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We have moved!!
9:25am - Jul 13, 2010
Due to the multiple performance and technical support issues with this blogging service we have moved back to blogger.
Adventures in office imaging is now located here.
Xerox ColorPuke... er uh, ColorQube
1:07pm - Jul 8, 2010
Just read this very enlightening blog post over at the connected copier blog about the Xerox ColorQube entitled "Before you buy a Xerox ColorQube…read this!"
Wow. What good are these machines? oh wait they would be perfect fodder for this.
Seriously though aside from that laundry list of terrible problems in a world shifting towards MPS, why would Xerox release a product like this?
Maybe its because they spend to much time making videos like this.
Drinking eggnog at the office party, good. Drinking eggnog while designing ColorQube, bad.
Coolest 3D printer ever
9:32am - Jul 6, 2010
While watching a news program on CBS yesterday I caught a segment about what might just be the coolest 3D printer ever...
The "Makerbot" is a small, relatively affordable 3D printer which prints preety much any object you can dream up in ABS plastic form up to 4"x4"x6".
Bottle openers, action figures, toy cars, model buildings, figurines, you name it... the Makerbot can print a 3D model of pretty much anything you can dream up.
The low cost of the machine is due to the fact that you assemble the printer yourself and while this may be a turnoff for some, many people namely younger folks are ordering so many now that the company who created the Makerbot is having trouble keeping up with all the orders!
MPS Providers Interview #2: Greg VanDeWalker
3:43pm - Jun 28, 2010
Our
second interview in our MPS Providers interview series connects with
Greg VanDeWalker who is the managed print services financing and leasing
executive from GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation. Greg has a very
interesting position within the managed print services industry as to
how his work at GreatAmerica helps dealers create their own custom MPS
programs.
AIOI: What company do
you work for?
Greg: GreatAmerica Leasing
Corporation
AIOI: How many employees does your company have?
Greg: 325
AIOI: How do you
personally define "Managed Print services"
Greg: Technically – All of the customers
document output needs are analyzed, right-sized, optimized and managed.
Practically – The customer has one throat
to choke when it comes to document output.
AIOI: How long have you
been involved with Managed Print Services?
Greg: 6 years
AIOI: What benefits does
your MPS program offer your customers?
Greg: GreatAmerica doesn’t claim to have our
own MPS program, we help our dealers create and implement their own MPS
program. Our primary business is a finance company. We focus heavily on
the copier and printer channel, consequently we have created expertise
around the intricacies around billing and collecting bundled contracts.
Our system integrates with all the major ERP systems to allow for
seamless download and upload of meter reads which enables us to bill
very complicated MPS contracts with ease. Since we are billing and
collecting a dealers money in the contract, the dealer must have 100%
confidence that we are handling their money accurately. A big part of
our capabilities is our ability to invoice for BOTH financed and
non-financed devices on one invoice. The concept of MPS being a complete
rip-and-replace is outdated and not reality. We realize that some
equipment will be needed today, and over time devices will added and
deleted from contract while maintaining the single invoice. We also a
bringing other MPS tools to help our dealers. We have our own remote
monitoring tool, FleetView that our dealers can use. We have an MPS
business model program called Navigator to help our dealers identify all
the needed aspects of an MPS business. Plus, more tools will be
announced later this year.
AIOI: What are some of your major successes?
Greg: We have many dealers who have
transitioned their business from transaction to contractual solutions.
The percentage of bundled contracts has steadily increased year over the
year. We have been chosen by many of the national MPS providers to be
their financing partner. Those companies looked at the other providers
and we came out on top, we are very proud of that fact.
What separates your MPS
program from your competitors?
Greg:
From a finance company perspective, there is no other
company that has the tools we possess. I say often if your customer
wants to lease their devices there are many good leasing companies to
help. But if you are selling a bundled/MPS/one invoice solution, there
is no other company you should work with in the industry.
MPS Providers Interview #1: Chad Anguilm
3:41pm - Jun 28, 2010
Since
Adventures in Office Imaging started, one key
component in the mission of the blog has been to raise peoples awareness
to the fact that aside from the "big boys" (Xerox, Ikon, Canon, HP,
etc.) there are small companies all over the country/world that have
been doing managed print services far longer than any of these
aforementioned uber-giants.
This is important to me
because I
believe in supporting small/local businesses/companies. It should be important to you if you
plan on signing a contract with an MPS provider to manage your fleet of
office equipment.
So in the spirit of enlightenment this will be
the first in a series of interviews with representatives from companies
like Expert Laser Services, who although do not have global accounts
like the "big boys" have far greater experience within the creation,
development and evolution of managed print services than any of these
monsters of the office imaging industry.
First up is Print
Management Coordinator and Blogger Chad Anguilm (Kraft Care Blog)
AIOI: What company do you work for?
Chad:
Kraft Business Systems, Grand
Rapids, Mi.
AIOI: How many
employees does your company have?
Chad: 25-30
AIOI: How do you personally define "Managed
Print services"
Chad: Managed Print Services is a program
designed to optimize your output budget with an evolving plan for the
future. By first assessing the current environment and then making
recommendations based on improving efficiencies a plan can be created
and followed. Quarterly visits with a dedicated PMS rep helps keep IT
Directors in the loop without investing any of their valuable time in
the actual maintaining of the devices or supplies. Finally, to be a true
Print Managed Services plan there must be the ability to make changes
for the better of the organization. Gone are the days of base rates
which lock companies into a minimum amount of images for a certain
period of time. PMS is about eliminating images not capturing them!
AIOI: How long have you been involved with
Managed Print Services?
Chad: Personally, 3 Years. Kraft
Business Systems introduced KraftCare™ PMS in 2003.
AIOI: What benefits does your MPS program
offer your customers?
Chad: The compelling reason for
Kraft Business Systems to offer Print Managed Services is our customer’s
frustration with the inability to control and manage print costs.
Customers are unhappy with the inability to monitor and track a variety
of products and vendors for service, supplies and billing. Many clients
have an uncontrolled deployment of a variety of print and imaging
products in a very Print/Copy-Centric Work Environment vs.
Workflow-Centric Environment. None of our competitors talk about
decreasing the amount of printed images since that is their life-blood.
Finally, time is a huge concern for most IT Directors. Many are working
more hours, for less pay. If we are effectively controlling their output
devices, they don’t have to!
AIOI:
What are some of your major successes?
Chad: I’d say one
of my major successes thus far has been taking IT Directors that were
not at all interested in the thought of Print Managed Services and
showing them the value of a program capable of taking the onus off them
to create a plan for the future and allowing them to utilize their
experience and knowledge on network related issues and projects rather
than fixing and maintaining printers.
Along with that, I have
thoroughly enjoyed working with staff members to show how much more
efficient they can become by replacing desktop printers with
departmental multi-function units. By showing the value of the
additional features I have been able to get buy-in from individuals that
IT directors had feared for years.
What separates your MPS program from your competitors?
Chad:
Kraft Business Systems is a complete systems integrator, something none
of our competitors can compete with. Kraft also has a diversified &
open product portfolio. This includes IT Management, Document / Forms /
Workflow Management, Print Management, Voice / Data Management, and
Imaging Equipment Management. Kraft is locally owned/operated in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. Something that really sets Kraft apart is its ability
to add/adjust product offerings and services quickly when most
businesses either are forced to change or take a long time to do so. The
flexibility to create a new program without going through a long, drawn
out process is unique to Kraft Business. Last but not least we focus on
true sustainability, no longer can it just be about capturing clicks
and reducing the amount of devices. At Kraft we focus on limiting the
amount of printed images through document routing and workflow managed
services. The ability to take your business through the process and
educate staff, through quarterly training visits, on the importance of
an efficient office sets Kraft Business Systems apart from the rest here
in Michigan.
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