A small group of MPS industry participants recently got together for a “brussels sprout cook-off.” One member of the group offered her home as the venue because she had the best kitchen, and while she claimed she does not cook, I question why she has the gas Wolf stainless stove, commercial overhead vent, three ovens and about 100 square feet of counter preparation space. Hmm, maybe it was a set-up, but this is not about cooking, rather it’s about mouse traps—MPS mouse traps that is. We all know the old adage “build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door.” Maybe that works with mouse traps, but I can tell you the world is full of failed businesses that had a great product. So I wonder if maybe it’s all marketing expertise that gets the sale. However, there’s a host of companies with cleverly marketed products that only printed red ink.
The MPS Process
Many of you have invested heavily in tools, training, consultants, back-office systems and hired the best staff to engage your clients in managed print services. Lots of noise, lots of calls, lots of software installed, opportunity abounds, but how are the profits? Do you even know? Is your MPS business process labor- and resource-intensive? Do you really have full control of the cost/expenses in your engagements with your clients? If supplies are shipped too early, will you recover the cost before the contract ends (is a Jumbo always the right call…)? All good questions and many more can be added as to what holes a program can have that impact profitability and sustainability.
Back to the Mouse Trap
Remember the brussels sprout cook-off? The host has a daughter nearing her fifth birthday, and when asked by one of the guests what she wanted for her birthday, she quickly cited that two of her cousins had received the game Mouse Trap from none other than her own mother and that her mom said she had to wait for her birthday to get one as well. A few days later a package arrived and lo and behold the host’s daughter had her very own Mouse Trap game a full two months before her fifth birthday! Very nice gesture by the guest indeed, but a lesson lies within.
For those of you that know the game Mouse Trap, it involves building a very complex process to accomplish a simple task—trapping a mouse. While the complexity is entertaining to children and adults alike this is not what we seek in our MPS practices. Complex algorithms that run in the background that make remote device management possible is OK as long as, in the client’s eye, everything is understood, simple and straight forward.
In the Mouse Trap game there is a domino effect at play. A series of events have to take place to eventually capture the mouse. Any step missed and the mouse gets the cheese and escapes the trap!
Too Many Steps
In reviewing your MPS processes, you should look for potential failure points. Does supply replenishment require eyes on every device? If volume picks up do you catch the spike? If volume is low, are you over shipping? Nearly 50 percent of fleets print less than 200 pages per month, so shipping too early with a jumbo cartridge might mean you just delivered 20 to 30 years of toner to the device. Let’s talk about service alerts. They are a great part of any Data Collection Tool, but if unfiltered, you might receive 20 alerts a day per device. Now multiply that by 1,000 devices under contract—who can look at all that e-mail? If you can’t take the extra steps out within your program, you run the risk of turning off the services as a result. You fall short on your MPS promise and the client’s SLAs are diminished, not to mention the exposure of possibly losing the customer altogether. There are options, programs that manage the flow of data and filter the details. Using outsourced programs allows your team to focus on the client relationship side and leave the math to others. This option also allows you to have a predictable cost to protect your exposure. Here are some metrics and processes you should request of a potential program partner:
- Reporting on all aspects of auto supply fulfillment, including all types of misses, or just early customer requests bypassing the system
- Process for handling supplies or service for local (USB) attached printers
- Summary of dispatch triage process/successful triage
- First call fix rate
- Service desk response time
- Portal for customer visibility into their devices and management
- Average amount of remaining supply level at time of cartridge replenishment
- Quarterly/Periodic customer reporting on customers’ devices, usage and recommendations
If you choose to outsource your MPS mouse trap, be sure to get the details. Some programs throw lots of bodies at highly manual processes, which is neither scalable nor sustainable. Be careful to avoid mouse traps that will fail when manual steps are missed. A solid partner will be willing and able to share a verity of metrics, define automated processes and admit any potential pain points. Take the time to investigate so you really catch that mouse!
