print management software saves you money.

December 5, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

How to automate print in your company employing print management software.

Most companies have the option to insource or outsource their document printing and manage document flow thereby managing print costs.

Print management software helps companies gain control and management of their printing to reduce costs, increase document security by automatically enforcing printing rules, authenticating users and identifying and allocating document costs.

I’ve exemplified the benefits that can be had by outsourcing documents and demonstrated effective ways where organisations can save money.

But, what if an organisation can’t or simply wont outsource these business processes due to system limitations or compliance to a specific process and or system?

Like every story there are always two sides.

What can a company do to ensure its paper flow is…

kept flowing?

Implementing a strategic print management software application can ensure you automatically control and manage how print flows through your organisation satisfying three primary objectives:

improve productivity
maximise time
reduce paper

Using a print management application with effective print controls automates and optimises the way print moves around a building. Setting specific print controls and denying users printing from certain open applications such as email and automatically re-routing that task to the most cost effective printer such as a mono printer rather than an ink guzzling colour cartridge printer can help drive down the print costs for a company.

Industry analysts estimate that over 44% of printing is unncessary. We print things more than once, instead of selecting the pages we print which might only be one page we end up hitting the “print all” button.

Wasted paper, consumables, escalating electricity bills are the hidden costs behind unnecessary printing therefore opting for print management software helps companies regain control and management of their printing to reduce costs and increase productivity.

By measuring, monitoring and managing print activity, print management software provides a way for companies to gain a clearer picture of a company’s printing needs and then enables the effective deployment of equipment to meet those needs without spending capital on printing technologies that are either inappropriate for the tasks required or are so costly that the ROI will take years.

The deployment of print management software tools within an organisation helps employees become more aware of their printing habits, provides tools to enforce print policies by re-routing print jobs to cheaper printers, reduce print/copy costs, improve document security on the network and eliminate waste and inefficiencies within an enterprise.

What exactly does a managed print service do for a company?

An MPS (Managed Print service) tracks print, copy and scan activity company wide
Allocate document costs to a department or office
Set and enforce print/copy quotas to prevent paper waste
Makes printing easy and convenient and more secure
Re-direct print jobs to more cost effective devices
Reporting functionality which enables a company to keep print costs down

Deploying a cost effective print managed service can save a company money if implemented in the right way.

What do you do to keep print costs down?

What strategies have you employed to reduce the amount of paper that flows through your company?

Let me know what has worked and what hasn’t?

If your company is slowly going under paper then call us to discuss your requirements.

In the first instance we will do a print audit free of charge.

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Outsourcing

12 Reasons to Outsource. Key points to think about when outsourcing.

October 14, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

This is the second article featuring Reasons to Outsource.

When the word outsourcing is mentioned it conjures up fear, the prospect of moving to distant shores and the possibility of job losses but it’s not all doom and gloom.

Here are some points to consider when thinking of outsourcing:-

The incumbent supplier/provider is responsible for the management of the overall process but YOU the organisation need to actively be involved with the management of the relationship. It’s important you take your time when making decisions governing working with a service provider.
Establishing a good working relationship is paramount to ensure longevity of the service. Communication and regular review meetings throughout the set up process are essential.
The CEO/MD of the company intending to outsource should nominate a “champion”, a person within the organisation who has the responsibility to take control and manage the project through to completion.
It’s important that people within the business particularly within the area that is being evaluated for outsourcing have involvement with the project, they may have concerns over their jobs or the scope of their role within the new infrastructure so keeping them informed at all times minimises the fear factor.
If staff are being transferred to the outsourcing provider then you will need to consider employment legislation.

You are likely to get the best results when you are committed to staying with your service provider for several years because it increases the likelihood of building a successful and long lasting relationship.

Should I Outsource?

The immediate benefits of outsourcing are fiscal but they can also lead to a better strategy for your company by divesting yourself of non core activities or processes that have outgrown your business and by removing these non core activities can reap substantial benefits.

Consider the following objectives:-

Will outsourcing free up your business to focus on its strategy irrespective of whether its selling widgets or providing services.
Is it going to improve the efficient running of an area of your business such as Payroll, Billing or I.T?
Will you gain a competitive advantage? Will you be better positioned to manage your costs by freeing up capital and having a better understanding of your fixed costs.

How to make outsourcing work for you?

Firstly there must be some form of measurement process and KPI’s (key performance indicators) to establish the success of the project from implementation through to completion of the project. On-going evaluations are key to ensuring continuing success and objectives are achieved.

Whilst financial benefits are important you might be outsourcing to improve a specific business function such as customer service, reducing errors in billing or decreasing the time taken to undertake your payroll.

Know what you are getting into – these days you can outsource any area of your business – call centre operations, I.T. Payroll & HR, AR & AP, Corporate Print, Finance Accounting.
Do you really need to outsource? Having covered this in previous blogs does outsourcing fit into your business plan – in other words do you have a function which has become a burden to the business and no longer fits in with your core business competencies?
Selecting your service partner is also key in the successful migration of your business function. Note how I emphasise ‘partner’ rather than provider. If you are entering into a long relationship not too dissimilar to a marriage you need to take into account the culture, the background and the providers track record in providing similar services to the one you are seeking to outsource.
Ensure you have an SLA that is flexible but at the same time articulates how performance is measured, what the pricing plan is, does it offer the flexibility to manage changes in your finances or industry, what happens if you introduce a new product or service and you are affected by a worsening of the economy your contract should also have an exit clause.
Have a clear exit strategy too and make sure your SLA contains a clause to that effect, in the unlikely event the relationship ends prematurely or your company needs to bring the outsourced function back in house due to economic changes in your marketplace.
Managing the process – the work or department that is being outsourced requires a period of time to understand and adjust to the process resulting in a change of roles for personnel and an increase in the time management spent in overseeing the migration. Are you prepared to spend the time managing the relationship?

Outsourcing what? How to manage the process of outsourcing anything?
Work with an independent consultant who has knowledge of the process and will offer effective impartial advice and assist you in selecting the right outsource provider.
What are the costs to your business if you choose not to outsource? Will your business be affected if you can’t afford to invest in the expertise or facilities required to drive your business forward?
Weigh up the costs of administering the business function in house V outsourcing and this should include the costs of personnel and office space, consumables, equipment leased/hired etc
What are your expectations? You need to be realistic and by having a good working relationship with your outsource partner you can set realistic and achievable deliverables right from the outset.
On a final note, its always good to weigh the scales i.e. the FOR V AGAINST for outsourcing because when all is said and done its your business that will ultimately be affected by change and so outsourcing has to be a positive experience for both the company outsourcing and the service provider delivering the solution or service.
An independent advisor will already have established a track record with a variety of service providers and solution specialists to ensure that customers receive the best service at the right price.

Unsure where to start or how to manage the process and need some advice?

Click here and we will contact you.

Call us now for a free, no obligation consultation

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Document Management, Managing Print Costs, Print Management

How can a print management services company save YOU time and money?

September 22, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

A print management services company takes the P out of paperwork. By consolidating your suppliers and using a print partner saves you time and money because the print management company has access to solutions and services that can be personalised to fit your needs

“We are a print management services company, not a printing company. We help customers streamline their printing costs by outsourcing print and reduce costs through our expertise and access to an extensive network of suppliers/manufacturers. It is through this network coupled with our expertise that enables us to source the right product and/or solution at the right price for the customer”.

How can you reduce your print costs using a print management services company?

There are two distinct advantages of working with a print management company:

Experience
Versatility

A print management services company has the experience to manage the outsourcing of a simple print project to a full scale re-deployment of a company’s corporate print.

They are able to adapt to the evolution of a project and can source through its extensive network a manufacturer or supplier capable of delivering a highly customised cross media print solution, it’s what we call a best fit rather than a one size fits all.

Using long standing qualified and influential relationships ensures that the customer’s work is fulfilled at the right price with the right solution tailored to the customers needs.

Print management companies offer free and impartial advice from the design concept through to the completion of a project.

So how does this save a company money?

It’s not rocket science.

It’s all to do with the relationships that have been built up over many years, the sourcing of specific products and solutions dictated by an ever changing market place that enable the print manager to deliver a whole suite of print and electronic solutions impartially and independently without you, the company having to source, learn, understand and do-it-yourself!

An experienced independent print management company will make the customers needs a priority and offer solutions from a variety of vendors to meet those needs giving them a distinct advantage over an in-house solution/service provided by a manufacturer who are only committed to the expertise and equipment they have to sell, which, in some cases, is an oversold piece of kit or a managed service way in excess of what the customer needs.

8 main reasons why you should use a print management services company!

Time saved on sourcing print items and solutions
One supplier – one invoice
Print & production managed by one project manager
On-line print ordering and viewing system, web2print – customer can view and place orders online, see his order status and update
Skill and expertise not available in-house
Accessibility to 1,000’s of unique print, electronic and promotional products; secure managed print solutions
Continuity of service
Storage of printed material now housed remotely with no on-going cost to you.

These are just a few simple ways a business can benefit from removing itself from the task of buying print and related solutions by using a print management consultant.

For an independent discussion on how outsourcing can work for your company please call us.

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Cheques and cheque printing, Managing Print Costs, Print Management

Cheque outsourcing. How to do it and what to look out for.

September 8, 2011 Caroline 1 Comment

Cheque printing and BAC’s payments are being used in vast quantities daily for payments to suppliers and customers alike.

The difficulty with combining both methods can be costly and labour intensive particularly when you are hand matching cheques and separate remittances factor in cheque distribution for various signatories and the task suddenly becomes cumbersome. A customer recently expressed his frustration at what seemed like an endless stream of cheques to sign; in reality that wasn’t the case, it just felt like it to him!

By using an end to end service for cheque printing and sign-writing the process becomes a completely automated, flexible outsourced fulfilment service for cheques and credit printing all prepared to C & CCC standards.

I am going to make the case here for why organisations should seriously consider outsourcing this process.

So here’s a list of tips to consider before cheque outsourcing!

1/ What do you hope to achieve by outsourcing your cheques? Is it cost reduction, time saving, automation of the process or a combination of all three?

2/ How many payments do you make monthly/weekly and is this inconvenient or difficult to manage?

Outsourcing enables a company to combine cheque and electronic payment transactions from one secure payments file, a bureau can take care of data separation and exceptions reporting too.

3/ Are you wanting to continue with a mix of cheque and BACS payments?

Using a payments bureau gives you the flexibility to outsource regular and one off payments and can be used for BACS, Cheques, DD Payments. You can automate payments without having to purchase or administer software.

Cheques are still needed to make payments to people and businesses.

4/ Does your system allow you to create cheque remittances? Or is it something you’ve never made the time do? By amalgamating a cheque with a remittance portion simplifies the printing and sending of cheques, no separate cheque and remittance run.

5/ Outsourcing cheques is not like asking your local printer down the road to print your stationery requirements; you need to ensure that the printer has APACS accreditation and C & CCC (Cheque & Credit Clearing Company) along with ISO27001 the information management accreditation which demonstrates a company’s process regarding the handling of your information and data.

This is critical in any outsourcing process but even more so for cheques and payments. A due diligence visit to the security printer is a must to authenticate process and procedures are in place for the handling of cheque data.

6/ Professional – Do your cheques currently convey your brand or they are simply bank standard issue?

By outsourcing your company cheques they can be personalised with your company image and design.

7/ Administration – How much time is it really taking to print and process cheques in-house?

Outsourcing cheques and payments will be done quickly, accurately and can be tailored to be processed daily, weekly or monthly.

8/ Security – what happens when cheques are distributed around the business for signing they can easily be mislaid or misappropriated and non infilled cheques pose a security risk.

Outsourcing gives you secure cheque design with additional security features UV, aqua-fugitive and holograms plus an audit trail for all cheques printed and not where’s that cheque I sent up to the 4th floor for signing gone?

9/ Do you have multiple sites?

If your organisation needs to manage stocks across a branch network or across many sites using a customer automated stocking or replenishment system will automatically manage and replenish stocks at each branch.

10/ And finally, do you need cheques for overseas banking?

Cheques can be printed in any format in any denomination – sterling £; euro € , dollars $ or even multi-currency options as A4 cut sheets, cheque books, continuous binder cheques or pressure seal mailers personalised using MICR printers, sign, fold, insert and post out.

Digital Print Management can offer independent expert advice on what kind of printed cheque a company should use and can advise you on the latest cheque formats and security cheque printing solutions.

CALL US TODAY! for more information.

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Managing Print Costs, Print Management

Why choosing a print supplier is like buying a PC?

August 22, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

When you decide to choose a print supplier it’s a bit like buying a PC.

Why?

Because you need it to do three things really well:

Sturdy and reliable in other words like your print supplier you want it to be able to withstand the rigours of working with you and be capable of fulfilling your expectations.
Processing – like your PC you want your printer to be quick to respond to your needs.
Competitive – you will probably have a budget and this will determine what you will use your PC for; your print supplier is much the same; a competitively priced service is an advantage but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.

Price shouldn’t be the main motivator in choosing your printer and in some instances this principle also applies to purchasing your PC.

If you want a PC to do a basic job then you will undoubtedly buy a cheap netbook but don’t be surprised when it doesn’t deliver all that you want it to do. The same can be said when seeking to work with a printer supplier. If you purchase print purely on price because you consider it to be valueless then I would suggest that the cheapest price is probably the right choice for you!

Think about the features of a PC; what do you want it to be able to do for you; do you have a specification; how long do you invisage using your PC until you replace it?

The same approach can be applied when you are looking for a good supplier of print.

Here are some things to consider:

Are they financially secure?
How long have they been in business?
Have you determined what or how you will use your supplier? For example if you are considering outsourcing your cheque printing and processing; it’s unlikely you will be using the local printer down the road as you need to be working with an APACS accredited printer!

Be clear on what type of supplier you are looking for which in turn, will aid you in being able to provide a specification(s) to the print company.

Are you seeking to establish a long/short term working partnership? If you are considering outsourcing an aspect of your back office printing such as invoice processing then you must be looking at a longer term relationship.

By not properly evaluating what there is in the market place you could end up having to go through the whole process further down the line.

Finally don’t be taken in by a supplier who offers many other features that are irrelevant to the task in hand; it is very easy to be sidetracked by wonderful solutions and various offerings but they may not have any bearing on your own specification and requirements.

A reputable print company will be able to reduce your costs by understanding your requirement and offer their expertise by suggesting an alternate but just as effective solution; in fact, your supplier should be actively promoting cost reductions where feasible.

Price should not be the dictum when choosing whom you wish to partner with; this is a short term and ineffective approach it won’t save you money in the long term because you won’t have established good working partnerships, and in the short term, loyalty to you and the company will be compromised as your print supplier will devalue you as a customer in other words you will be perceived as someone who only ever buys on price this does not make for a good relationship with your print supplier!

So even if it’s a PC or a print supplier you want it to be there for you through thick and thin and deliver when you need it most!

For a free and impartial discussion just call us!

Managing Print Costs, Outsourcing, Print Management

Outsourcing the pros and cons. Why customers are scared to change suppliers?

August 17, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

I want to share a true story.

In March of this year, Digital Print Management met with a £200m+ turnover company based in the Midlands.

Companies that offer a cost effective solution for your business needs are the companies you should be listening to because they provide expert advice.

The sales process began in 2008 with an informal meeting with the Finance Director; the key influencer and decision maker.

The company were already engaged in an outsource relationship for the printing of their billing and debt collection letters.

In spite of a very informative discussion we were unable to woo them with our offering.

The incumbent supplier we were advised were doing a satisfactory job but the FD insisted we stay in contact.

Note the word satisfactory. The following three years met with quarterly telephone updates, emails and general newsletters on Digital Print Management’s services and consultancy at the behest of the Company.

Then bingo, we were invited back again for a preliminary discussion.

We met this time with the Credit Manager (we had been referred by the FD) who was very open about the current relationship with their print partner.

Things were not good to say the least.

Co-incidentally, their print partner was a large UK based print management company. Information was forthcoming and we knew what the specifications and requirements of the applications were and more importantly, what they were looking for in a working partnership.

A proposal was requested and dutifully submitted and received with gasps of ohh and aahhh as we showed savings in excess of £15,000 factoring in postage, paperless billing and processing costs.

The proposal was based on margins in keeping with our philosophy a fair price without de-valuing our service offering, skill and expertise.

A follow up meeting took place which was favourable with all the buying signs evident. We tested their buying signals to ensure they were keen to progress and a formal written request for us to proceed was issued and a live implementation date agreed at the end of the meeting.

There were calls to action and the prospective customer appeared to be content and confident with advancing the project.

And then SILENCE!

The silence was deafening!

Frustration at the short-sightedness of companies limited outlook!

We duly followed up our actions, with their call to actions, no response. We emailed again, no response, we called, guess what, no response.

I know that when a company wants to change vendors this can be fraught with many variables and we had said that if at any stage a well meaning person should question the decision taken that they should take one of our very special DPM sweets.

And if that didn’t work to alleviate any concerns then to telephone directly.

Because we all know what happens after you make that buying decision it’s called buyers remorse. The one that says I know it makes sense and I’ve made the right choice but then someone comes a long and happens to say oohh is it the right time to be changing suppliers now? Or words to that effect.

One seemingly throwaway comment suddenly propels a buyer into panic mode questioning the decision he/she has made.

Irrespective of how well the service provider has absolutely done the best job and closed ‘that sale’.

The success in changing the vendor is determined by the longevity of the current relationship.

How was the supplier relationship founded i.e does the MD happen to be socially connected with the MD of the print company?

Who else in the company does business with the print vendor?

The inertia to change has to be there and in this case was all too evident!

As far as Digital Print Management was concerned it clearly was a bench-marking exercise and was a poor way of the prospective customer fleecing us of information of our services and solutions.

They probably went back to their current vendor and no doubt bartered for more discount.

And then I stumbled upon an article which said that buyers are not interested in developing connections or relationships for the long term they prefer to connect and disconnect as their requirements change or, as needs arise.

I consider this to be a very transient relationship bourne out of a short-term need rather than a long-term productive relationship.

It is a fleeting transaction between that of the buyer and that of the vendor providing the service/commodity.

Depending on the size of the purchase will dictate the duration of the buying process.

To quickly illustrate buying a pair of shoes is not like buying a house, the former taking minutes and the latter being a long drawn out process requiring trust on the part of the estate agent and solicitor!

Surely any business relationship can prosper if both parties are keen to work together to reach a fulfilling and satisfactory result in which both parties benefit but this can only be achieved over a period of time, right?

Was it the fact that it was just too much hassle to move supplier? Is it the fear factor i.e. better the devil we know which far outweighs the need to change? Or is it quite simply that business relationships are formed only when the need arises.

Is customer loyalty outdated?

After all I am sure you’ve experienced speaking with a contact one week only to find the following week they’ve moved jobs!

What do you think? Do you have any similar experiences to share? Do you agree that buyers see suppliers as “loose connections” there only to satisfy an immediate requirement?

Please feel free to leave a comment and share your experiences!

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Managing Print Costs

8 Tips to consider when outsourcing billing

August 2, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

Outsourcing a business process is a viable and cost effective proposition for many businesses.

When you decide to outsource a business function such as outsourcing billing the risk can be minimised by ensuring you select the right partner.

I use this term because it has to be a relationship, one that works two ways, it’s not an association; or “just the company we happen to use to do our billing, payroll, print function you are outsourcing it has to be a relationship designed to aid your business which translates onto your bottom line.

Your check list should include the following:

Deciding which business process should be outsourced is defined by what has become a bottle-neck in your company.

What process/processes are you considering outsourcing? – outsourcing billing, payroll, HR?

What selection process/mechanism are you going to use to find such a company?

Who is going to be responsible for managing the task of selecting the provider?

What criteria of selection should be used to disseminate the good from the bad?

Please don’t make this solely size of turnover or accreditation driven; there are just as many small and large companies doing just a good and bad job of providing services to the end user. If, after an initial discussion a potential supplier can satisfactorily demonstrate in-house quality, policy and procedures that are integral to you and your requirement then don’t rule them out of the picture!

How do I evaluate the service provisions on offer?

I would recommend you think about what credentials the supplier has i.e. years of expertise, references and case studies of projects undertaken. More importantly a genuine gut feel of the person(s) and the company you are talking too!

What are you asking the incumbent supplier to do/provide service wise?

What will my decision making criteria be based upon?

I urge caution here as a decision should never be price driven in our experience this has always been to the detriment of the company seeking to outsource and you will end up by shooting yourself in the foot. Partnering with a company who does it “cheaply” implies that they don’t have the infrastructure to follow through which means they won’t or can’t deliver what you really want or have asked for!

When is a good deal EVER A GOOD DEAL?

When is a good deal ever a good deal? The cheapest price should never be your main criteria for selection.

Has a budget been set for the process OR what cost savings are you looking to achieve?

What timescales are you looking at to implement the project?

Right from the outset you must be clear that once a decision has been taken to outsource you determine a live start up date otherwise the time you spend investing in moving the project forward is worthless and the supplier feels frustrated as they have also invested time and goodwill in assisting with the outsourcing process!

What are your next steps?

Digital Print Management aim to provide an independent outsourcing services for electronic & paper billing, payroll, cheques and secure print management.

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For a free discussion click here or drop us a note here:

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Managed Print Services, Managing Print Costs, Outsourcing, Print Management, Secure Print Management

How print management saves time and money.

July 29, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

A managed outsource printing service = savings for your business

Easy really, the majority of businesses don’t have a clue how much they actually spend on corporate print such as letter-headings, invoices, paper, consumables in fact, anything print related. This is because there is no methodology to managing the process from purchasing, stocking and re-ordering.

A print management company can provide a fully automated and customised print management service which will help measure and control your printing costs.

The first step in the process is understanding how much your current spend is on print this is achieved by carrying out a print audit of the various documents used by the business.

A print management company seeks to understand why and how documents are used, what the order cycle is and whom the suppliers are? From the information gleaned determines the total print spend!

A project manager oversees the whole process from start to finish culminating in a proposal detailing current print costs V cost savings on the various print items ordered.

Emphasis will be to demonstrate cost savings through efficiency driven processes.

Each quarter, a review of the usage of the various items is undertaken to see where further cost savings can be made. Managing your company print, usage and spend should be an on-going process of analysis and review.

Managed Print Services is at the other end of the spectrum to print management and enables companies to manage the flow of print in an organisation.

Equitrac print management allows you to automatically control and manage how print flows through your organisation – improving productivity and maximising time.

Using print management software organisations are able to set up automated print controls and rules to optimise the way print moves around the company. Employees can be denied printing certain applications such as email by automatically routing jobs to the most cost-effective printer for that task.

For example a solid ink colour device is more cost effective to print obligatory emails and letters rather than a colour-cartridge-guzzling desktop printer for colour runs, colour print can be prevented altogether unless user authorised.

Industry analysts estimate that 44% of printing is unnecessary

People are printing things more than once which is wasting huge amounts of money
They may send a document to print, then notice an error on screen
A document is not at the printer when they go to retrieve it
The toner is low or there is a paper jam

This results in wasted paper, consumables and larger electricity bills. Print management software enable a more efficient, leaner and greener print environment.

What do you think? Have you implemented one or both solutions? How have they worked for you? Please do share your success or disaster stories.

To learn more about how you can regain control of your office printing costs, contact us today.

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By implementing a managed print service strategy that saves time, money and is ‘green’.

Take Control of your print NOW!!

Simple!

How does it work?

How do you regain control of your print spend and reduce print and paper costs?

Easy. Click here and one of our advisors will call you.

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Managed Print Services vs Print Management Services?

Here’s how?

Print Management Services

Managed Print Services

What are the benefits of both?

Which service is better for me?

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How to automate print in your company employing print management software.

What can a company do to ensure its paper flow is…

kept flowing?

What exactly does a managed print service do for a company?

What do you do to keep print costs down?

What strategies have you employed to reduce the amount of paper that flows through your company?

Let me know what has worked and what hasn’t?

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If this has been useful drop a comment into the box below we’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading.

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When the word outsourcing is mentioned it conjures up fear, the prospect of moving to distant shores and the possibility of job losses but it’s not all doom and gloom.

Here are some points to consider when thinking of outsourcing:-

Should I Outsource?

Consider the following objectives:-

How to make outsourcing work for you?

Unsure where to start or how to manage the process and need some advice?

Click here and we will contact you.

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How can you reduce your print costs using a print management services company?

So how does this save a company money?

8 main reasons why you should use a print management services company!

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Digital Print Management can offer independent expert advice on what kind of printed cheque a company should use and can advise you on the latest cheque formats and security cheque printing solutions.

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Why?

Sturdy and reliable in other words like your print supplier you want it to be able to withstand the rigours of working with you and be capable of fulfilling your expectations.

Processing – like your PC you want your printer to be quick to respond to your needs.

Competitive – you will probably have a budget and this will determine what you will use your PC for; your print supplier is much the same; a competitively priced service is an advantage but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.

Here are some things to consider:

A reputable print company will be able to reduce your costs by understanding your requirement and offer their expertise by suggesting an alternate but just as effective solution; in fact, your supplier should be actively promoting cost reductions where feasible.

So even if it’s a PC or a print supplier you want it to be there for you through thick and thin and deliver when you need it most!

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I want to share a true story.

The silence was deafening!

What do you think? Do you have any similar experiences to share? Do you agree that buyers see suppliers as “loose connections” there only to satisfy an immediate requirement?

Please feel free to leave a comment and share your experiences!

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Your check list should include the following:

When is a good deal EVER A GOOD DEAL?

What are your next steps?

We are on facebook, twitter, linkedin, google+ and pinterest. Please do connect with to keep up to date with our news and blogs.

For a free discussion click here or drop us a note here:

Related posts:

A managed outsource printing service = savings for your business

Industry analysts estimate that 44% of printing is unnecessary

What do you think? Have you implemented one or both solutions? How have they worked for you? Please do share your success or disaster stories.

To learn more about how you can regain control of your office printing costs, contact us today.

Please do follow us on twitter and facebook, connect with us on linkedin and google+

Related posts: