Is Your MPS Strategy Out of Order?

Managed Print Services is a funny animal. Often referred to by its acronym, MPS seems to defy definition but is many things to many people. Industry pundit and lay person alike can’t quite decide just what MPS is; many VAR’s, dealers, and manufacturers continue to muddy the water slipping in their version of a managed services contract and trademarked buzzwords.

While many see this as one of the greatest opportunities in our industry since the leap from analog to digital, never before has there truly been an opportunity for both the industry and customer to join together in an actual win-win solution to a common problem. However, very few independent dealers and even fewer manufacturers seem to have made the leap from "box-selling" to consultative-selling, an effort to truly understand the needs customers have below the surface.

As a customer, choosing a partner can be very daunting, and there really isn’t a lot of information available to really help the customers, dealers, and manufacturers talk the same language when seeking to choose between various aspects of the program. In fact, I would say the biggest challenge facing the companies attempting to put together a program is just how to operationalize the various tools and theories at play; this rings true for both customer and partner alike in my humble opinion.

So how do you operationalize your strategy?

You can’t managed what you can’t measure:

In a previous series, Managed Print Services: the Theory, the Tools, and the Targets, I delved into some various offerings and thoughts at that time. Since then, I have come to realize that one of the quickest and easiest ways to assist both the partner and the client is through consistent monitoring and analysis.

Traditionally in the industry, many "account managers" will simply turn their lease base. There is some moderate account management going on, but their compensation model drives them to love ‘em and leave ‘em, as it were. However, this is not a sprint – this is marathon.

Who moved my cheese?

Let’s take a snapshot of one fleet’s top 10 volume by device snapshot, data provided by (Print Audit Facilities Manager):

I have removed the model names to protect the innocent, but it is interesting to note that the highest producing device in this snapshot is a desktop model printer, even outpacing a segment 5/6, device. Luckily, the entire fleet is under a single, blended MPS agreement, but without this useful data how would you or your client know how inefficiently the fleet was deployed. Also, this should be a wake-up call that the partner (dealer or direct) has a much higher cost per page on the smaller desktop unit than on a device more well suited for that volume.

Let me guess. Your that type of account manager who thinks he or she owns the account? You have the control, right? Turning to this snapshot of another fleet, data analysis tools help you to analyze the fleet mix and determine whether your client’s fleet is optimized – and whether or not you can stake a claim to being a true partner with your client.

For clients, this chart represents the device mix within the organization, and could very well point to a higher cost of ownership due to the fragmented mix of manufacturers (not to mention models) present.

Education remains the greatest obstacle to success:

MPS providers, your role and responsibility is to provide ethical consultation to your clients, helping them to interpret the data. It’s not rocket science here folks. Gone are the days of playing hide the weenie. Those partners who bring the best-in-breed service and support to their clients stand ready to be handsomely rewarded – regardless of the specific platform mix.

The key here is to aggressively track the needed data points for your clients and let the numbers guide your consultation with your respective clients. If you are not utilizing tools such as this to increase sales and maintain a collaborative role in your accounts – you are a fool.

Companies looking to gain cost savings from more effectively managing your document fleet, know your goals and thoroughly research your prospective partner(s). You stand to reap substantial savings by simply managing and optimizing your existing fleet.

However, if you choose the wrong partner you stand to loose not only  money and your valuable time, but virtually any chance of cultural buy-in on a strategic plan to effectively control costs and increase efficiencies. Ensure your partner can provide you with analytic tools to help you understand and control your solution, or else you may find that the blind is leading the blind.

Introductory image courtesy of Yo Spiff.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. To connect with Ken, you may visit him at DandyID.