ASHLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT LEARNS HOW EASY IT IS TO MANAGE THEIR PRINTING

The Ashland City School District serves approximately 3,600 students in North Central Ohio. The district is made up of 8 buildings (5 elementary, 1 middle school, 1 high school and 1 central board office). There are approximately 120 output devices across the district with 13 of those being MFP devices. Ashland City School District did not have an output management strategy in place, and thus had a number of output issues:

Uncontrolled supply purchases
IT staff (3 people) were stretched to the limit
No overall control of printers
No budget accountability

SEARCHING FOR AN ACCOUNTABLE PRINTING PROCESS

Before Ashland School District began working with MTBT, supplies ordering and device management were unsystematic. Each building had a different ordering process when devices ran out of toner. In some cases there was a designated individual responsible for ordering toner for the entire building, while in others individual teachers were responsible for supplying their own printers. Supplies were ordered from a variety of different sources: online, big box stores, different vendors, etc. Because teachers were purchasing supplies from their class budget, some would avoid replacing toner and would instead print to the school copier; laser devices would sit dormant for long periods of time, which would cause service issues down the road.

When printers required service, Ashland’s IT staff would respond and resolve what they could. If there were issues they could not fix, they would call MTBT and pay for the technician’s time and materials.

Ashland School District’s Technology Coordinator Sam Richmond reflects on the old way of printing, “Our management of printers was inefficient and ineffective. Each location had a different process, with no control and no accountability for where money was being spent.”

MTBT SOLUTION: TOTAL OUTPUT MANAGEMENT

Area Sales Manager Craig proposed that Sam Richmond work with MTBT’s Total Output Management® team to develop a solution to identify and control output costs. Craig states, “We offer a partnership with our clients. They can look to us as consultants, as partners invested in optimizing their technology, and identify ways to save money in the long run.” The program was implemented in February of 2008 and has greatly helped the district accomplish several goals. The Total Output Management® plan has had many positive impacts; Ashland District staff can:

Determine actual usage by device and building
Forecast costs from solid budget numbers
Reduce IT staff intervention with print problems
Have supplies shipped to the proper location on time as needed
Send invoices to proper locations and draw funds from proper budgets
Develop an ongoing print management strategy that changes with their environment

Sam Richmond notes that the main benefit of the partnership with MTBT is that Ashland District now has accountability when it comes to printing costs. Because they have a unified process across all departments and buildings, they can determine where their money goes. Print volumes are no longer a mystery as Ashland receives a monthly statement with a breakdown of output by device, and what each is costing. The Principal of each school is able to monitor the volumes and can remind staff to send larger print jobs to the copiers instead of laser printers. MTBT has helped each location think more proactively when it comes to print.

A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO PRINTING

Recently the school has noticed a spike in their paper usage. They have reached out to MTBT for help determining which devices have high volumes so they can look to reduce the paper usage. The business intelligence MTBT can provide will help Ashland continuously respond to changes in their print environment, and help to troubleshoot and develop a plan for a better process.

When a service issue arises, Ashland’s IT personnel still try to resolve the problem, however, they have capped the time spent on print problems to 5 minutes; if they cannot resolve the issue quickly, they call MTBT to have it resolved that day. There is no additional cost for service, as their cost per page includes toner, labor, maintenance kits, parts, and travel. The result is a more rapid resolution of problems and a healthier printing fleet.

Krista, MTBT’s Supplies Representative, works with clients to ensure they are supplied with toner. She monitors the supplies status for the printing devices across the Ashland school district. Krista notes that at each location the teachers and secretaries have ordering privileges, and are great at calling for replacement toner before they run out. Krista can set the remote monitoring software to alert her when supplies are running low. If she receives an alert for 10% toner remaining, she can then call the department or teacher responsible for that device and remind them that they are getting low and should place a replenishment request. Krista is also able to streamline shipments; when she receives a call for toner, she can log into the system and determine if there are other devices that may be getting low on toner as well.

“Ashland staff are very proactive about supplying their printing devices,” Krista states. “Between their proactive ordering and my monitoring of their supplies levels, we can work together to ensure they do not run out of toner.” This cooperative approach allows each department to reduce the amount of supplies sitting in inventory, and eliminates the confusion of reordering supplies from multiple sources. Krista states, “Working with Ashland for their supplies fulfillment has been very smooth; they are a great example of a proactive supplies strategy working well, especially when there are many different individuals ordering across different departments and different buildings.”

Sam Richmond knows that Ashland district has certainly reduced costs when purchasing supplies. There is now a unified process where they can forecast costs. Rather than purchasing toner from a variety of sources, they receive one monthly invoice for the entire fleet of printers. Devices are healthier because of proper utilization and preventative maintenance. Teachers no longer need to pull from class budgets, take time out of their schedule to purchase toner off the shelf or online, or make the decision to stop using their laser printer when it runs out of toner.

A ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR PRINT MANAGEMENT

Craig states, “Before Ashland became engaged with the Total Output Management® team, they did not have a handle on their print—it was essentially a free for all. Now, the business intelligence has helped Ashland District to have accountability when it comes to print. They can see where their money is wasted and make a plan to control spending.” This partnership has been beneficial for both parties. MTBT has become a “one-stop-shop” for Ashland’s output needs, helping MTBT garner additional business from their client, while helping Ashland streamline their processes by working with one vendor for their output needs.

Sam states: “Our partnership with MTBT has been very good for us. We have been able to actually look at our printing processes to look for ways to improve how we print and manage our output environment. Before this partnership, our approach to print management was inefficient and ineffective.” The program has given both Ashland City Schools and MTBT the business intelligence that is allowing them to work together to continue to optimize their output fleet. As MTBT continues to use the business intelligence gathered with PrintFleet’s remote monitoring software, they can continue to identify problem areas and make appropriate recommendations.