The Second Most Important Tool in Managed Print Services

MPS is all I talk about...I have been performing MPS assessments pretty heavily over the past few weeks and I find that although we have many tools, I am still making things up as I go along. After reading Ken’s post I knew I had to complete my current article. Ken’s post resonated with me regarding the Tools of MPS.----

Current MPS tools consist of spreadsheets, interview forms, data collection sheets, automated data collection devices/software, supplies cost matrixes, etc. All geared around collecting the Technical data, i.e. volumes, lease end dates, lease payments, overages, 11x17, first copy out speed, duplex...blah blah blah...this data is mundane and acquiring it is fatiguing but necessary.

The collected data is one-dimensional and any “monkey” can collect it. Unfortunately to some providers and many customers, this is the extent of the information used in the analysis.

The Second Most Important MPS Tool: The Interview -

When interviewing, many issues are exposed, some that may not at first seem to be MPS-related.

The idea here is simple - the End User interview, the Director interview, and the C-Level interview are all treasure-laden conversations. Corporate directives, cultural issues, political hurdles, and decision-making processes all become apparent as progression is made through the organization.

As an example, I am currently working on 3 separate assessments for 3 clients - one is what I call a "Mini-Assessment"; which means we are only looking at 25 devices out of a fleet of 220. The idea is to analyze these units for fiscal '08, get the refresh approved, and continue the study into year's end for fiscal '09 upgrades. The goal of this study is to form a Standard Requirements List for all future hardware/copier acquisitions.

In this particular case, the overall organizational goals are:

1. Reduce operational costs by 5% without “Reductions In Field”
2. Increase employee job satisfaction
3. Improve Customer Service

Now, the above three goals are not revealed when you plug in your "nonobtrusive" Print Audit tool into a USB port, are they? Nor do these three goals fall out of the bottom of a spreadsheet after entering all the machine types, volume levels, and power consumption, do they? No, no, no.

Ask questions.

Talk to everyone, make it your process - if your contact doesn't allow you access - fire them.

Covering All the Bases – Strategic Approach

When interviewing the questions asked are important but the people you ask are much more important. This is my personal application of a strategic approach. I see four types of interviewees:

1. Your Coach
2. The Technicals
3. The End-User
4. Project’s Economic Influencer

• Your Coach
• This person is convinced that MPS is the way to go. And he wants to see the project (and you) succeed. And your success is tied to his perception within the organization. You must make him look great, if you fail, he loses credibility.
• The Technicals
• These folks hold “go/no go” over the final recommendations. Their perspective is on the functional issues of the program. They are focused on issues like network compatibility, end-user support functions, invoicing and billing procedures, and maybe all the way down to duplex capabilities of the hardware.
• The End-User
• The End User must be satisfied. When interviewing and speaking with the End User you must have a clear idea of what direction the organization wants to move. For instance, if one of the basic goals is to reduce all the locally connected, desktop inkjet printers, check with IT to insure how they want to approach the subject.
• The End User has a wealth of “everyday issues” that cause workflow bottlenecks. Their visibility into the organization is restricted but at the local level the information obtained can be very illuminating.
• Economic Influencer(s)
• This entity releases the funds necessary to move forward with the project. Interested in cost reduction and R.O.I.
• These interviews are most likely C-Level players. I do not recommend asking the CEO if “duplexing is important…”

Every successful project includes covering ALL these bases with relevant (from their perspective) questions.

Imagine – when you contact ALL the above types - your picture of the organization’s output fleet would be detailed to the nth degree. You would be aware of the business culture and how it will react to change. And hopefully, this insight will allow making a solid, agreeable recommendation proven to positively impact the organization’s overall goals.

This brings me to the most important tool in the MPS shed - to be found in a later post.

Konica over Océ, could this be the next big acquisition?

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - Oce N.V. shares rose in late morning trade amid speculation Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. is interested in building up a stake in the company, if their recent technology partnership bears fruit. Article here.

At 11.37 a.m., Oce was up 2.43 percent to 9.28 while the AEX was trading 1.41 percent lower to 478.69.

Abn Amro Wim Gille said that if Konica buys a stake in Oce, the move will trigger further speculation of a full take over of the Dutch company.

The analyst said a combination between the two is 'very logical' and would be able to challenge Xerox head on in all of its markets.

I am not sure how the Dutch government plays into all this but it doesn't sound like the government will be an impedement to some sort of deal.

IKON "...you're Stock is Rising..."

The stock has recovered 82.8% from its recent low price of 6.73 which occurred March 5, 2008

This from Yahoo, "IKON ... said after the market closed Thursday that it will redeem for cash the remaining $100 million of its senior unsecured floating rate notes due 2012.

The Malvern, Pa., company said the redemption price will be 100 percent of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest up to the redemption date, which is June 30.

The redemption plus a redemption of $50 million of the notes on May 7 will cause Ikon (NYSE:IKN) to post a $5.7 million loss from the early extinguishment of debt in its fiscal third quarter, which ends June 30..."

Interesting...

Inaugural issue of MPS Insights Hits The Streets

Best Practices, Print Audit, MPS Metrics and much much more... I have just received and am in the process of reading and digesting the first issue of MPS Insights from the PHOTIZO Group.

Ed Crowley, CEO Photizo Group -"...we believe MPS is finally coming of age! After almost 8 years of vendors touting the benefits of MPS, we are now actually seeing implementations that are working..."

This mirrors what Joshi said last year in Phoenix, "...Printing...is now sexy!"

Also, Ken Stewart - Kearns Business Solutions, Director of Technology, on MPS as an opportunity that may pass you by, "... We have come to the conclusion that taking care of the customers is the way to do business;it is not an opportunity to go out there and rob your customers blind..." Sell with High Intent.

Check out the site, get the free newsletter.

Share with you friends, share with your family over the dinner table - er...ok, maybe not over the dinner table.

So Really. What is the Big Deal about "Ink Jet"??

A very astute question, from a smart guy. Who happens to read my blog.

What is the big deal about ink anyway? According to HP, 90% of all the print in the world is in ink, not toner. And just look around, look at all the items in your office or home that have printing - my favorite DVD covers, my Michael Crichton Novel, the coffee can from Trader Joe's, the labels on the Mondavi bottles, my copy of FaceFull all ink.

The question isn't what is the big deal with ink, it should be what has been taking so long! Ink is everywhere - not toner.

To start with, ink systems like Edgeline have less moving parts then the xerographic brethren. Less heat no static. Heat being the biggest difference. 266 degrees to be somewhat exact is the temperature needed to melt the toner (see The Fundamentals of Xerography). Heat wears on materials like plastic, or motors or delicate optics; have you ever heard of somebody burning their fingers when trying to clear a jam? The answer is "yes".

I am not referring to the Ink Jets you may have at home - you know the ones, the printer costs 39 bucks after rebate, and the ink costs $69.00! (Gotcha!). I am talking about business machines. I am talking about replacing all those hot, dry toner boxes in corporate America with cooler, energy efficient, robust and reliable machines. Machines that in the end do the same thing as the hot-boxes, put color marks on paper.

This was bound to happen. All things change and get better - DOS moved to Windows, MultiPlan gave way to LOTUS 123 which in turn gave it up to Excel. It is the natural order of things. The time has come to begin to move the mundane function of printing into it's next evolutionary stage.

This is not about technology it's about innovation. It isn't about marketing hardware advancement as much as it is about a advancing a philosophy.

Xerox is not putting any more money into "photocopiers". HP invested 1.3billion in a new technology (Edgeline) not in improving an older technology(xerographic).

Xerox and HP - two Great American companies - innovating into newer and more reliable printing. Innovations like the color television, the radio, the automobile, refrigerators, micro-waves...It won't be long until the copy-cats of the far east jump on the "ink-jet" band wagon.

---------
So to summarize - What is so good about ink vs toner?

- cooler temperatures
- less moving parts
- color control
- more consistent and reliable
- less energy use
- more environmental/green

Surround the above with:

- Easy to use
- Easy to maintain and remove mis feeds
- Native to the network/connectivity(print, scan)

You you have a heck of a package - not just an "inkjet"

Again With The "Leasing"! Enough!

"GET THEM TO SIGN ON THE LINE WHICH IS DOTTED!!!!"I have proposed and had signed 1,000's of agreements: purchase agreements, uniform rental agreements, equipment lease, computer hardware service, copier service, printers service software support agreements.

But today, I had the unfortunate experience to witness one of my prospect's (and hopefully new client) pain over a HUGE buyout figure on one of his machines. This machine is a Konica Minolta BizHub C500. My client prints large( 400-500 page) monthly reports. Each report has some colored text sprinkled about. There are no hi-res pictures and no detailed, color schematics - just text and maybe a pie chart. Oh, and these reports are customer facing, revenue generating documents.

The lease has 26 months left on a 60 month agreement.

The service payment is combined into the monthly lease payment.

For the past 11 months, copy quality has dropped immensely, at last report, each page had a "pinkish hue", which I guess technically is a color.

The front of the lease clearly states, "...your payment obligations are absolute and unconditional and are not subject to cancellation, reduction or set off for any reason whatsoever. Both parties waive their rights to a jury trial..."

I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.

I can go one - and I will - but for now, check these posts out and if you are selling equipment on a lease, do WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR CLIENT.

Here is the press release for this unit's roll out and from that release, " ...Pricing and Availability. The bizhub 500 and bizhub 420 are available through Konica Minolta's North American direct sales, authorized dealer and value-added reseller channels. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the bizhub 500 is $12,300..."

This blog post is pretty close to a normal "pre-sale" experience with leasing from the stand point of a School no less - oh but wait there is more. Check this post out - from a church!




***The information included in this post is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

Xerox is NOT Afraid of Edgeline...

Anne Mulcahy - From InsuranceNewsNet.com, Xerox Corporation at JPMorgan. A question posed to A. Mulchay ask what Xerox thought of regarding Edgeline.

The response - "...On HP and Edgeline, I think for all of you who followed it, I think there certainly was a lot of fanfare about Edgeline really being the entry with inkjet into the office marketplace for HP.

I think it would be fair to say that it has been extremely quiet. That any information available would suggest that it has had very little impact right now on the marketplace in total.

I think the challenges are ones that are inherent in liquid inkjet, which really doesn't allow you a lot of media flexibility with high quality, and that is I'm sure something that HP is working on.

We chose solid ink as a technology in that part of the market because of the advantages of quality and media flexibility. We're pretty excited about the prospects for solid ink going forward, and that is a proprietary technology for Xerox. So I would say we have not seen much from Edgeline.

We never take for granted the fact that competitors get better; but right now I think we have been able to compete very favorably against Edgeline in the marketplace.