Vertex Case Files – Printer Consolidation. Reduction in Wastages & Costs

About the client

An NBFC Organization that was in the process of planning a major expansion.

Challenges & Scope identification

To start off with, the client had severe challenges in maintaining their print fleet as there was no mechanism in place to control the misuse and wastage of print activities.

Vertex along with HP did a thorough study of their entire print activities by observing the complex environment of multiple departments spread across various floors, utilizing printers stationed at different corners.

During the organization’s initial inorganic growth phase, there was no accountability of their usage and this led to sizable wastage, financial drain and misuse unbeknownst to the client.

Additionally, the client had to adhere to various security compliances during the planned growth phase and was highly vulnerable with the above-mentioned challenges.

Following were the key findings:

1. There were several standalone, locally configured Inkjet printers incurring massive running costs as the consumables for volume printing were quite expensive.
2. Although their official print requirements were Mono, several Inkjet printers with color cartridges were used at various locations that eventually dried up owing to non-usage or misuse for personal needs.
3. Common printers were regularly mishandled as there was zero control of the users. This resulted in multiple cases of confidential documents being handed over to the wrong personnel posing a serious security and confidentiality threat.
4. The client’s IT team had to regularly deploy multiple resources to service these printers on failures, consumable replacements and other issues which further had a huge cost impact.
5. Owing to multiple brands and models of printers in the organization, the client had to stock a huge variety of consumables for each brand and model. And the misuse and uncontrolled usage resulted in a consistent investment on consumables.
6. In the event of any productivity issues, the staff would conveniently blame the failures of the printers. This had a serious impact on their customer experience and business.

7.   The wastage of consumables posed a drain on capital and a threat to the environment.

Overall, the investment for printers and consumables were sky rocketing, productivity and customer experience were being gravely affected and the client needed to implement necessary measures to control the situation at the earliest.

Solution Provided by Vertex

Following were the steps and plan of action recommended to the client by Vertex:

1. To start off with, investing in Inkjet printers wasn’t the right decision as it was made keeping short-term savings in mind but the client eventually ended up spending a huge amount on regularly replenishing the supplies and maintenance which were multifold.
2. The running cost of Inkjet printers under volume printing are huge and it was recommended they migrate to Mono Laser printers that are known for a conservative maintenance, has duplex printing options and saves a lot of cost on media and time.
3. Misuse of printers could be controlled by investing in the right printers with the required security options of PIN printing, giving access to authorized users and having a quota set for print usage in consent with the departments.
4. These Laser printers possess universal print drivers and can be installed anywhere saving a credible amount of time for the IT team while making it easier in managing them and having better control.
5. Furthermore, Vertex proposed a consolidation activity of the number of printers to be reduced from 10 to 1 on each floor by investing in one high-end, heavy duty printer in a common area and giving access to genuine and authorized users.
6. The heavy-duty printers had minimal failures and reduced the down time considerably resulting in greater user and customer experience.
7. There was no need for unplanned stocking of consumables as these printers could predict the level of consumables required allowing for greater control on stocking practices.

The Result

The above initiatives ensured an eco-friendly and conservative approach. And on evaluation, the client realized an 85% reduction in running costs and a 35-40% increase in productivity.

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