Drunk Kitchen Go Bake Something....

12 Questions to Ask When Buying Managed Print Services - #MPS

Originally posted, 2011

So, you want to buy some 'MpS', eh?

You've come to the right blog.

You see, for the past four years, I have been selling Mps.  For the past 2 years, I have been the Practice Manager at a small MpS practice - I was in charge of the entire infrastructure.  Building it, pulling it out of the fire, and evangelizing MpS to prospects, co-workers, and executive management.

I have built partnerships throughout the MpS/Imaging Ecosystem. I know every MpS sales technique, every hook, every mirror, and all the smoke.

I've sat in on more MpS training classes than most anyone and reviewed almost every, single OEM MpS program as well as all the independent creations.

 - 2011

Over the past 24 years, I have formed passionate opinions about MpS, sales, and technology.

My views and opinions have made many inside the industry uneasy.  I am an Agent of Change and an Advocate for Transformation.

On the Edge.

And today, I will expose myself to you.  Well, at least a bit of me...the MpS me, not the Leopard Thong Me.

First things first.  Before you contact your local copier salesperson, there are a few tasks you should complete:

1. Calculate your current spending, per month on a lease, toner, service, and supplies.
2. How many output devices do you utilize.
3. Look at ALL your devices, copiers, single-function laser, and multi-function devices.
4. Find the hidden toners in your organization and get a cost associated with that toner.
5. Determine and document your internal toner/supplies support processes. 
1. How are supplies ordered? 
2. Who performs your service?  
3. When a printer breaks, who calls who?  
4. How is toner ordered?

Next, take a look at the way paper flows through your organization and assign a cost to each process.  There's no need to deep dive into this part of your analysis your goal is to outline a general picture of your office workflow and recognize the value of documents.

After you complete these simple tasks, define 'managed print services for yourself.  It could be as simple as a statement like, 

"I want to get rid of some of the older printers, make sure my work from home employees have access to a printer, and I don't want to worry about toner running out..."

Now, go ahead and give your local MpS company a call and invite them in for a chat.

12.  What is Managed Print Services?
11.  How do you bill?
10.  How do you collect meter reads?
9.    How do you deliver toner?
8.    How long is your engagement?
7.    Do you have a cancellation clause?
6.    What procedure do you have for adds and drops?
5.    What is your service SLA?
4.    Do you provide OEM or third-party toner?
3.    Do you have overage charges?
2.    What other services do you provide beyond toner and service?
1.    How many people in your organization support the MpS programs?

Not all that remarkable, eh?

I like number 2.

If you, as a customer/prospective MpS user, can get these questions out on the table, and get a response or two from your provider, you'll have a decent picture of how your MpS program will roll out.

Good luck.

Click to email me.

"MpSr's...Come Out and Play..."

The VARs are out and they are all gunning for us.

To get through the maze, to get out of the city, it's going to take all we know, all we've ever been.

We'll lose friends and meet new allies.  Sticking together might get us through.

Being true to who we are, as individuals, traitors, undeniable, unlimited...that's how we make it.














Click to email me. 

Johnny Walker - Keep Walking

Holidays are coming...

Jus sayin...

Mobility Print is Dogma. DOTC calling it. No. No way. Nope.

11/2011

The final gasps of a dying niche - print/clicks/marks on paper.

Mobility Print, means I can print from my Droid or TouchPad from almost anywhere.  But, for me, the numbers are not all that impressive:

Print a hard copy in a hotel? Sure, 12 pages a year.

Print my airline tickets? Sure 52 pages a year.

My mother printing my aunt's recipe for stuffed turkey? Sure, 11 pages a year.

Print a map? Okay, another 13 clicks.

That's 87 pages. In a year. At 12 cents/image, we're talking about a buck a year.

Print People Magazine at home? Nope.

Download a .PDF from Scientific American, for 99 cents? Possibly.

Applying this to the B2B world, when Alaska Air issued each pilot an iPad, they replaced every, single flight manual for every jet in their fleet.

Mobile print philosophy would argue that if the iPad had the capability of printing, each pilot would go home and print a manual the night before a flight.  Wha, wha, whaaaaaaaaat?

Guess who is most interested in mobile print? Go ahead, guess.

Leopard One Speaks Down Under - Press Release

MPSA Executive Committee Leader

Takes a Hard Look at MPS Industry Trends in MPS Conference Keynote

Columbus, OH – November 17, 2011 – Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) Executive Committee member, Greg Walters, recently presented a keynote speech at the 2011 Asia Pacific MPS Conference in Sydney, Australia. In addition to his longtime volunteer work with the MPSA, Walters is creator of the popular MPS blog, thedeathofthecopier.blogspot.com.

As a founding Executive Board member of the MPSA, Walters has been part of the MPS industry throughout its transition. “The industry has evolved more in the last four years than the previous six,” he declared. “MPS has changed everything and shifted influence from the OEMs to the individual.”

In his keynote presentation, Walters focused on several concepts affecting the marketplace:

• Transformation – “From the inside out. Apple transformed by building what they would use, not what the marketing pundits told them to produce.”

• Partnerships and Collaboration – “Advisories will forge new partnerships. OEM to toner re-man, dealer to dealer.”

• The Big Zag, for Today – “Running and managing an MPS practice is challenging. The more who don’t understand that, the better for we who do. Once the ‘P’ is removed, we are left with ‘Managed Services’. If you can run an MPS practice, you can thrive inside an MS.”