How much do you spend on documents and printing?

How much do you spend on documents and printing?

Well, this is a fact:

Document spend can amount to 5% of your sales

For example, you spend €50,000 for each €1m sales

In this issue we will answer the difficult question many Irish businesses are now facing:

How to Save on Print

We hope this article will help you reduce costs while you stay focused on your business activities – happy reading!

Growth of printing

The calculated average growth rate for printed pages through printers is 6% per annum.  Average growth rate for multifunctional printers is more than twice that at 13%.

The calculated average growth rate for printed colour pages through printers is 16% per annum compared to 25% for colour multifunctional printers.

82% of all organisations consider DOCUMENTS TO BE CRITICAL to their business.

Document Spend

90% of IRISH COMPANIES CANNOT estimate their document spend. IDC (International Data Corporation) have calculated that document spend can amount to roughly 5% of an organisations turnover.

Document spend constitutes:

Tangible costs

a)    Devices / Maintenance / Supplies

b)    Whoever helps with paper document archives, inks and toners in the office, plus information technology (if there is an I.T facility)

c)    Space / Storage(square metres and labour)

d)   Outsourcing of printing

INTANGIBLE COSTS

a)    Lost opportunities through information not in right place at right time, 32% of documentation can’t be found when it is required

b)    Reduction of employee productivity through having to deal with numerous machine interfaces on separate devices

c)    Slow retrieval  and distribution of paper documents

The main reason why companies cannot estimate their document spend is because of fragmented ownership between department managers, information technology facilities and operations.

The breakdown of Tangible Costs

56% – Consumables

14% – Employee / Information Technology involvement

13% – Inventory / Supplies Management

11% Repairs

6% Upgrading / Installation

34% of hardcopy costs are information technology costs(install, manage and helpdesk)

23% of information technology helpdesk calls are print related

Companies have up to 10 times more output devices that they actually need

Daily utilisation of some of these devices can be as low as 3%

What’s the solution?

a)    Audit your current processes

b)    Rationalise your hardware

c)    Form an output(print)strategy with optimal deployment of print devices

NO PLANNED COLOUR PROVISION = the appearance of single user inkjet devices

60 – 99% of most companies’ output volume was print which has spurred on the multifunctional printer boom in the quest for cost reduction

The copier evolves into a multifunctional printing system at the hub of office activity offering;

a)    Sophisticated printer drivers with network management and cost control software

b)    Integrated capture and managing of information with electronic and hardcopy distribution capabilities through scanning, emailing and faxing.

c)    Document management and collaborative software applications

THE ROUTE TO COST REDUCTION IN THE HARDCOPY/INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT

a)    Carry out a print audit

b)    Consider replacing ageing print devices

c)    Make use of supplied network software to track and manage and monitor your devices

d)    Consider consolidating separate devices such as printers, copiers, scanners and faxes into one multifunctional printing system

e)    Consider centralising hardcopy devices and minimise single user devices

f)    Consider a print plan to include maintenance so you take the total cost of printing out of your variable costs and a more manageable and auditable FIXED COST

THE COST SAVINGS AND PRODUCTIVITY BENEFITS

a)    Estimated overall 30% reduction in document

b)    Device management easier for information technology staff

c)    Information Technology helpdesk calls relating to printing will drop by an estimated 30% in the first year

d)    The spend of print outsourcing will drop by an estimated 30%

e)    There will be a marked increase in employee satisfaction with office equipment provision

Remember the figure quoted earlier?    5% of an organisation’s sales is spent on documents

By addressing the document issue in your organisation, you could achieve up to 30%  in tangible cost savings

* survey carried out by I.D.C cost analysts