It's true that budgets are important in every organization, but schools in particular know that every dollar needs to be stretched as far as it can go. That's why over-ordering and, consequently, overspending on print supplies can be such a significant problem.
Here's what every school needs to know about print supply problems and why managed print is the ideal solution.
Where Does Overspending Come From?
Every school is different, and so is every print environment. That means there's no single explanation for why over-ordering and overspending might be common in your educational institution. However, there are some common scenarios that help explain where these issues stem from:
Too Many Printers
If you're holding onto particular devices because they technically still work, you might be causing over-ordering problems without even realizing it. Think about things this way: The more machines you have, the more ink, paper, and toner you'll need to buy. Consolidate and optimize your fleet, however, and you'll only be paying for a few machines that are likely more efficient (and put to better use, too).
No Visibility
Maybe you don't know you have an over-ordering problem until you see the bill. This is often because schools lack the visibility they need to keep track of every print need and cost, let alone identify habits that may lead to overspending. If you don't know where to look, you can't very well choose the right solutions.
No Organization
Lots of people at lots of levels use the printers in your school. If you don't have a very clear, obvious way to break up responsibilities, faculty and staff may not know whose job it is to reorder supplies--which can lead to everyone reordering supplies. This gets even worse if there's no way to note when an order was made and how many supplies are on the way at any given time.
Uncontrolled Printing
The more you print, the more supplies you go through. That seems simple enough--but if you have no print rules, user authentication, or access control, things get complicated fast. Uncontrolled printing often means unnecessary printing--and if you can't tell who's printing what and when, you'll have no way to identify what your supply needs really are or where you could cut back.
How Managed Print Controls Supply Ordering
The good news is that schools don't have to face these print supply challenges alone. Managed print services comes equipped with all the solutions you need to track down your problems, implement targeted solutions, and track the outcomes.
Here's how it works:
#1: The Print Audit
Your managed print provider will start your relationship with a print audit. This is where they learn about your school's print needs, printer fleet, users, habits, and more. You'll get a lot of valuable information from this audit, but one of the most important takeaways is the reality of your supply ordering patterns. You can learn:
- How often you order supplies.
- How many supplies you order.
- What the individual supply costs are and how they add up over time.
- Which printers use the most supplies.
#2: The Recommendations Phase
Next, your managed print provider will create recommendations that fit your school's needs and challenges. For example, if you're over-ordering because you don't know what your print needs actually look like, your provider will give you some safe numbers and intervals based on what they found in the print audit.
#3: The Tests
You get to choose which solutions you'd like to implement. Your managed print services provider will put them into practice, and then the tests begin. You may have more print audits, where you'll see the results of each change and whether a particular solution is doing what you need it to do. Overall, the goal of this phase is to see what works and why--that way, you can make larger-scale changes that eliminate bad printing habits and better organize your supply ordering workflows.
#4: The Results
Once you've perfected your supply solutions and tracked the changes over time, you'll start seeing the results. If your managed print provider recommended consolidating your fleet to save money on paper and ink, you'll likely see less waste and better productivity; if your provider helped build a schedule for orders or even automated these tasks, you'll probably notice that your teams don't panic and over-buy supplies they may not need just to keep from running out. Overall, your budget--and your workflow--will be noticeably stronger.
Conclusion
Schools face unique budget challenges, and that's particularly obvious when it comes to print supplies. Fortunately, your educational institution isn't alone. You can rely on managed print services to help identify supply needs, streamline and automate orders, simplify print habits, and more.
Contact us today to get started today!