Do You Know How Much You Spend?

Managed print is one of the last unaudited expenses in the office place according to CFO Magazine. According to the article, “most companies have no idea how much they spend”, (CFO Magazine, May 2008). You may say to yourself, “Yes, but that article was printed over three years ago. It is no longer relevant.”

OK. Then how much do you spend on printing? If you can’t answer that relatively quickly then it is still relevant today.

What is managed print? It can mean different things to different people. To the Northwest Group (CTX and QBSI), it includes all related expenses and opportunity costs related to putting an image on a piece of paper. Clearly that includes the cost of toner, the cost of the device, and the cost of maintenance. How about the cost of shipping toner or the cost of paying a person to manage the flow of supplies? Money is spent on these peripheral costs as well and should be included in the assessment.

The Northwest Group likes to work from this Managed Print Services (MPS) value statement: “NWG Managed Print Services reduces the amount of time, money, and resources spent on your printer fleet. By allowing us to manage your fleet more efficiently, you can spend your resources on more revenue generating investments.”

Companies have their own culture and way of doing things. NWG honors that by keeping the terms and conditions of our MPS agreement open. We tailor your experience within the program to meet your needs and to fit within your culture. Do you already donate empty toner cartridges to a local non-profit which then allows under-privileged people to keep a job?  Great, we will support that. If not, maybe we can direct you towards one or at least introduce you to our recycling program to help keep Oregon and Washington green.

I invite you to look into your print environment and see what is there. You may be surprised.

- Daniel: Managed Print Services Director