Print Management Solution
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University of St. Thomas |
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| The Challenge |
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Effectively managing a document output and distribution program for an 11,000-student university is no small task. But John Barron, Director of Print Services for the University of St. Thomas for the past 11 years, sees it as a personal challenge. John is responsible for all of the University’s copiers/printers and their Copy Center in St. Paul, which provides services such as mail distribution, black-and-white and color printing, one and two color offset printing, shipping and receiving, GBC and thermal tape binding, collating, stitching, and trimming services.
One of John’s goals for the University was to streamline their copying/printing equipment down to one vendor for their departmental machines and one vendor for their high-volume production machines. John led the University in gathering information about their document output devices and usage and outlining their needs. John explained, “I have been gathering information for about 2-1/2 years. I knew along the way I’d have to justify the moves we wanted to make. It has been a goal of mine to have a single device do the work of three or four machines. This was a great opportunity to take advantage of converging technology and also save money.”
The University began their vendor selection process by developing a Request for Proposal (RFP) and distributing it to 10 leading vendors in the Twin Cities area. John explained, “During our selection process, price separated the vendors and Marco made the price cut.” Their next step was to evaluate their products and capabilities through a corporate presentation. Marco presented to John and four other members of the University’s Selection Committee. “Marco’s presentation blew us away,” said John. “They communicated to us that the systems they had in place ensured our satisfaction and allowed for coordinated installations, training, maintenance, and billing. While not a requirement in the RFP, Marco also emphasized the fact that not only could they provide solutions for our print needs, but they could also support us in voice, data, and video. It seemed like Marco was well positioned to meet the University’s needs not only in print, but in other areas as well.”
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| The Solution |
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| In response to the University’s RFP, Marco provided the University with a document productivity plan to streamline some of their outdated copiers, printers, and facsimiles and provide them with multifunctional printers (MFPs) that give them the capability to fax, copy, scan, and email all in one unit. In March of 2005, Marco installed approximately 120 Sharp and HP MFPs throughout their various departments. “We were impressed with the capabilities of Sharp and HP multifunction units, and they have proved to be working well for us today,” said John. “The Sharp MFPs are fantastic machines and the HP MFPs are saving us a lot of money.”
Marco also set the University up on a Managed Account Program – a unique and flexible financing program that allows the University to pay just for the copies/prints used. The program includes all service and supplies – everything except staples, paper and network troubleshooting services. They are able to upgrade their equipment as their copy volumes and need for additional features change.
Marco installed keypads on the University’s multifunction printers to integrate with their current Equitrac print management system – a software that tracks copy/print activity by user to help manage their document output.
John explained, “With the Sharp and HP MFPs that are in place with our Equitrac print management solution, we feel we are on the cutting edge in MFP programs in an academic setting. I expect great response from our user community as we roll out additional functionality over the next one to two years.”
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Pictured: John Barron,
Director of Print Services
University of St. Thomas
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| Organization Background |
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The University of St. Thomas, founded in 1885 by Archbishop John Ireland, is a Catholic, independent, liberal arts, archdiocesan university that emphasizes values-centered, career-oriented education. Located in the Twin Cities, it serves more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to its principal campus in St. Paul, St. Thomas offers programs at its downtown Minneapolis campus, Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna, and its Bernardi Campus in Rome, Italy. It also offers programs at locations in Chaska, Anoka, Rochester, Woodbury, the Carlson Companies in Minnetonka, and in a cooperative arrangement with five Twin Cities area school districts at the Mall of America in Bloomington.
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“For the first time since I started 11 years ago, our copier and multifunction printer program is firing on all cylinders. This is definitely a success story. What we have with Marco is a state-of-the-art model for any academic institution!”
John Barron, Director of Print Services
University of St. Thomas
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“We expect to save $29,000 each year the first two years into the program. Year three, we anticipate a savings of $80,000. And if we are able to continue the contract to years four and five, we could save $150,000 per year. Overall, for every 1% of prints that are migrated to multifunction printers, I expect to save $2,500. Therefore, the more personal printers we can retire and switch over to MFPs, the more we’ll save.”
John Barron, Director of Print Services
University of St. Thomas
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Marco has provided the University with an on-site service technician (Mike Vanneste) dedicated to the University’s account. John has implemented a system for the campus to place service calls through their IT Help Line. Once the call is placed, the University’s IT person determines by phone or on-site if the problem is network-related. If the problem does not relate to the network, they send an on-line service request to Mike Vanneste. Simultaneously an email is sent to the user and the call is placed on-line to Marco for tracking. If Mike is not at his desk when the email request is sent, the system automatically pages him for the call. “Our system is really slick,” said John.
All of the University’s copy and print supplies are located on-site to allow for easy access and quick response time. The University implemented an on-line ordering system to allow their people to order supplies as needed. The supplies are then shipped to the different locations/departments via the University of St. Thomas’ inter-campus courier. John commented, “There is a true partnership that happens here. We provide the storage on campus for our users to place orders, and Marco takes care of the inventory for us.”
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| The Installation |
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| John felt the installation of the 120 units was a success. “It was a successful installation and a difficult one – we have 50 buildings. Dennis Gill, Marco’s Installation Coordinator, did a great job! He communicated well with me.”
Although the University started to transition to digital technology more than five years ago, only a handful of the units were networked. They have come a long way since then. John explained, “With Marco’s Managed Account Program, I knew it would be a huge change in how our department works with our IT department. Today virtually every single machine is on our network.” Robyn Couchrane, Networking Specialist, assisted in connecting the new units to the University’s network. “Robyn is real smart,” said John. “There is a depth at Marco you can count on!”
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| The Results |
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| Not only did Marco’s Document Productivity Plan increase the University’s efficiencies through added features, but their overall savings will be substantial. John explained, “We expect to save $29,000 each year the first two years into the program. Year three, we anticipate a savings of $80,000. And if we are able to continue the contract to years four and five, we could save $150,000 per year. Overall, for every 1% of prints that are migrated to multifunction printers, I expect to save $2,500. Therefore, the more personal printers we can retire and switch over to MFPs, the more we’ll save.”
He went on, “All of our machine contracts now end at the same time which is such a benefit when it comes to the end of the contract. I see this as one of my biggest accomplishments at the University of St. Thomas. Everything is coterminous.”
When asked to describe Marco’s responsiveness to their needs, John replied, “It’s refreshing to feel the strong sense of attentiveness from our salesperson, Eric Casteel; our service technician, Mike Vanneste; and our billing specialist, Beth Arneson. This company is not only eager to please, but it’s nimble enough to succeed.”
John added, “For the first time since I started 11 years ago, our copier and multifunction printer program is firing on all cylinders. This is definitely a success story. What we have with Marco is a state-of-the-art model for any academic institution.”
All of the University’s copy and print supplies are located on-site to allow for easy access and quick response time. The University implemented an on-line ordering system to allow their people to order supplies as needed. The supplies are then shipped to the different locations/departments via the University of St. Thomas’ inter-campus courier. John commented, “There is a true partnership that happens here. We provide the storage on campus for our users to place orders, and Marco takes care of the inventory for us.”
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