Ford Office Technologies has had the privilege of providing print management solutions for several national accounts over the course of the last 32 years. Below is a case study of the steps we took and the results we provided for one such account.
The Situation
In May 2020, Client X, believing that their existing Xerox provider’s print contracts were getting out of hand, began a collaborative conversation with Ford Office Technologies (FOT). In June, the two parties agreed to begin a complete and thorough analysis of Client X‘s entire print environment, which spans across 25 domestic locations and consists of executive offices, manufacturing plants, and distribution centers.
Client X tasked Ford Office Technologies to improve its stakeholders’ and end users’ experience while looking to reduce/maximize its investment.
With these goals in mind, Ford embarked on a 60-day information-gathering exercise, visiting 20 of the 25 Client X locations to:
- Identify opportunities to consolidate unnecessary devices.
- Migrate print volume from printers to more cost-effective MFPs.
- Improve workflows.
- Eliminate constant billing problems.
- Ultimately reduce spend.
The Findings
- 138 leased devices on 33 lease schedules.
- 29 monthly invoices which needed to be split across 39 cost centers, leading to misapplied payments, late fees and confusion.
- Seven inactive devices, that were under lease, but not being used or repurposed.
- Five unreturned leased devices.
- A three-person internal printshop producing less than 30,000 impressions (pre-Covid) and that still needed to outsource basic print jobs due to color control/matching issues.
- Clusters of high-cost printers instead without proper workflows through existing lower cost MFDs.
- Over and underused devices.
Print Management Solution Results
- 44% reduction in monthly contract costs.
- Reduced hardware costs from $1.93 million to $1.19 Million.
- Migrated 80% of color printing from printers to MFD.
- Reduced service spend by 49%, which equated to $130,380.13 in year one.
- Reduce usage rates:
- Reduced MFD B&W Usage Rate: 26.7%
- Reduced MFD Color Usage Rate: 25.9%
- Reduced MPS B&W Usage Rate: 42%
- Reduced MPS Color Usage Rate: 30%
Related article: Black and White vs Color Printer: Which Is Best For Your Business?
In Addition, Ford Was Able To:
- Align all leased devices on one schedule while adding any additional devices conterminously.
- Create one master lease and service agreement, which all devices fall under presently and coterminous leasing for added devices.
- Reduce 39 monthly lease payments to one and four monthly service invoices to one monthly usage invoice per quarter.
- Eliminate billing late fees with 90-day payment terms.
- Automate 100% of Client X’s billing processes through customized spreadsheet billing with cost centers and seamless upload into their AR/AP software.
- Improve user experience with consistent device interface across the fleet.
- Support for flexible working and remote capability, which became more crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Related video: Understanding Your Copier Service Agreement
If you are looking for print management solutions for your usage and billing nightmare, we have a successful history of integrating sound solutions to simplify all of your processes. We are always available for the conversation. Email info@fordtech.com or call 800.633.3673.
