Cost Effective Printer Replacements at a U.S. Defense Recruiting Squadron
- Posted 6 months ago
Client Profile
A United States Defense Recruiting Squadron with 36 offices was tasked with replacing printers at 9 of their locations. Decentralized billing made it difficult to understand their current total cost of ownership. Agency had already received a proposal from a local vendor they were ready to move forward with.
Challenges
- Costs: The agency had purchased devices for locations and then were tasked with buying consumables on an as needed basis. This led to purchasing toners, maintenance cartridges from various big box retailers.
- The Unknown – Unknowns: A local print vendor ‘analyzed’ their environment and was successful in up-selling equipment that was both over the top, and coincidentally matched their open budget.
- Time Critical: Agency had a use or lose budget and wanted to ensure that they received the right solution.Time Critical: Agency had a use or lose budget and wanted to ensure that they received the right solution.
Solution
D.E. Bottom Line Consulting suggested using real data from existing devices and purchasing to understand
- How many devices were used
- Existing costs of operation
- Best device for current and future needs
Data Collection
With all parties in agreement, we parsed through invoicing and historical meter readings while delaying the process a month. From the data we extracted, we were able to understand current and future needs, as well as alleviate pain points from the data we extracted.
Results
The local vendor had provided a solution for 9 devices (3 models) that conflicted with our needs assessment. 60 month projected lease $51,900.00. Using our needs based approach, we provided 9 devices (1 model, full color) with a purchase price of $18,907.00. A savings of 63.5% or ~$33,000. The solution provided auto fulfillment of consumables that no longer had to be monitored by staff resources. This allowed the squadron to reallocate those monies for other priorities within the office.
With decades of experience, we understand the process of procurement and how to make it work for your organization.