October 1, 2013
Managed Print Services, or MPS, is an ongoing partnership between you and your print provider. A MPS program is specifically designed for your organization’s printing needs and budget. Because your printing needs will change as your organization grows and evolves, your MPS program should too.
When initially evaluating your printing needs, you most likely established goals you would like to achieve over time. Common goals companies set pertain to productivity, workflow, document management, security and controlling and reducing costs. One of the most important aspects of goal setting is establishing a process to measure and analyze progress.
In order to accomplish these objectives, your Managed Print Services provider will conduct regular business reviews. During the review process you will analyze current performance data and how it may have changed since your previous business reviews. Your print provider will be able to identify areas where improvement was made and areas that still need attention.
Here are some of the main components of a recurring business review and examples of how this information could help you make improvement adjustments.
Service Call History
MPS providers will provide a report of all the service calls made for your organization’s print fleet. This data can be assessed to identify any common issues that may be occurring, as well as identifying any major device or user concerns.
For example, if the Help Desk is getting numerous calls about setting up emails on your printers, it may mean your employees could benefit from additional training or by providing a “Cheat Sheet” enabling them to address this issue themselves.
Or you may find, due to employee location changes, it may be time to reassess the placement of your print technology.
Supply Order History
A history report of your supply purchases will also be provided. This will allow you to compare these costs against your previous purchase history and budget. If you are like most organizations, you will most likely realize significant cost-savings at your first recurring business review.
Device Utilization Report
The device utilization report can be run by device, user or department; which data is relevant for you will depend on your initial established goals. This report will provide user and usage information by device:
- Total pages
- Total color and black and white prints or copies
- Total single or duplexed pages
- Number of scanned or faxed documents
- Types of media used
- And more.
This information will give you a very comprehensive understanding of your organization’s current print performance and could help determine adjustments to equipment placement. For example, you may wish to move a specific device to be placed nearer those who use it most frequently. In addition, you may be able to assess who is using what equipment most and determine if their usage is relevant to work type; if not, you can address the issue with supporting data.
Device Utilization Executive Summary
This report will provide a high level utilization overview of all managed devices. This general overview will highlight any major issues or concerns which can help you and your MPS provider define with issues need attention first. More detailed information can be found in the Device Utilization Report.
Average Monthly Copy/Print Volume by Device
As its name suggests, this report will provide the average monthly copy/print volume for each device on your Managed Print Services program.
As you track this over time you will be able to see if any devices are becoming less efficient with age. At a certain point, which varies per device, your MPS provider will recommend equipment relocation, to a less active print area in your office, or replaced, if device cannot be repaired cost effectively.
MPS Agreement Coverage
Finally, you will review your agreement with your MPS provider and address any questions or adjustments that arose during your recurring business review.
MPS providers can help you save time and money and eliminate print-related frustrations for your organizations. Talk to an advisor today to see how a MPS program could help your organization.
