Key objectives:
WorkCover SA were looking to replace their ageing MFD fleet and wanted to turn their focus towards an overall printing solution that would enable a reduction in TCO. Their key goals included:
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Reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their document equipment
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Simplification of the currently diverse fleet and toners
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Improve the currently poor toner management and reduce manual errors
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To be able to measure and evaluate overall printing costs
The challenge:
WorkCover’s varied fleet of MFDs, copiers and printers, presented a series of operational challenges and with the MFD devices fast approaching end-of-life and the associated service contract due to expire, it was apparent that new devices would need to be purchased and deployed as replacements.
“One of the consequences of having such a diverse fleet of MFDs, copiers and printers was the burden of having to purchase and manage 20 different types of toners, with two to three pieces each for buffering, in the inventory room,” said Mr Chris Osborne, ICT Operations Manager, WorkCover SA.
“This also meant that every time a toner needed to be replaced, people had to go from their respective floor to the inventory room. This, combined with manual ordering errors and poor toner management, sometimes resulted in a printer being down for days before the replacement toner was available and installed.”
With the IT area responsible for managing printers and another area managing the MFDs, the existing set-up lacked efficiency and didn’t allow for measuring or evaluating overall printing costs.
When a preliminary Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis was carried out for the printers, the cost was some 10 times the cost of the original printer hardware. The escalating printing costs, along with the need to replace the ageing MFD fleet prompted WorkCover to turn their focus towards an overall printing solution that would enable a reduction in TCO.
The solution:
Working with Kyocera, WorkCover were able to update their MFDs and printers under a Managed Print Services (MPS) agreement, which would provide a single contract for ongoing maintenance (including toner management and servicing) on all devices, and keep costs to a minimum. This arrangement would also help to ensure that the new printing operation had minimal environmental impact.
Under the five-year MPS agreement, Kyocera replaced WorkCover’s ageing MFD and printer fleet with 10 sophisticated TASKalfa 500ci, KM-C4035e and KM4050 A3 colour MFDs and seven FS 1300DN and 23 FS 4000DN high-speed printers.
Where possible, various side-by-side monochrome and colour printers were consolidated down into a single, high speed, colour printer for maximum efficiency and ease of operation. Importantly, the agreement provided a single-vendor product solution that incorporated all devices and focused on delivering a much lower TCO by eliminating future overhead costs associated with extra toner requirements or device servicing.
“Kyocera’s MPS proposition was an attractive solution because it offered a simple and streamlined solution that would enable us to reduce costs. Ultimately, we chose to work with Kyocera because they are one of the very few vendors that can offer highly reliable MFDs and printers at the same time, along with their commitment to helping us create a more environmentally sound document management operation,” said Mr Osborne, ICT Operations Manager, WorkCover SA.
Being based in South Australia, Kyocera also worked closely with WorkCover’s IT area to set-up automatic meter reading and monthly usage analysis for their MFDs and printers. This meant WorkCover could begin to track and understand overall printing volumes and costs – organisation wide, by business area or by individual user. As part of the MPS solution, the IT area could also track its toner usage, knowing that once a toner gauge was low, a replacement would automatically be ordered and shipped to the exact location of the respective device, thereby minimising device downtime.
