As the need to cut expenses increases in today’s less stable economy, many executives are looking for ways to cut overhead while retaining or even increasing productivity. This isn’t easy, as cost cutting is notorious for lowering productivity. However, cutting print management cost is possible while increasing productivity.
Why costs are going up
Printing operations typically consume between one and three percent of revenue annually and costs are going up as modern business continues to require increasingly sophisticated forms of printing. It’s no longer just a matter of keeping the copy machine in the corner supplied with ink and paper. Modern business is often about presentation, and quality presentation requires printing that goes beyond one colour photocopying or laser printing. This drives costs up and makes print management a business activity all by itself.
Printing growth
While the growth of Business to Business and Business to Customer printing has declined, due primarily to the Internet and the ease of electronic communication in general, in house printing needs have stayed the same or increased. The need for plans, programs, and reports has grown as businesses face increasing challenges, thereby increasing the need for internal print management.
Aging equipment
Add the above changes to the fact that printers and associated printing equipment and supplies are not top priority when it comes to allocation of funds, printing can end up costing far more than just the cost of maintenance. Older equipment is prone to breaking down, which consumes time and money. It is also more difficult, as equipment ages, to find the necessary parts and supplies.
Infrastructure
IT departments are generally the ones responsible for maintaining print management infrastructure, although this isn’t always a good idea. IT normally can’t handle mechanical breakdowns and so must call in expensive third parties with specialized knowledge. This problem is increased when there are multiple models and/or brands of printers in the same office. All this takes IT’s attention away from its more important tasks.
Lack of transparency
The lack of transparency is perhaps the biggest single problem with in house print management. It’s very easy to lose track of printing costs as vendor charges for repairs and supplies are often run on multiple invoices, perhaps even from different departments. Not to mention the hidden costs of time and money resulting from managing relationships with multiple vendors.
While all the above difficulties can increase costs and waste time, they also present opportunities for improvement. The trick is to make print management a coordinated and centralized activity that can stand on its own funding and organization. This way, costs can be contained, expenses are easier to track, IT is no longer distracted and infrastructure can be established and maintained.
The question then becomes, what is the best way to manage printing and hard copy requirements, while minimising costs? A well managed print strategy can increase productivity while cutting costs, and one of the best ways to do this is to outsource to a print management company.
The problem is that small companies can’t always afford an in house print management solution, and big companies generally have large and interdependent print management requirements. This makes it very difficult to create a print management department from scratch. Couple this with the fact that outsourcing print management can often lead to increased investment in new machines and software, due to up selling, and print management can be quite a problem. This is where Cable Blu enters the picture.
Cable Blu offers a complete office management solution that covers all aspects of print management. But it’s not a one size fits all system. It is personalized to each company’s unique requirements and every customer is assigned a Customer Engagement Specialist who is dedicated to reaching distinct customer satisfaction targets. With Cable Blu, it’s customer satisfaction, not up or cross selling, that matters. Cable Blu is the key to successfully cutting print management cost. Contact us at info@cableblu.com.au and discover what we can do for you.