Large Academy saves 18% on reprographics spend

The multi function devices at this academy were at end of their working life, but the type of equipment which they were using was still appropriate. We were asked to review and enhance the current service and also to reduce costs where possible.

As part of our service, we helped the school to select machines which would provide improved reliability and functionality - for example by recommending multi functional devices (MFDs) with features such as 'scan to email' and 'scan to folder'. Another key factor was that all of the new devices had printing capability, which in turn reduced the school's previous reliance on photocopying.

In addition, colour printing was better managed because the only two colour printers in the fleet were placed in the print rooms and access to these was more tightly controlled, which also helped to reduce costs. We also identified areas where there were simply too many printers and consolidated these by around 12%.

One of the main issues which we identified with the school's previous provider was a lack of management reporting. We were therefore able to further enhance the information which they received, by introducing more proactive reporting measures.

Lastly, as part of the new contract, ongoing support was also enhanced by the introduction of a Managed Service for the school's printers and MFDs, which included proactive device monitoring and a transparent performance review process. We also helped to reduce the burden of support on the school's IT department, for printers especially, by bringing
in a third party service provider.

This resulted in savings of £10,900 per annum, a cost reduction of around 18%, whilst also supporting staff more effectively through the delivery of new and more productive equipment. These savings were achieved thanks to a new contract, which was based on a compliant operating lease, as well as a number of changes to the entire reprographics estate.

We achieved all of this whilst running a complete tender process for the school which complied with their financial regulations and EU Procurement Regulations.