Reduce Costs Through Printer Consolidation

Practical IT Research that Drives Measurable Results

Reduce Costs through Printer Consolidation

Info-Tech Research Group 1

Introduction

• Printer Consolidation (PrC) is a process that will optimize the printer fleet to
decrease the cost of hardware, consumables (paper, ink, toner), electricity, and
maintenance.

• Strategies for consolidation include:
– elimination of inkjet or high-cost printers
– sharing of workgroup printers,
– use of multi-function devices

• Info-Tech Research Group has found that PrC is an initiative not widely
implemented despite its cost-saving potential.

• To understand why this is the case, Info-Tech conducted a series of interviews with
clients of various industries and sizes who recently underwent, or are currently
undergoing PrC. The findings are summarized in this Storyboard.

Understand Benefits & Implement Printer Manage On-going Print
Barriers Consolidation Devices Control


Executive Summary
• Organizations can save as much as 65% of total printing costs through printer consolidation
(PrC) efforts, making this a very compelling savings initiative.

• However, most organizations are unaware of the savings potential of PrC.
– Many organizations have no aggregate view of the total cost of printing and no one
responsible for managing it
– PrC is often an unpopular initiative with end-users
– Without this visibility, it is difficult to muster executive commitment and support for
PrC

• To achieve savings and overcome barriers:
– Assign accountability for tracking printer costs to a single department/stakeholder group
– Prepare an inventory of printing devices and a profile of usage, requirements, and costs
– Identify areas to eliminate or reduce the number of devices to calculate potential savings
– Educate and communicate the benefits of PrC to executives to gain buy-in and support
– Anticipate and plan for end-user resistance


Nobody has ever died from a paper cut:
Understand PrC benefits and barriers.

Understand
Benefits: Both Kinds of Green Barriers: Why No One Cares
PrC

Identify
Create Prepare the Make the Manage End-User
Implement Accountability Inventory
Savings
Business Case Resistance
Opportunities

Manage Mid-Term Strategies Long-Term Strategies


Every desktop printer eliminated from the fleet
can save you approximately $500 per year.
Poorly controlled print environments breed unnecessary print costs.
Consider the following three examples of Info-Tech clients who realized significant cost-savings from
their PrC initiatives:

A small manufacturing firm A small not-for-profit firm 1.A large public healthcare firm
identified $40K in annual reduced their TCO for realized $285,000 in annual cost-
cost savings from printers by 50% by savings by eliminating 1,016
eliminating 70 non- eliminating 16 out of 35 devices and replacing them with
networked desktop printers standalone printers. 721 more efficient devices that
from their environment and have a lower $/page cost. That
moving fully to networked has resulted in almost $1,000
MFPs. saved per eliminated device.

95% 100%
100%
Print device 100%
80% hardware costs are
just the tip of the See all in-depth
iceberg
60%
case studies here.
40%

20%
5%
Source: Info-Tech Research Group
0%
Hardware Cost Operating Cost Total Cost

Do not ignore the cost-saving potential of PrC.

These cost-savings can be realized with
Device the following actions:
Purchases

• Elimination of cost-inefficient inkjet
desktop printers
• Elimination of high-
Consumables Electricity cost, inefficient, or underutilized
printers
• Sharing of workgroup printers
between an optimal number of end-
users
Maintenance Replacing separate
•
printers, scanners, copiers, and fax
machines with multi-function devices
The more aggressive the organization’s PrC initiative, the greater the cost-savings potential
Medium Pain
Low Pain Initiative High Pain Initiative
Initiative
Cost-savings
~ $30 $60 - $75 ~ $200
($/user/year)
Passive strategy to eliminate Moderately eliminate and Actively eliminate and
Initiative devices through attrition consolidate according to usage consolidate devices, and use
Description and duty cycles aggressive print strategies
(chargeback, outsourcing, etc.)
* Source: Interviews with Info-Tech clients Info-Tech Research Group 6

PrC saves more than capital expenses.

By any metric enterprises use, cost-based or otherwise,
PrC initiatives are overwhelmingly successful:

Non-monetary
benefits met or
exceeded
expectations in
over 75% of
initiatives

Operating
expenses were
reduced in over
80% of initiatives

N=96


PrC presents organizations with an opportunity
to become greener.

Consolidating and eliminating Green not only benefits the environment, but
devices in the printer fleet allows can also help the bottom line.
organizations to reduce their carbon

“
footprint and save costs in the
[CEO] would be very supportive, but it can’t be
following ways:
money spent for green based solely on green. …
[We have] to come up with something that [can]
•Reduced electricity consumption
save me money and be green at the same time.
…But because the cost of electricity is leveling
•Reduced use of consumables (paper, “
out throughout the United States, it has now
ink, toner)
become a business initiative at a higher level to
be much more concerned about energy usage.
•Reduced hazardous waste from
– CIO, Health Services
consumables and devices

“ Better green practices can align with increasing
revenues. … everybody used to think that
corporate social responsibility was equal to
spending money on programs that was [going “
to] actually hurt your bottom line, but I think
that’s not the case with being green. I think if
you align it right, it can definitely help you.
– IT Manager, Public Healthcare


Four barriers commonly prevent many organizations from
recognizing the cost-savings opportunity of PrC.

1 Executives
Executives frequently question whether it is a worth-while initiative due to a unclear
idea of the savings potential and the prospect of end-user backlash.

2 Accountability
Printer cost tracking responsibility is not assigned, or wrongly assigned to multiple
groups. This leads to out of control costs without the organization even realizing it.

3 Process Opacity
Organizations often lack the tools and data needed to uncover the cost-savings potential.

4 End-Users
The initiative faces extreme end-user resistance that inhibits successful implementation.

Printer costs
Potentially Executives are PrC drops on
do not get Cost-saving
significant not compelled the priority
tracked and opportunities
cost-saving to sponsor or list, and IT has
become of PrC are not
opportunities support the no incentive to
unknowingly realized
are unknown initiatives push it forward
out of control


1 Executives are not convinced that PrC is worthwhile.

• Executives often see PrC as a lower priority issue since PrC cost-saving opportunities only seem
significant when aggregated – which rarely happens.

• Cost-savings seem insufficient for the required effort, especially given limited IT resources.

• Executives face a trade-off: cost-savings versus end-user satisfaction. The challenge and grief
associated with end-user resistance and backlash tends to outweigh perceived benefits.

• Unless the fleet of printers is large (and significantly underutilized) or old (resulting in high
maintenance and cost per page) these initiatives may roll up under other asset management
projects which are low on the priority list.

Marketing Sales
Printing Printing
HR Operations Finance
Printing Printing Printing
vs.
Printing
HR + Finance + Marketing +
Sales + Operations


2 Managers in many organizations wrongly assume that since
IT manages the printer devices, they also manage costs.
• Printer costs (paper, ink, toner, electricity, Organization-wide printer usage policies are
maintenance) are often budgeted and rarely enforced with any strictness.
tracked by each department, not
aggregated into an overall budget category.

• The different categories of costs are often
tracked by different groups:
– Consumables and one-off leases are line of
business items tracked by
Supplies/Facilities
– Depreciation expenses are tracked by
Finance (sometimes IT)
– Maintenance expenses are tracked by IT

• No stakeholder‟s performance (i.e. IT) is
measured against the controlling of printer
costs, so there is no incentive to track and
reduce it.

• End-users order printer devices and Source: Info-Tech Research Group N=187
supplies through the Supplies/Facilities
department which bypasses any budget Without systematic policy enforcement, end-
approval process, or through IT, which user print behavior becomes frivolous and
does not have the authority or incentive to generates massive printing costs.
restrict requests.


3 The road to uncovering cost-savings opportunities
isn’t smooth.

• The process to identify the entire fleet, assess • Asset management in most organizations is
requirements, and uncover printer costs neglected. Printers are typically last priority for
requires significant tracking and managing after servers, desktops/laptops, and
documentation tasks, which are laborious and licensed software.
difficult for FTE-constrained IT departments.
• Tools available for tracking printer utilization are
• Non-networked desktop printers are often lacking. Asset management vendors (e.g. Web
used without the knowledge of IT, and are JetAdmin, Netaphor, etc.) provide tools that do not
notoriously difficult to track. necessarily integrate, report consistent data, or
capture non-networked devices such as inkjet
desktops.

73% of organizations do
not have print
management software
that can uncover cost-
savings

N=44 Source: Info-Tech Research Group

4 End-user resistance is a large barrier to effective PrC.

PrC is a cultural change. Two thirds of organizations found end-user
resistance to be a significant barrier.
Lax device procurement policies foster a climate of
end-user entitlement to their own desktop
printers:

End-users often cite that their personal printers
are…
• Required to perform duties; necessary for
productivity, workflow, ergonomic reasons
• More convenient than walking to network
Multi-function Printers (MFPs) and waiting in
queue for print jobs
• More secure; not believing in
biometric/password-release functions on
MFPs
Source: Info-Tech Research Group N=44

“
Printing policies are difficult to enforce. End-users
tend to avoid them, or work around Desktop printers were purchased
them, especially if senior executives are not fully on company cards… users think
on-board and do not lead by example. they are entitled to them. …

No one wants to be responsible for physically
People are resistant… it’s the
convenience of walking no steps
“
confiscating desktop printers – especially from versus walking ten.
executives.
– IT Director, Manufacturing

With proper management, barriers were not significant
and did not prevent attainment of benefits.

Organizations
which conducted
PrC initiatives
were able to
overcome barriers

N=108 Source: Info-Tech Research Group


Don’t cry over spilled ink:
Implement PrC.

Understand
PrC

Identify
Savings
Opportunities


To achieve savings and overcome barriers,
follow Info-Tech’s four-stage approach:

2. Identify 3. Gain executive 4. Educate
1. Track printing consolidation end-users
buy-in
costs under IT opportunities

Create aggregate
print accountability
to track and Use aggregate cost
inventory print data in conjunction Leverage executive
devices, determining with usage, buy-in to educate end
aggregate print requirements, and users and influence Present cost saving
costs. cost to uncover cost changes in their print opportunities to
saving opportunities. behavior with executives to gain
minimal resistance. their buy-in.


Gain high-level executive buy-in to set the tone for PrC.

• Communicate the benefits of PrC to Cautionary Case Study:
executives:
– Cost-savings benefits Scenario:
– Green benefits Print policies are not being strictly
enforced.
• Cost tracking and reporting to management
are iterative: Case Study:
Public administration firm has over 80
– Executives provide covering fire, but
non-networked desktop printers
require proof that the initiative is
deployed and is currently
worthwhile
consolidating, but doubtful of success
– Plan for multiple management check-ins due to low executive buy-in.
through each step of the process

• Do not attempt to undertake PrC initiatives
without alerting executives “ [Printer Consolidation] needs to be
driven from the top which is why
we need to make the business case
“
“ [The executive team] understand
“ for it.
costs. They’re an easier sell than the – IT Manager, Government
end-users.
– CTO, Media & Entertainment Read the in-depth case study here.


Recommend that the responsibility to track
print device costs be allocated to IT.
Aggregate Responsibility
If printer costs (paper, ink, toner, electricity, maintenance, lease expense, etc.) are spread across the budgets of
various silos or departments, recommend to executives that all printer costs be aggregated under IT‟s budget,
and tracked by IT staff. These changes requires no new costs making them easy sells to hesitant executives.

Assign Accountability
Although supplies (paper, ink, toner) may continually be procured by the organization‟s Supplies/Facilities
department, monthly usage/costs (by departments) should be tracked by IT.

Enforce Policy
Recommend that IT be empowered with the ability to enforce a strict procurement policy that ensures all devices
in the printer environment are approved models and under IT‟s control. This eliminates having unknown
devices in the printer fleet along with associated costs; and, allows for economies of scale to be realized from
purchasing standardized printer supplies.

Track Metrics
IT should establish metrics to measure and control each department‟s printer usage, and flag departments that
exceed their acceptable usage amounts (as determined by IT). Reporting these figures to the executive team will
provide incentives to reduce usage. Use these metrics to gain further executive buy-in.

“ [Printing] utilization figures for each department are openly published and viewed
from the top. … If costs are higher than expected, the executives will flag it.
Managers don’t want to see highlighted cells when they get their statements back,
“
so they have incentive to control it.
- IT Manager, Tech Services

Prepare a baseline inventory of printing devices and costs to
identify potential savings.

1. Take an 2. Assess 3. Assess 4. Solicit
inventory of the fleet the fleet costs end-user input
the fleet requirements

Refer to automated
discovery tools, network Understand the Determine the costs of Interview or survey
mapping, and do a application & each device: purchase end-users to understand
physical walk-around to network, platform, security/priv price, consumables their requirements
understand what acy, (paper, ink, toner), and identify
devices are in the and supply requirements maintenance, lease/ problematic devices.
printer environment. of each device. depreciation expense,
and downtime costs.

5. Identify the opportunities for improvement
Use the results from the previous four steps to identify devices that can be eliminated and areas
where devices can be consolidated without harming workflow and productivity.

Refer to the addendum, “Uncovering the Cost-savings of Printer Consolidation: Process Roadmap”
for a more detailed step-by-step guide

Ensure visible executive support to achieve
higher cost savings and lower end-user resistance.
Use the cost figures from identified
opportunities for improvement to sell the Scenario:
initiative to executives. End users are hesitant to give up their
desktop printers.
• Visible support and buy-in of the executive
team creates cost-savings above .01% of total Case Study:
revenue for the organization. Public healthcare organization that
supports 8,000 end-users realized one-
time savings of $450,000 and an
annual $285,000 in cost savings…

“ The first person to get rid of their
desktop inkjet was the CEO. All
executives had desktops removed
“
from their offices.
– IT Manager, Public Healthcare

Read the in-depth case study here.

Source: Info-Tech Research Group N=23

Centralize, consolidate, and replace.

Centralize and network all possible devices. Scenario:
High print cost/page; no
• When making equipment and supply decisions, standardization.
always remember that equipment typically makes
up only 5 to 10% of the total cost of ownership. Case Study I:
• Operation of printers, including supplies, Media & entertainment firm reduced
maintenance, and repairs, represents the rest, so $/page by 50% by consolidating and
costs are further decreased when only a few types of standardizing their printer fleet.
printers need servicing and supplies. Better deals could be negotiated with
printer, toner, and paper vendors.
Whenever possible, consolidate to as few
models as feasible. Case Study II:
Tech firm consolidates and
• Choose MFPs over standalone printers whenever standardizes to two device types has
possible. decreased TCO by 20%.
• MFPs costing three times more than a mid-range

“
laser printer may be a wise purchase if the device
We had so many printers all “
is less costly to operate on a per-page basis.
• At high printing volumes, upfront purchase price over the place… there was no
pales in comparison to savings from efficient toner standardization whatsoever.
and supply use. - VP of IT, Media & Entertainment
• This not only allows for elimination of redundant
devices such as fax machines and scanners, but Read in-depth case study one here.
also lowers TCO, since cost-per-page is typically
50% lower than with dedicated laser printers. Read in-depth case study two here.


Explain PrC rationale to color end-user reaction.

Behavioral changes are painful, with a high hassle factor.
• Do not underestimate the difficulty of getting users to change their behaviors.
• Most of the time, there is no need to print in color or on a single side of the paper, but users
don‟t like what they aren‟t used to.

Communicate costs Solicit users early Explain the tradeoff Enforce policies
• Inform users of the • Consider their input • Educate end users • Use strict and
true cost structure when making device on the high consistent print
associated with decisions aggregate price of policies to control
printing • Communicate IT‟s frivolous printing end user print
• Hardware, justification for the behavior behavior
• Consumables initiative • MFPs bring new • Do not tolerate
• Electricity • Prepare responses advantages, renegade print
to typical end user including green practices
• Maintenance benefits
concerns

Info-Tech Insight:
Print services can be politically sensitive. Prepare for strong end-user pushback by securing a senior
business sponsor. In smaller organizations, this is ideally a President, CEO, or Chief Operations Officer.

Communicate that personal printer costs aren’t peripheral.

TCO for desktop printers is not trivial:
Scenario:
Desktop printers are rampant.
Most desktop printers are ink-jets that are extremely
costly – $/page cost is almost four times amount for
Case Study:
laser toners used in workgroups and MFPs
70 of 200 users had desktop
printers, printing a total of 20,000
Hardware refreshes are required more frequently for
pages. $40K in cost-savings is
desktop printers since their useful lifetime is shorter
discovered from aggregating desktop
printer costs and enforcing stricter
Having multiple models of desktop printers in the
print policies.
fleet does not allow for bulk purchasing of supplies –

“
cannot realize economies of scale due to a lack of
Ink is too expensive for the
standardization “
desktop printers – that’s all you
Each desktop printer, regardless of utilization rates, need to know. It’s a no brainer.
increases energy consumption and costs – IT Director, Manufacturing

Usage of desktop printers is difficult to track and
oftentimes employee induced theft/shrinkage occurs Read the in-depth case study here.

Paper, Total
Hardware Ink, Electricity Maintenance Printer
Toner Cost

Bring end-users into the process early to identify
cost-savings opportunities and minimize complaints.

• Solicit the input of end-users through the surveys, and review their comments

• Consider their input when making elimination and consolidation decisions

• Require end-users to sign-off on consolidation decisions, revised floor plans, and printer policies

Communicate IT’s justification for each end-user’s argument to keep their desktop printers:

End-user Argument/Concern IT Argument

“
“I don‟t trust network storage. I Explain security and benefits of People did not
want physical copies.” content management systems.
understand how
“I use my desktop a lot. I need it.”  Users should be printing on much this costs.
cheaper network MFPs …Printing is an
“I don‟t use it a lot, so it‟s not  Waste of money to maintain and 80s or 90s habit.
costly.” power under-utilized devices People are
“I need security and  MFPs have biometric/password- addicted to it…
confidentiality.” release functions you need to break
“I don‟t have time to wait.”  Print jobs in queue are released this habit.
when users are at the device – IT Manager, Tech
“I don‟t want to walk that far.”  Devices will typically be within 50 Services
feet - not far

Explain the tradeoff between printing privileges
and other cost-cutting opportunities.

Issue Talking Point
Educate end-users on the aggregate costs of “What would you do if it were your company? Cut
printing, and communicate that the cost- costs or cut jobs?”
savings are not petty.

Communicate the green benefits. “Decrease the amount of consumables, energy, and
hardware used. Do your part to be green.”
Enhanced features and functionalities of “The new MFPs are equipped with special features
MFPs. that will increase your ease of use, output speed,
and improve the security of documents.”

Educate users on avoiding printing cost culprits.
Don’t print “dense” documents.
Avoid printing documents with many graphics or dark-color backgrounds.
Print jobs with page coverage of 5% (e.g.: a text e-mail) cost one to five cents per page, while jobs with
coverage of 40% cost up to forty cents per page.

Use print area wisely.
For draft documents, such as presentations, users can print multiple pages on single sheets.

Enable aggressive energy savings settings.
Enable energy savings on all printers, so they do not sit idle, consuming energy

Ensure printing policies are black and white.

Do not allow desktop printers in the printer environment.
• Create a procurement policy whereby all device requests must have valid justification and be
approved by department managers and IT.
• Senior executives must not be an exception to this rule.
• Legitimate exceptions, e,g,: end-users with physical disabilities preventing MFP access, are
acceptable and must go through a review/approval process.

IT should discontinue supporting desktop printers and other non-approved/non-
networked devices.
• Enforce policy compliance for end-users and use standardized devices.
• IT staff should be reprimanded for providing support or administrative rights to renegade
end-users.

Set printers to double-sided and monochrome by default.
• Double-sided documents are often adequate for internal business.
• The cost of color printing is up to ten times that of monochrome printing.

Send print jobs to lowest-cost devices by default.
• Make lowest cost-per-page devices the default for nearby users.
• New MFPs have a cost-per-page of around half that of older network-attached laser printers.

Info-Tech Research:
Use Info-Tech’s Printer Policy template as a starting point for developing a comprehensive
enterprise printing governance policy.

Use print management software
to reap on-going benefits from PrC.

Understand
PrC

Identify
Savings
Opportunities


Organizations that conduct one-time consolidation
initiatives are leaving money on the table.
On-going initiatives achieve an average of
41% greater annual cost savings than one-time initiatives

On-going savings result from changes in end
user print behavior.

Altering user behavior is difficult and requires
longer-term strategy

Consider the following options for controlling
behavior-related print costs:
• Print Management Software N=40
• Print Outsourcing
• Chargeback Printing Model Mid-term strategies that require
fewer behavioral changes can be
While software price points vary considerably, implemented more rapidly:
most solutions typically enable the following:
• Granular cost control • Enable print roaming and ID
• Streamlined printer management verification
• Behavior management • Set up user quotas
• Renegotiate print service
Automating print management can effectively contracts
reduce frivolous printing and associated costs • Train users on self-support


Mid-term strategies require time and investment, but
require few changes to user behavior and print strategy.
Use a management console to enable print roaming and identity verification.
• Require user-queued print jobs to be authenticated at a printer.
• This prevents errant print jobs which are lost or not picked up.
• The average cost of a wasted page is about six cents, and the average employee wastes about 1,400 pages a year
(around $85 per user)
• Creates additional security and privacy, by requiring user authorizing.

Set up user accounting or quotas.

• Provide usage records to business managers so they can understand the true cost of users‟ printing.
• Set up printing quotas for each user.
• This may create short-term pushback, but causes users to ask themselves whether a particular print job is really
necessary.

Renegotiate and consolidate printer service contracts.

• Revisit contract terms and shop them around to ensure pricing is competitive.
• Leverage size and centralization by consolidating to a single vendor, and use the printing needs of the entire
enterprise to decrease pricing and place limitations on future contractual obligations.

Train users on hardware self-support to reduce vendor or help desk costs.
• Train users to remedy paper jams and move paper in and out of paper trays (e.g.: create laminated cards).
• Keep in mind that toner replacement and paper refills may need to be conducted by IT or the supplier to prevent
expensive user errors.


Determine if your organization is a
complex print environment.

Ask Yourself…
 Do I require rigorous cost control (containment and/or avoidance)?
E.g.: My firm is suffering from the downturn and is aggressively containing costs.

 How critical is information security to my environment (IP and privacy protection)?
E.g.: My law firm prints confidential documents
 Do I need to make use of cost allocation for either internal chargeback or actual client billing?
E.g.: My design firm bills clients for high printing volumes for their projects

 Are green initiatives significant to my operations, as mandated either internally or by external
regulations?
E.g.: I am LEED certified and must comply

Security Allocation

Complexity

Cost
Compliance
Control


Adopt print management software appropriate
to printer fleet size and print need complexity.

Investigate the following solutions based on the profile • Printer management solutions range
of your organization: from tools bundled with ink-jet
printers that track consumables
status to software suites that track
data for thousands of print devices.

Full
Large Mid-level • Software included with print devices
Manage (OEM) can pool print jobs, secure
access, and centralize job
Fleet Size

administration.

• Mid-level software can track
costs, generate reports, and
centralize management.

Small OEM Mid-level • Full Manage software allows for
absolute enforcement of print
policies and fully control of printing

Understand the tools available,
Low High identify enterprise needs,
and pursue acquisition through
Complexity dealer or industry channels.


Mid-
level
Full
Manage Vendor-provided solutions are adequate control for
OEM
Mid-
level
small organizations with simple printing environments.

Cost Savings Tools Vendors
Profile
Opportunity You’ll Need and Suites

• Small enterprises • Setting simple • Basic Print • HP - Web
• <100 users default print Tracking JetAdmin
• Basic print settings to • Print • Canon NetSpot,
management reduce print Monitoring • Lexmark
environment jobs and cost to • Simple MarkVision
• No need for print Reporting • Xerox
chargeback • Pool print jobs • Centralized CentreWare
strategy and secure Management Web, Job
• Dealing with access Tracking
complex sales • Centralize job
channels for third administration
party vendors is
likely a waste of
resources


SMBs with greater print control needs can leverage
Mid- Full
level Manage

OEM
Mid-
level
mid-level solutions to manage behavior.

Profile

• Small-mid-sized • Move to a utility • Print Tracking • CZ - Print
enterprises printing model • Print Job Tracker
• <500 users and charge each Monitoring • PaperCut -
• Low print needs department for its • Analysis & ChargeBack
and complexity printing costs to Reporting • CapellaTech -
• Law firms, make managers • Centralized Megatrack
professional accountable for Management • Alagus Print
firms, accounting, costs • Document Admin
design, research • Control document control • Antamedia
• Solutions start flow for more • Basic Print
around $500, but efficient chargeback Manager
require additional compliance • Client billing
per device costs. • Client billing
• Manage high
security
documents


Mid-
level
Full
Manage Larger organizations without high print control needs
OEM
Mid-
level
can get away with mid-level software to meet needs.

Profile

• Mid-sized • Single pane of • Print Tracking • Brooks
enterprises glass display • Print Internet
• 100-1000 users allows for Monitoring Software -
• High print needs proactive cost • Analysis & Remote
and complexity control Reporting Print
• Business & • Track costs by • Centralized Manager
Education user and Management • CZ - Print
• Solutions start generate reports Job Tracker
around $500, but on usage and • PaperCut -
require additional consumables to NG
per device costs. conduct • Nagios
informed, recurr • Ringdale
ing reviews of FollowMe
print needs


Mid-
level
Full
Manage Full control solutions will only attract large
OEM
Mid-
level
organizations with a mature print strategy.

Profile

• Large enterprises • Absolute • Advanced Print • Canon -
• >500 users enforcement of Tracking and imageWARE
• Complex print policies and Monitoring Enterprise
environment with restrictions to • Analysis & Management
high needs ensure printing Reporting Console
• Mature print optimization • Centralized • Netaphor -
strategy • Quotas at user, Management SiteAudit
• Government, job, type level, • Client Billing • Print Audit
education, redirect • Inventory listing • Pharos
engineering, • Define common • Restrictions Uniprint and
architecture usage patterns • Printer Redirect BluePrint
• Expect to spend and have • Usage • Dell
thousands for a software Scheduling OpenManage
tailored solution intervene when
that will save time settings aren‟t
and guide cost- optimized
savings.


Outsourcers can often take care of some or all printing needs
for a total cost that IT cannot match in-house.
Outsource highest-cost print services.
Outsourcing Scenario:
• Outsourcing print services is most appropriate My firm requires very high print
for: volume and I need to recover the
• Organizations engaging in high-volume, costs.
high-quality print jobs, with growing
levels of output. Case Study:
• Organizations with many customer-facing Architectural engineering firm with
print jobs that include mailing. 3,800 end-users has realized annual
cost-savings of over $10 million by
• Print outsourcing is a long-term tactic, outsourcing their printing and
requiring an assessment of in-house printing recovering 65% of costs by
costs compared with the cost for a similar level implementing a chargeback model to
of service provided by an outside party. clients

• When end-to-end costs are factored in, printing,
managing, mailing, and tracking high-quality
customer deliverables can be up to $5 per unit. Read the in-depth case study here.

Info-Tech Insight:
Companies with more than 2,000 outbound mailings per month can realize savings of 30% to 60% by
outsourcing the printing process.


Summary

• PrC is an often overlooked initiative despite its compelling cost saving potential and
green, non-monetary benefits
• Successfully implementing PrC requires a structured approach to overcoming barriers:
• Create aggregate print accountability to track and inventory print
devices, determining aggregate printing costs
• Use aggregate cost data in conjunction with usage, requirements, and cost to
uncover cost saving opportunities
• Present cost saving opportunities to executives to gain their buy-in
• Leverage executive buy-in to educate end users and influence changes in their print
behavior with minimal resistance
• Enterprises that conduct one-time initiatives are leaving money on the table
• Deploy print management software proportionate to enterprise size and needs of
the print environment to achieve on-going cost savings
• Consider print outsourcing if your enterprise has high volume/high quality printing
needs


Appendix


An inventory provides the baseline information
for PrC analysis.
1.Take an inventory 5. Identify the
of the fleet opportunities

Description of Identify what devices exist in all office locations, and gather the following information:
process: * Please note that this is an exhaustive list of data inputs that is recommended to fully uncover the
cost-saving potential of PrC, but all inputs are not required for a rough estimate of cost-savings.
•Device type (printer, copier, fax, scanner)
•Network vs. non-network
•Make, model, serial number
•Location in office
•Device owner (personal desktop, IT, lease, etc.)
•Number of users supported
•Monthly duty cycle (capacity)
•Page count to date (# pgs printed)
•Device age (in months)
•Estimated remaining useful life (in months)

“ We did a walk-around of the 75,000 square foot office twice … and I
looked at specific users to see if they hooked up printers that weren’t on
the network. … I know all the nooks and crannies, and I think we captured
“
them all.
- IT Director, Manufacturing Back to Deck

Information for the inventory will come from
a variety of sources – be thorough.
1.Take an inventory 5. Identify the
of the fleet opportunities

How-to: Refer to purchase receipts, statements, service records, etc.
Automated discovery tools and network mapping
Do a physical walk-around of facility/office site to ensure all non-networked devices
are uncovered (may be hiding in offices or cubicles)
Stakeholders: IT Director leads and oversees
 1-2 IT staff at each office site takes inventory
•Depending on organization size, a team of IT FTEs can be resourced to the task
•Organizations with limited IT FTEs but sufficient budget can use consultants
•Print/Asset management vendors offer this service free of charge using their
software in hopes that the organization will purchase the solution in the end
Accounting and Supplies department provide additional information as needed
Tool: Refer to tab, ‘1. Inventory’ in the “Reduce Costs through Printer Consolidation: Tool”.

“ We outsourced the process to a vendor that offered to collect the data for
free … It will require a couple of sit-downs with managers of various
departments, but it’s great … it saves time and money.
“
– CIO, Market Research


Analysis begins with understanding
how each device is being used.
2.Assess the fleet 5. Identify the
requirements opportunities

Description of Determine what function each device serves and how
process: Application & Network:
•Identify the device as networked or non-networked
•Identify the device as a desktop, workgroup, or MFP
•Determine what the device is being used for (internal documents, external
documents, high-quality graphics/color, scheduled, ad hoc/on-demand)
•Determine its place in the organization’s workflow – its dependencies
(applications, processes, people) and its criticality of uptime
•Determine needed features (color printing, scanning to e-mail, stapling, etc.)
Platform:
•Determine whether devices are compatible with Vista/Windows 7 or with the
direction of the future IT strategy
Security/Privacy:
•Determine the device’s need to output secure documents and its required
security features (release function, software, etc.)
•Note compliance frameworks that must be adhered to (PrCI, ITAR, HIPAA, etc.)
Supplies:
•Paper (size, quality), ink (color, black), toner


Involve departmental input to determine
how each printer is used.
2.Assess the fleet 5. Identify the
requirements opportunities

How-to: Ask department managers for input to understand the printer’s role in workflow

 1 IT staff at each office, or allocated team visits each office site, or vendor
Departmental managers for input on device dependencies and requirements
Tool: Refer to tab, ‘2. Requirements’ in ITA Premium, “Reduce Costs through Printer
Consolidation: Tool”.

“ I quickly identified the need for only three types of devices:
departmental networked color printers, departmental networked black and
white printers, and personal printers that are locally connected. … We had
“
so many printers all over the place… there was no standardization
whatsoever.
- VP of IT, Media & Entertainment


Estimate the total cost of printing.

3.Assess the 5. Identify the
fleet costs opportunities

Description of Determine the total cost of ownership of the printer fleet:
process: •Purchase price or lease expense of each device (whichever is applicable)
•Cost of consumables: paper, ink, toner, etc. (if not included in lease agreements)
•Depreciation expense (if applicable)
•Cost of maintenance: per-call service, retainer service, on-site contracts,
included in $/page contracts
•Calculate downtime costs (# outages, loss of productivity, etc.)
 Use the ITA Premium “Downtime Cost Calculator”.
•Overall $/page cost
Determine cost of external printing at third-party companies:
•High-quality, color, bulk, etc. print jobs at print houses (i.e.: Kinko’s)

“ Printers were [procured ]corporately … so [IT] didn’t know the true costs.
... Copiers had a lot more hidden costs. We had to look at contracts,
invoices, consumables, and we looked at the GL under ‘Office Supplies’. … I “
didn’t realize so much color copying was being outsourced until we looked at
the invoices.
- VP of IT, Architecture


Include the costs of supplies and paper.

3.Assess the 5. Identify the
fleet costs opportunities

How-to: Assign a IT FTE to track/monitor the costs of the printer fleet over a set time period
(at least 3 months is recommended)
Calculate the costs for each device (identified on previous slide)
 If devices do not have page counters, measure consumption costs by tracking paper,
ink, or toner purchases through the Supplies department
Analyze help desk tickets or outage tracking systems to determine maintenance and
downtime costs
1-2 IT staff or vendor tracks costs from each department and aggregates totals
Accounting/Supplies department provides purchase receipts from devices and
consumables
Tool: Refer to tab, ‘3. Costs’ in the ITA Premium, “Reduce Costs through Printer
Consolidation: Tool”.

“ All department costs were spread out. … Consolidating it
made it look like costs went up a lot because costs were now
aggregated, but the total was less than the previous totals.
“
- VP of IT, Architecture

Involve the end-users in understanding particular
requirements and concerns.
4.Solicit end- 5. Identify the
user input opportunities

Description of Understand end-user satisfaction with each device’s performance:
process: •Quality of output
•Ease of use
•Speed of printing
•Need for special features and its performance (print release functions, etc.)
•Availability, frequency of downtime
•Performance of service providers (maintenance time)
Understand why certain devices have low satisfaction scores. Determine the cause:
•Insufficient user training
•Overloaded device (output > duty cycles)
•Lacking required features
•Vendor does not provide adequate service

“
“ Customers’ reflection of what’s needed is
different from the technical view.
– IT Manager, Public Administration


A survey can be used to identify problem areas
and validate findings so far.
4.Solicit end- 5. Identify the
user input opportunities

How-to: Create user satisfaction survey to gauge fleet performance
Distribute survey to all end-users
Collect surveys and compile results – take averages of scores
Examine devices that received low scores
Stakeholders: IT Director oversees
One IT staff member administers survey and compiles results
Fair sample size of end-users for each device to avoid bias

Tool: Survey sheets: refer to tabs 4a. through 4c. End-user Survey Analysis’ in “Reduce Costs
through Printer Consolidation: Tool”.

“ It was the help-desk manager’s role to schedule quarterly
calls with all department heads to assess their
satisfaction with service. … We conducted this before and “
after roll-out to see what they liked/disliked about the printer
changes.
- VP of IT, Media & Entertainment

Identify which printers can be eliminated
to estimate potential savings.
5.Identify the
opportunities

Description of Identify opportunities for improvement to support the business case:
process: 1.Fleet requirements
•Scrutinize all desktops, standalones, or non-networked devices to determine
need and potential to be eliminated
•Compare utilization with duty cycles of devices within one department or within
close proximity of each other to determine consolidation opportunities
•Identify devices that can or should be eliminated due to their nearing end of life,
or lacking application, platform, security requirements
2.Fleet costs
•Identify cost-saving opportunities from eliminating all non-networked devices,
desktop devices (i.e.: costly ink-jet printers)
•Identify devices that are cost-inefficient (maintenance, supplies, downtime, etc.)
•Consider cost-savings from standardizing device/supplies procurement,
enforcing stricter printing policies (double-sided, monochrome settings), ceasing
to print at third-party houses, reducing shrinkage of supplies
“
“ Align inventory with needs… Making decisions
based on what’s needed and where.
– IT Manager, Public Administration


Consider end-user and ‘Green’ implications.

5.Identify the
opportunities

Description of Identify opportunities for improvement to support the business case:
process: 3.End-user satisfaction
•Consider scores and responses from end-user satisfaction surveys and how
relocation/consolidation/elimination of certain devices would impact user
productivity and satisfaction
•Note: End-user responses may be biased in order to keep their printers
4.Green benefits
•Highlight the opportunity to reduce the organization’s environmental footprint
through reduced use of consumables such as paper, ink, toner
•Consolidating devices also reduces the use of electricity and the need to refresh
a large printer fleet in the future thereby reducing hazardous waste

“ We’re a law firm so we generate a lots of paper. … [we’re] moving to
electronic files, using the large [monitors] and we also enhanced our copiers
so … hit a button and scan a document straight to your filing system. … we’ve “
been able to reduce the use of paper and ink and the environmental
impact there that grows along with the increases in correspondence.
- CIO, Law Firm

Present cost-saving opportunities to executives
to gain approval.
5.Identify the
opportunities

How-to: Use the results from the previous four steps to identify areas for improvement
Commission a third-party environmental auditor to measure impacts of printer fleet

Stakeholders: IT staff/team makes preliminary recommendations from findings
IT Director examines findings and makes overall recommendations to senior
management
Tool: Refer to tab, ‘5. Opportunities’ in the “Reduce Costs through Printer Consolidation:
Tool”.

“ We looked at our service desk history to track which printers were more
problematic and why …ended up retiring printers that were cheap to
buy but costly to maintain versus getting slightly more costly but robust
machines. … “
It was important to reduce unnecessary costs NOT to hurt flow
of work.
– CIO, Market Research


Follow Info-Tech’s process roadmap
to start realizing cost-savings.


Case Studies Table of Contents
Back to Deck

Click on the ‘#’ or ‘Industry’ of a case study to view its contents: situation, opportunities, and results.

# Industry End-users Printer Consolidation Strategy Cost-savings
1 Public Healthcare 8,000 Eliminated 27% of fleet and replaced 90% of $450,000 (one-
remaining devices with more efficient ones time)
$285,000 (annual)
2 Non-profit 150 Eliminated 46% of fleet based on utilization $7,500+ (annual)

3 Media & 1,300 Consolidated and standardized devices 50% reduction of
Entertainment $/page
4 Manufacturing 200 Eliminating all non-networked devices $40,000 (annual)

5 Architecture 3,800 Completely outsourced printing, $10,000,000
implemented chargeback model (annual)
6 Technology 2,100 Consolidated and standardized devices 20% of TCO
Services
7 Market Research 700 Outsourced to asset management vendor TBD

8 Public 500 Attrition of old devices TBD
Administration
* Source: Interviews with Info-Tech clients
9 Manufacturing 800 Consolidating into a new building TBD


Elimination Scenario: Back to Deck
I need to switch to MFPs for features and functionality.
Strategy: Eliminated a quarter of fleet and replaced remaining devices

Industry Public Healthcare End-Users 8,000
Role CIO, IT Manager Savings $450,000 + $285,000 annually

Situation:
• Printer vendor offered to uncover opportunity of PrC free of charge in exchange to be their sole provider for five years.
• Director of IT Support was interested in PrC since a shift to MFPs would allow for increased features and functionality.
Opportunity:
• IT Director realized 62% of the 1,095 fleet was not on the network which resulted in high consumption costs that were
not being tracked – especially toner costs.
Results:
• Eliminating 93% of the fleet resulted in $450,000 cost-savings which was used to finance the leasing of 721 more
efficient MFPs (79 devices were salvaged). Did not require a request for additional capital budget.
• 96% of 800 devices are now on the network except for 34 devices that are attached to clinical carts. This has resulted in
annual savings of $285,000 from reduced consumables cost (mostly ink and toner) and maintenance costs since the
lease contract charges $0.04/page and includes a 5-year warrantee. This has saved 1.4 IT FTE‟s time which has been
re-allocated to other projects.
• Printer vendor provides an on-site technician fully resourced to the hospitals; and, monthly usage reports which allows
the IT Director to track costs, notify departments when normal usage rates are exceeded, and optimize the usage of the
fleet by re-locating devices.
• All printer lease costs fall into IT‟s budget and usage gets charged to each department at year-end. IT Director has set
up strict printer policies, “If you are 50 feet within a printer, you‟re not getting another one.”
• Key success factor was that the initiative was supported by senior executives. “The first person to get rid of their
desktop inkjet was the CEO. All executives had desktops removed from their offices.”


Consolidation Scenario:
I need to get better utilization out of my printers.
Strategy: Eliminated almost half their printer fleet based on utilization

Industry Not-for-Profit End-Users 150
Role IT Manager Savings $7,500-$9,000 annually

Situation:
• CTO was faced with challenge of reducing costs.
• Chargeback model had already been in place for 10-15 years (IT charges departments $0.08/page which includes
ink/toner, maintenance, energy).

Opportunity:

• Identified the opportunity to reduce printer fleet of 35 printers/copiers by looking at monthly duty cycles and actual
utilization rates.
• “Although those savings aren‟t significant in normal times, it‟s something, and it‟s worth it right now.”
• Eliminated 16 out of 35 devices based on their utilization, location in the building, and features.
Results:

• Resulted in $7500 - $9000 annual cost-savings from reduced use of consumables, repairs, and energy – it does not
factor savings in IT support time from reduced helpdesk tickets.
• Printer TCO decreased 40% – 50% from approximately $18,000 in previous years.
• Remaining 19 devices were recognized as necessary to support print volume in those departments (not large enough to
lease/purchase MFPs), but chargeback model keeps costs under control.
• IT is responsible for tracking all printer/copier costs (except paper which is supplied by each department).
• Device requests must be approved by senior leaders and IT. IT then purchases one of the pre-approved list of devices
depending on feature requirements – typically mainstream HP devices.


Standardization Scenario: Back to Deck
My consumables costs are out of control.
Strategy: Consolidated and standardized the printer fleet.

Industry Media & Entertainment End-Users 1,300
Role VP of IT Savings $/page reduced by 50%

Situation:

• IT Director reviewed budget line by line as part of an initiative to reduce costs during tough economic times. Identified
printer and toner usage as an area of opportunity to cut costs.
• Printer purchases are considered a capital item on IT budget, and consumables are considered „supplies expense‟.
However, IT was not tracking or controlling costs.
• Departments requested devices or supplies from IT and were granted them without approval needed. Printers were
purchased as long as there was the budget, and bought models without concern for standardization.
Opportunity:

• IT Director realized that toner costs were out of control, and maintenance/support fees for printers were annual sunk-
costs that could be reduced if printers were consolidated and standardized.
• Moved towards standardizing three types of devices: networked color printers, networked B&W printers, and desktop
printers.
• Eliminated underutilized devices (reduced networked workgroup printers from 400 to 300, reduced desktops by 10%),
and replaced inefficient older devices with standardized models.

Results:

• Savings were realized from eliminating devices reduced toner and support costs which financed purchase of new
standardized models. Payback period of new printers was less than 1 year.
• Standardization allowed $/page to be reduced by more than 50% ($0.045 to $0.02) since better deals could be
negotiated with printer, toner, and paper vendors.
• Stricter purchase approval process is now in place. Departmental managers are interviewed to justify need, and
approval is granted by IT Director.


Elimination Scenario: Back to Deck
I have too many desktop printers in the workplace.
Strategy: Eliminated all non-networked devices and enforce print policies

Industry Manufacturing End-Users 8,000
Role IT Director Savings $40,000 annually

Situation:

• Despite having 10-12 networked, high-speed MFPs spread evenly across the building, the IT Director discovered 70 out
of 200 users had desktop printers.
• Furthermore, those 70 users were printing a total of 20,000 pages on the desktop printers despite an all-inclusive
contract with a printer vendor that includes the cost of 70,000 printed pages (ink, toner, maintenance included).
• This resulted in wasted dollars from the underutilized page quota for the MFPs; as well as the costs incurred to
purchase, supply, and support the desktop printers.

Opportunity:

• IT Director discovered a minimum of $40K in cost-saving opportunity by simply aggregating the costs associated with
the non-networked desktop printers (ink, toner, maintenance).“Ink is too expensive for the desktop printers – that‟s
all you need to know. It‟s a no brainer.”
• Need for stricter IT procurement approval policies. MFPs serve all end-users‟ needs sufficiently, but employees are
used to the entitlement of having printers on their desk. “They go out to the nearest Staples, buy a printer for under a
hundred dollars, hook it up to their computers, and then expense it to their managers. We‟ve locked down the
administrative rights, but a coffee here and there [for IT] and eventually they get those printers hooked up.”

Results:

• Employees are being urged to go paperless by saving to SharePoint or imaging in other ways. Users are resistant to
storing things on the network because of their fear of losing things.
• IT is overcoming end-user resistance by communicating cost-saving opportunity and by educating that documents get
backed up on SharePoint with little risk of downtime.


Outsource/Chargeback Scenario: Back to Deck
I need to reduce costs from high volume and quality needs.
Strategy: Outsource printing and recover 65% through client chargeback

Industry Architecture End-Users 3,800
Role VP of IT Savings $10 million annually

Situation:
• Prior to outsourcing their printer environment, TCO for 900 printer devices was unknown because it was spread across
all departments (insurance, taxes, maintenance, marketing).
• Printer and copier costs were massive due to the volume of printing being done for architectural projects. However,
true costs were hidden since the supplies and devices themselves were purchased and expensed by each department
head under a general office supplies account.
Opportunity:
• Consulting group identified printers as an area of opportunity within their overall organizational strategy for shared
services. After totaling the costs from printer contracts, invoices for consumables, and invoices from outsourcing color
copying across all departments, the organization realized a large opportunity for savings.
Results:
• IT decided to outsource their printing to a vendor (devices are still on-site) and implement a chargeback model.
• Each B&W copy costs $0.06, and is being charged to respective departments/projects that it is being printed for.
• Project managers are now responsible for tracking their printing costs. Almost 100% of these costs are recoverable
since these fees are being charged directly to clients‟ projects.
• Printer costs from all departments are now aggregated into one overall account. IT is responsible for monitoring this
figure and putting reporting tools in place to track each department‟s spend. Allows for accountability and
comparability.
• Resulted in over $10M in savings since 65% of printing costs are now being charged to clients and the chargeback
model has reduced unnecessary internal printing and color copies.
• Reduced printing TCO from almost half of IT budget to less than a third.

Standardize & Track Scenario: Back to Deck
I need to control printing without hurting workflow.
Strategy: Consolidated and standardized devices, shift edcost responsibility to department managers

Industry Technology Services End-Users 2,100
Role IT Manager Savings To be determined

Situation:

• Chief Administrative Officer introduced a strategic plan that outlined areas to reduce costs in light of tough economic
times. Reducing printer costs was identified as one of these areas.
Opportunity:

• Sought to eliminate desktop printers and replace with MFPs to the extent that it didn‟t negatively affect productivity.
“It was important to reduce unnecessary costs - not to hurt flow of work.”
• Referred to service desk history to identify which printers were most problematic and why.
• Resulted in retiring printers that were cheap to buy but costly to maintain.
• Only devices needed in the fleet are Xerox MFPs (leased), HP ink-jets where absolutely necessary (due to security
requirements), and a handful of high-quality color printers for external documents.

Results:

• Consolidation and standardization to only two device types has resulted in cost-savings from bulk-purchasing of
supplies, and less overall end-user printing. “We needed to break the thought pattern that having a printer on your
desk is a right of passage. People are in the habit of printing in color every five minutes; but, if you make people
walk to a printer, they print less.”
• Facilities Team tracks printer costs through supply orders and electronic device procurement system.
• Procurement requests for desktops need managerial approval and will not be approved unless deemed essential for
workflow. IT will not support devices which are outside of the approved list.
• Printer costs show up as a budget item on each department‟s P/L statement, publicly viewable across organization, and
are reviewed by the executive team. “If costs are higher than expected, the executives will flag it. Managers don‟t want
to see highlighted cells when they get their statements back, so they have incentive to control it.”


Vendor Consulting Scenario:
I don’t have the resources to uncover my print costs.
Strategy: Outsourced to asset management vendor

Industry Market Research End-Users 700
Role CIO Savings To be determined

Situation:
• VP of IT Infrastructure has outsourced the process of uncovering their printer costs to an asset management software
vendor. Offered as a free service to demonstrate software capabilities.
• Current printer fleet consists of workgroup printers shared by groups of users, desktop printers for 3-8% of end-users,
and 1-3 copiers per office (34 offices).
• Not expecting huge cost-savings from eliminating desktop printers because strict procurement policies has controlled
the number of desktops in environment. All purchases need to be approved by him and CIO.
Opportunity:
• Certain that there is a better way to configure the printer fleet to better serve end-user needs and match duty cycles
with utilization rates. “I‟m more concerned about the soft issues. What will happen if we move that printer there?”
• Opportunity to better track printing costs. Previously, IT and Facilities split the responsibility of tracking costs. IT
owned/tracked printer costs (workgroups and desktops), and Facilities owned/tracked copier costs.
Results:
• All cost-tracking responsibility has shifted to IT to allow for better management of fleet.
• Vendor is monitoring fleet for 60 days (on-going). If report findings reveal a reasonable return, they will purchase
software and go ahead with recommendations.
• „Reasonable‟ ROI depends on #FTE required to implement initiative. Given their limited number of IT staff (17
people), must weigh available resources with cost-saving opportunity of project.


Passive Attrition Scenario: Back to Deck
I want to consolidate but have limited support from execs.
Strategy: Attrition, due to low executive buy-in

Industry Public Administration End-Users 500
Role IT Director Savings To be determined

Situation:
• Organization rents 10 MFPs with a $/page that is charged back to respective departments.
• However, 80 desktop printers that are not connected to the network exist in the printer environment. Costs associated
with these desktops were unknown since each department purchased their own supplies which got rolled up into
general expenses.
• Equipment acquisition approval process is in place, but a lack of executive-level support has resulted in a growing
number of desktop printers that get approved. IS has no choice but to purchase and provide support to these devices.
Opportunity:
• IS department is planning to eliminate at least 50% of these desktops through attrition – a passive strategy to reduce
unnecessary printing, and costs of consumables, electricity, and maintenance.
Results:
• Currently consolidating, but doubtful of success due to low executive buy-in, and cost-savings may be minimal.
• IT Manager realizes the importance of stakeholder buy-in at all levels driven by the cost-saving opportunity. “Even
though every dollar counts, $5000 a year [in cost savings] is not impressive. It needs to be ranked important by
Accounting and other leaders.”
• Although cost-savings have not yet been realized, help-desk tickets have gone down and there are direct savings with
each desktop that is eliminated from the environment.


Spacing Scenario:
I need to reduce the amount of space occupied by printers.
Strategy: Piloting PrC in two office sites that are set to move into a new office building.

Industry Manufacturing End-Users 800
Role IT Director Savings To be determined

Situation:

• Organization is looking to eliminate two office sites and move into a newly built, more efficient office building.
• CIO is looking to consolidate and reduce their printer fleet from the two offices as part of the larger initiative to move
into the new office. He is attempting to reduce the costs of consumables and maintenance.
• Currently, there is no purchase approval process. Devices are expensed by end-users, by-passing IT, but then
considered capital investments under IT‟s budget.
• Consumables are captured as 'Computer Supplies' under Office Services department budget. Supplies are ordered in
bulk according to regular usage patterns, and users go to supply closet when they need it and there is no control. “I‟m
not comfortable saying, „No, you can‟t print that,‟ if it‟s necessary for their job.”

Opportunity:

• Gradually phase out some of the 35 desktops and 33 workgroups as they reach their end of life, and strategically spread
out the remaining devices in the new office.
• Placement of remaining devices will be determined by matching utilization with capacity.
• CIO is putting purchase policy in place: all hardware will require a PO that must go through IT using an electronic
purchase requisition system. POs will be approved by CIO, if over $10K then CFO, if over $20K then CEO.
• Looking to acquire print software to monitor/track printer costs. Will help make the business case for management.
• Looking at aggregate costs of supplies will convey a more convincing message to leadership team.

Results:

• Pilot will be considered successful if projected cost-savings across all seven locations would yield at least $20-50K.
• Cost-savings realized are still to be determined.


Reduce Costs Through Printer Consolidation

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