What is the goal of any business? Okay, business owners could argue why they built a company until they are blue in the face (independence, a better workplace, to provide an essential service, etc.). But we can all admit that it is a rare (and probably already independently wealthy) business owner or owners who would build a company that did not bring in some profit.
COVID changed how business owners and even corporations operate their companies. Even now, businesses must deal with varying degrees of lockdown, consistently evolving health and safety guidelines, and fluctuating profit margins. In addition, shipping, inflation, and real estate prices are yet more factors playing havoc with the accounting books. As a result, offices across the nation are forced to find new ways to streamline operations and cut costs to prepare for the worst. Fortunately, this is precisely how having a reliable Managed Print Services (MPS) provider can help.
To see the first six reasons why your business needs MPS, CLICK HERE. Below are four more reasons why your businesses need managed print services.
Easy Print Budgeting
Print-related costs often run 1-3% of a company’s revenue, according to Gartner Group. But that’s not all sunk into hardware purchase. For example, each printer alone accounts for a mere 5% or less of final printing expenditure throughout each units’ lifetime. The other 95% is accounted for in various ways, including ink or toner and electricity.
Paper usage plays a large part in printing costs. The average employee prints around ten thousand sheets of paper annually at roughly ten cents per page. And 17% of printed pages are technically wasted resources, according to a study by Lexmark. Then, there is the regular maintenance and service of the machine to fix issues and keep it running smoothly.
But these are all a part of the visible costs of printing. The printer, paper, ink, and toner are all directly purchased. The service and maintenance are billed to the business. The real money is in the time spent by employees to manage the print environment. How many hours does an employee spend waiting for a printer to be fixed? How much time does IT spend fielding calls and complaints or attempting to maintenance the printers? How much effort is being invested in keeping printers hosted, appropriately networked, and protected from hacking?
As an additional annoyance, both the seen and hidden costs of printing can fluctuate daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly based on the use and age of the machines. Even the type of paper, ink, and toner purchased can affect printer performance and overall costs.
A reliable MPS provider can help mitigate these issues in a variety of ways. As printing industry experts, they know what types of ink, toner, and paperwork best in each machine to avoid jams and additional service expenditures. They also specialize in the printing arena, operating a large number of devices for a wide range of businesses. As such, they can leverage their knowledge, experience, and industry relationships to help lower hardware and maintenance expenses and manage machines more efficiently.
And the best part? They can pack everything into a predictable monthly cost that is easy to budget.
Supply Management
Most companies are shrinking their office spaces. While pockets of individuals would prefer to work in a more traditional work environment, most employees would rather work remotely. And, with over a year of forced proof-of-concept, nearly three-quarters of CFOs are seriously considering a hybrid workforce.
But a smaller office footprint means less storage for all of that paper, toner, and office supplies. And how are you supposed to arrange printer hardware and consumables for all of those newly remote workers in need of a printing solution?
An MPS can be a big help in this situation. Their industry expertise and already existing delivery logistics can help any business manage its printing supply dilemma. In addition, those MPS using systems like PowerMPS can also help you monitor supply usage and even automate both ordering and delivery for your many (or few) printing locations.
IT Help Desk
Remember all that time spent by IT fielding printer errors, jams, supply changes, and other issues? Over half of help desk calls are printer-related. So even if your desk gets an average of three printer calls per day, at an average of around twenty minutes per call, that is two hundred and sixty-two (262) hours of IT time spent resolving paper jams or managing a third party to perform repairs.
An MPS partner takes over the management of all printing services. This includes fielding calls and emails about printer jams, errors, and other issues. And, when there is a mechanical problem, the MPS is responsible for providing the service required to get the faulty machine back up and running as soon as possible.
Customizable Programs
But one of the best reasons for any business to partner with a reliable MPS is gaining access to a customized solution. As industry experts, a Managed Print Services provider can review a business’s size, employees, office configuration, and current use of print to understand the company’s printing requirements. Then, they can build a program designed to meet the specific needs and budget of their partner.
These are times of constant change, shrinking offices, inflation, and uncertainty. It’s moments like these that a partnership with a reliable MPS is one of the best ways to manage printing costs and increase operational efficiencies for a more secure tomorrow.
