The OEM discussed how it helped with print management at an Irish medical company.
OKI stated that the customer, Proxy Biomedical, is based in Spiddal in the Republic of Ireland, and is a “leading innovator in the development of next-generation medical products using proprietary biomaterials technology”, and offers “a value-added service by assisting in translational research and development”, while being “involved in the research, development, and manufacturing of medical devices used in surgery, tissue engineering, and pharmacology”.
The company’s challenge was that while being “no different to similar sized SMEs when it comes to printing”, with a staff of 26 “involved in jobs such as production, engineering, planning and accounts”, it had “the usual issues and problems associated with an aging array of printing devices”. Kieran Maloney, Engineering and Operations Manager at Proxy Biomedical, was approached by its IT partner TecSupport, who asked if it had “considered outsourcing” printing, which it hadn’t.
He added that “I’d never heard of it being done. My previous experience was working in big multinational companies where all IT services were done in-house by the company’s own staff and outsourcing never came up”. Convinced of the benefits of MPS, the company invited OKI to audit its printing processes, the OEM looking “at how we used our printers and how much we were spending on consumables, print bills, maintenance costs and so on”.
OKI’s proposal outlined “how it could benefit from utilising MPS”, Maloney commenting that “what I liked most about the proposal at the time was that while there was a saving on the cost I predominantly was more interested in the fact that OKI would take all of our old printers and replace them with brand new equipment. And if there was ever an issue with the maintenance they would come in and fix or replace the machines. On top of that the toner would be included for the term of the contract”.
The OEM replaced six printers with five of its own machines, four colour and monochrome MFPs (one A3) and one A4 monochrome printer, with “one of the interesting aspects of the installation […] the motivation behind it”, as “usually, many customers will put cost savings as the primary benefit but in this case it was the replenishment of the old printing stock with new equipment, in addition to the maintenance and consumables included in the contract”, OKI noted
Maloney pointed out that “it was the service that drove us to go with OKI’s Managed Print Services as opposed to any cost savings”, while other benefits included “the remotely managed functions”, with OKI able to dial into a specific machine for remote maintenance or on-site maintenance. Cartridges are automatically reordered as well, and Maloney said that “despite a few teething issues is now very happy” with the programme.
He noted: “At the moment I’m very satisfied in comparison to the sort of printer issues we previously had. For instance because our printers were getting old we had issues with maintenance and its cost. With OKI that cost is included in the contract. So if something breaks down the printer is replaced or fixed as part of the deal and at no extra cost. So that’s a big win for us.
“Would I recommend OKI? I would, yes. A lot of admin work has been outsourced, we have financial and time savings in addition to no more maintenance worries and expense. And a huge thing for us is the fixed costs. I now know what my printing bill is going to be for the year. Last year that wasn’t the case. Our printing function is now more planned and predictable.”