Interest in Managed Print Service programs (MPS) is increasing due to the necessity of cost savings, increasing printing complexity and the ever changing and varied needs of different customers.
MPS, or fleet management, refers to the outsourcing of a company’s imaging products. It is an offer from the vendor to take-over certain services which were previously carried out by the customers’ staff. The depth of out-sourcing can range from simply purchasing all consumables from one source, to having a vendor employee on-site to manage an entire fleet of products.
Maintenance, printing and staff cost reductions as well as control of resources is initially the two main reasons why a company installs a MPS. Only after these needs are satisfied is an end-user company usually interested in focusing on business process improvement in their organization.
Consider these three stages in an adoption of MPS. In stage one, you may want to simply grasp control of your fleet, identify all costs and centralize decision making. In step two, you want to optimize the fleet by installing the right devices in each work environment. In stage three, you will want to enhance your business/work processes by adding new capabilities to existing hard copy fleet. Most vendors are focused on offering their customers stage one and two MPS solutions – which is also typically a customer’s first or second MPS contract.
The MPS market is shifting to an IT-controlled, printer-based, MFP-centric environment. Since MPS contracts typically cover an entire fleet, this has significant consequences for vendors who are behind the curve with their IT-penetration, such as those who have traditionally sold through the copier channel,” commented Photizo CEO Edward Crowley.
The Photizo Group estimates that the MPS market is growing over 23 percent annually and that by 2012; around one third of all hardcopy output devices will be under an MPS contract. This high MPS coverage is not surprising, considering the cost saving which MPS promises customers. Another study showed that improved work routines alone saved 20 to 30 percent of printing costs over time.
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