We start the process with the Analysis phase. Remember that 90% of customers don’t have a complete and accurate assessment of their costs, volumes etc for their existing printers. We start with the RAK key. This is great tool or taking snapshots of the current state of a fleet…the number of devices, we gather the number of devices, volumes and current state of the engines…THAT ARE ON-LINE. If an engine is turned off or connected to a computer and not directly on the network with an IP we will NOT see it with the RAK. Once we gather the info from the RAK analysis, we take the info and place it into a TCO tool that calculates their existing costs based on prices that are updated DAILY. The costs reflected are NOT MSRP, but as close as we cam calculate the street cost for supplies etc…
Next we have Consumables ,Meter Reads and Service. QUESTION - How does a customer currently buy consumables for their existing Fleet? 1.) Multiple people buying supplies. Sometimes for non functioning, or missing printers simply because the stock was low! 2.) The are paying retail prices for the most part because they have no organizational structure to their purchases. QUESTION - WHAT ABOUT Meter reads? Do they currently do meter reads on printers? 1.) Probably not and as such they have no idea how much and at what cost they are spending to get a project printed. Most users find it difficult to get the meter read page on a printer QUESTION - How do they address service? 1.) They may just avoid printing to the device…or simply put an “OUT OF ORDER” sign on it. (or maybe move it to someone else’s cubicle and take theirs… LOL) OPS Monitor on the OPS Server in Ramsey - REMOTE device monitoring through the Data Collection agent takes that portion out of their hands. If the printer needs send out a CRITICAL service alert, the MIB is being monitored every 30 minutes, by the DCA and it opens a trouble ticket AUTOMATICALLY . We do not monitor paper jams etc. The NCSC is notified and a call goes out to the printer engineers in Mobile AL. NINETY percent of all printer problems can addressed over the phone. If an issue still exists, and a part or technician is required, the part is sent overnight to the technician who can respond usually within a day or so to resolve the issue. Supply replenishment is handled automatically too! The system knows the supply level of cartridges and yield levels. vCare can monitor our existing devices not the older models. The DCA can address the older devices as well!
We are already saving them money on service and supplies… but remember we said that OPS goes far beyond that. With the data that is being collected we the opportunity to stay in touch with the account and optimize/rightsie their existing fleet. It is a TRUE PARTNERSHIP! OPS gives you another reason to visit with your account to maintain open lines of communication reflecting a true interest in their business! You will go in 90 days after the contract and have info that may show a totally different picture of overall costs and functionality. You may find printers that are constantly down needing replacement…too many printers within a specific area of an office…not enough printers with faster speeds or functionalities…(volumes reflecting a printer that is being hammered with print jobs). We will be able to suggest “Rules Based Printing” based upon existing jobs being sent to a specific printer. Jobs will NOT automatically re-route to larger engines, but through the analysis, we can advise the customer of the additional cost savings that can be secured by using the appropriate printer or MFP for a job type. When ‘real-time’ Rules based Printing is enabled (like we have in Printgroove), office workers complain so bitterly that the company usually disables the function. We don’t ignore the situation, but simply bring it to the company’s attention during fleet analysis. If a customer adds a device Ad Hoc, we will NOT automatically add them to the contract. We will see the device in the analysis and can add it to an existing contract during the existing review cycle. (add or delete within a month is possible). (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)