How can a C-Level Executive “Green” their Company when comes to Printing???

Here is a good article about how C-Level Executives can make their office green through Managed Print Services.

8 Green Office Tips that will Save Money on Printing & Imaging

Follow Equitrac on the Print Management Blog

Equitrac Print Management Blog

Top 10 Tips for Implementing Managed Print Services

Top 10 Tips for Implementing Managed Print Services

By Craig Le Clair

A couple weeks ago, Craig Le Clair of Forrester Research posted an excellent article on DocumentMedia.com, highlighting 10 Tips for Implementing Managed Print Services.

Where did MPS come from??

A good piece on the origin of MPS.

THE MPS CRUSADER

3D PrintView – Get in touch with your print network

Check out this UK company 3D Print View

3D Print View – Features

Fed up of your printers demanding too much of your time? 3D PrintView has the solution…

Print Visibility

• Get an instant view of your print network.
• Supports all major manufacturers and models.
• See exactly how much your organisations printing and copying is costing.
• Check how environmentally friendly your print strategy is.
• Recieve suggestions on how to lower costs and carbon usage.
• Recieve alerts when devices error.
• Receive alerts when devices get old or start performing badly.
• Generate cost and usage reports.
• And much, much more…

MPS: Strategy Meeting (Agreement Meeting)

After finishing the 2nd analysis, the next step of the MPS process is complying all the data and information and presenting it to the client to gain agreement.  The goal of this meeting is to have the client agree to the findings and pre-strategy.

Steps to make sure this meeting is successful:

1.  Make sure you are meeting with the decision maker and person who can actually sign off on the solution.

2.  Present findings, costs, and make sure every number and finding is validated.   Have the decision maker sign off to validate the findings.  If there is an objection to the findings, review it.  This is a consensus meeting, findings are open to discussion, remember that!

3.  Focus on the pain points and make sure you focus on what the customer defines as value.

4.  Present a snapshot of your strategy to build excitement and to demonstrate you understand what the customer values.

5.  Determine who else needs to buy-in.  (Sometimes all executives need to buy-in in order for the decision maker to sign off)

6.  DON’T schedule the next meeting, which is presenting the final proposal until the customer is ready to make a final decision and move forward.  If they don’t validate the findings or don’t seem interested in making a decision, you are either not talking to the decision maker or you don’t understand what the customer values.  So, don’t schedule the next meeting because you will not get an answer.

MPS: Conducting 2nd Analysis

After reviewing your information and numbers from the 1st analysis and defining a MPS solution on certain pain points, it is time complete the 2nd analysis and strengthen the MPS solution you believe might be right for the customer.

The 2nd analysis provides great opportunity to build relationships with the customer that will help you win the MPS deal, make sure you conduct additional interviews and validate the pain points thru user experiences.

Here are some key steps that need to done to have a successful 2nd analysis:

1.  Take configurations pages on all devices. (printers, copiers, faxes)

2.  Confirm inventory of all devices and make sure you know which ones are leased and which ones are owned.

3.  Gather additional information that will validate your MPS solution that you came up with during your pre-strategy meeting (see last blog post).

4.  Interview, Interview, Interview – Customers define VALUE.

MPS: Pre-Strategy before 2nd Analysis

Before you go thru for a second analysis and collect another round of meter reads from copiers, printers, and fax machines, MPS reps should review the information that have collected and start to build a solution.  By starting to build your solution before the second analysis, you can identify gaps that you will need to fill to strengthen your solution, i.e. better interview info from employees or why there is a printer, copier, and fax in the one area.

Here are some questions MPS reps should ask themselves before going for their second analysis:

1.  Evaluate your data and information collected to make sure it has validity.

2.  Identify additional information you will need to validate your solution.

3.  Identify which pain points you think your solution should be built around.

4.  Identify ways you will want to get your customer excited about MPS and market your pre-solution around the pain points you have identified.

5.  Think about how your competitors would respond to your ideas and make sure you think of ways your solution will be unique.

MPSA and Newfield IT – Webinar 8/25/10 11am need to become member to register

Join the MPSA and Newfield ITTo learn more about the Good… the Bad… and the Ugly… In performing Assessments in Managed Print Services. During this free webinar you will hear the expert advice of someone who has done over 110 assessments, works as an independent body within the industry, and has invested heavily in developing products to automate the assessment process. Learn where the pitfalls are in the process and what’s fact vs. fiction? RSVP for this Higher Education Event Webinar Agenda: Webinar Schedule: Assessments – do they matter? State of the market Fact vs Fiction Building the business case Should you charge? Date: August 25, 2010 Time: 11:00 AM (ET) <RSVP for this Event>

Dedicated to your Success If the MPSA can be of any assistance to you, please feel free to contact any of our board members.

MPS: Assessment Steps

The goal of a MPS assessment is to build a case for MPS and your offerings by collecting and documenting evidence and interviewing employees.  Remember, customers define value, so the more people you talk to the better you will understand value.

Your assessment should include:

1.  Tagging and Mapping all devices.  (Understanding why the devices are placed where they are)

2.  Obtain floor plan to demonstrate walking distant and proximity of devices to employees.

3.  Take configuration pages off all devices.

4.  If a device doesn’t provide a configuration page, ask users how many pages they print or copy in a week.

5.  Ask users about their experiences regarding each device.  Do they need color, finishers, etc.

6.  Obtain all contracts, costs, service agreements, long distance charges for fax machines.  Make sure you get all cost pertaining to printing and copying.