The Client: EBS Building Society
The Business Need: Inefficiencies around print processes became apparent when different divisions relocated into a new HQ.
The Solution: Ergo Managed Services introduced a print management solution that led to major hardware consolidation and the introduction of a 24/7 managed service.
The Benefits: EBS has experienced improved productivity, increased efficiencies and anticipates 26 per cent savings in running costs over the lifetime of the five year contract.
The Business Need
When the EBS building society moved into its Burlington Road HQ five years ago, it became apparent that there was a need to re-evaluate its print management strategy.
The company had brought a number of disparate business units together under one roof and found itself with 170 printers for 500 staff. Even for an organisation with a heavy paper trail, a 3:1 ratio of people to hardware was too high and inefficient. They knew they needed a plan to consolidate.
The Solution
Ergo Managed Services saw off seven competitors to win the 5-year contract with EBS to deploy and manage its print, a testament to its value proposition, customer reference sites (which EBS visited), and the strength and depth of the proposed managed solution. The fact that Ergo had been a trusted supplier of print hardware and commodities to EBS for almost a decade also helped.
"They had a professional level of approach, a proven level of commitment and success with its existing customer portfolio," commented Mick Brannigan, EBS IT Services Manager.
With the contract won, Ergo began a huge consolidation process reducing the number of personal printers and introducing MFDs (multifunction devices) that combine print, scan, fax and copier functionality. In the old environment the IT department had to maintain and attend to 168 devices. Now there are just six print queues to be managed.
An Ergo engineer is on site two half days a week, but the equipment is also managed remotely on a 24/7 basis and there’s a one hour call out should physical assistance be required. Technical problems are identified and solved before they become a problem, achieving 99 per cent uptime.
The biggest challenge, according to Brannigan, was changing the culture. Employees like having personal printers and are reluctant to give them up. Ergo and EBS mounted an elaborate educational programme to help manage the transition, with the slogan "We’re turning over a new leaf".
The messaging included a short video of the EBS CEO, Ted McGovern, handing over his personal printer. This reinforced the idea that the decision to consolidate was coming from the top down and that there would be no exceptions.
"Employees had personal printers that were very expensive in terms of the cost of cartridges, but also in how they used them. People will automatically print in colour if they have it," said Brannigan. Now individual users are governed by a print policy that controls the number of employees with access to colour.
Ergo is now helping EBS to realise the business benefits and greater efficiencies of a managed service.
The Benefits
Costs associated with colour printing have dropped because employees must get approval from their line manager to use it. Duplex printing (using both sides of a sheet) has increased and documents can only be output when the user is standing by the machine. Both scenarios dramatically cut down on waste.
The business has also benefited from the latest networked features and functionality of modern print technology that helps drive productivity.
These include Follow Me, a print solution that lets users access different printers in different parts of the building using their unique ID, and scan to mail which turns paper documents into electronic data.
The ID card has the added benefit of confidential printing – the job is only printed when the ID card is swiped. In addition, to further prevent paper wastage, print jobs not collected during the working day are deleted over night. Because the card is effectively the user’s identify, it is also possible to analyse how much printing is being done on an employee-by-employee basis, ensuring even more efficiencies.
The building society is now on a journey that is expected to deliver savings of 26 per cent in running costs over the lifetime of the contract. “There’s less downtime, less paper consumption and it’s more environmentally friendly,” said Brannigan.
Through its partnership with Ergo Managed Services, EBS has been able to transform its print management, consolidate its investment and enjoy all the business benefits of a modern, networked, output environment.