It almost seems anachronistic to use the term automation in this century; however, automated data collection tools have made a significant difference in the way dealers provide service and track service performance. Admittedly, this task has been automated for some time now, but with the emergence of the cloud and new services such as MPS and Managed IT, automated data collection has become increasingly important to a dealer’s service operations, and by extension, sales.
Let’s take a look at a group of solutions providers who specialize in various forms of data collection, focusing on what’s new in terms of new solutions or enhancements to existing solutions; why dealers choose their solution over others on the market; and what kind of return on investment dealers who implement their solution can expect.
BEI Services
What’s new?
BEI Services has been finishing the development of API programming interfaces for ECi’s OMD, Lacrosse, and e-automate software with the intent of making data extraction from those programs more convenient. “This will allow us to grab the data whenever we need it from the client so we can relieve their IT staff from the job of sending it to us, as well as change time frames and how frequently we collect data,” explains BEI Services Founder and President Wes McArtor. “The client still controls whether or not we have access, but this gives us the option to poll their systems on a regular basis.”
Earlier this year BEI Services completed their integrated user interface for the Overstock Parts Network (OPN). BEI’s Advanced Inventory Management (AIM) product offers dealers a quick view and understanding of their inventory, and allows them to better identify their aged and obsolete parts inventory. “We’re finding that this is a huge problem in the parts department where dealers have 25, 30 or 40 percent of their inventory that hasn’t been touched in two years or more,” reports McArtor.
BEI Services is also creating accountability tools that will help management gain better control over the service side of the dealership. “Many dealers have more parts in inventory than they need because somebody is ordering more than necessary or isn’t analyzing whether anybody will ever use that part,” states McArtor. “So they cling to it even after they no longer have the equipment in the field that can use it. The tools we’re building will help the parts manager be accountable by asking, ‘Your usage dictates you only need one, but you’re buying five? Why is that?’”
Why do dealers choose BEI Services?
“The key for every dealer is to continue to stretch their margins and service efficiencies,” responds McArtor. “As efficient as every dealer thinks they are, without our data they really don’t know. If the goal is to increase margins, one way to do that is to decrease the amount of money you’re spending on inventory and how much obsolescence you’re writing off.”
AIM and OPN are two compelling reasons why dealers choose BEI, and once the API’s are completed, McArtor feels that this will bring more value to dealers. “Because their parts department typically isn’t run by someone with a lot of logistics experience, we can be a big asset. Once we get their inventory issues straightened out, we can start talking to these dealers about our mainline products,” says McArtor. “Once that happens we’ll be buying more inventory, which will increase the opportunity for them to save money buying from the Overstock Parts Network.”
What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?
“We have a worksheet where we show them,” says McArtor. “There are only two ways they’re going to make more money in service—reducing labor and parts expenses. That’s it. If I want more money or profit in service, I’ve got to cut my labor or parts expense, so the first calculation we show them is how efficiently they’re utilizing their labor. We can make them more efficient by either reducing head count or allowing the growth of their revenue base without adding head count. Second, we’ll come back with our Advanced Inventory Management Process and ask them how effectively they are managing their inventory. If technicians are using too many parts, that’s a problem. We can point that out, and then show them how we can reduce the tech’s parts usage via our technician incentive program (which by the way has been reducing parts usage on average 10% or more), and their parts expense by buying from Overstock Parts Network and eliminating obsolescence.”
ECi Software Solutions
What’s new at ECi?
This year ECi released an updated version of e-automate, V 8.5. “In addition we’ve had updated releases of e-info, and our Remote Tech, and Remote Service Manager products as well as a number of new partnership integrations,” reports Brad Sorenson, Director of Development, Division of Service Technology at ECi. “The bulk of what’s new in V 8.5 is driven by requests from our user’s groups. Features such as multiple contract overage cycles as well as functional features such as new direction field level security in some of our core modules, allow them to control that data at field level.”
Over the next few months there will be another release of Remote Tech, which includes initial support for offline capabilities. “For techs that are out in the field and can’t be consistently online this gives them the ability to manage their current call,” states Sorenson. “We’re excited about that and also have another release of e-automate that we’re planning for this year along with a new product offering later this year that’s focused on customer-centric service solutions as opposed to equipment-centric solutions.”
Sorenson explains that this shift is necessary because the market is shifting and ECi’s customers’ needs are shifting towards more of a Managed Services type of offering to compensate for agreements and contracts with customers to provide certain services for the customer, not necessarily servicing a certain piece of equipment. “Of course it encompasses equipment but a broader array of services as well,” states Sorenson.
Why do dealers choose ECi’s e-automate?
“Numerous reasons,” says Laryssa Alexander, President, Division of Service Technology for ECi. “We have 18 years of industry specific experience and proven products, and that puts us in the position of being a market leader. We not only have a strong core product, it’s also important we’re surrounded by other critical core solutions like remote service, e-commerce, and a customer service portal, analytic tools, and CRM solutions. All of those allow our dealers to have a well rounded offering for their customers.
We’re part of ECi Software Solutions, which is a strong, profitable, stable company that continues to support our initiatives and drives strategic investments into our division. We’re going to be here for years to come, supporting our customers, delivering solutions that will not only help them now but will help them transition in so many markets such as what Brad mentioned earlier, by offering more customer-centric services, which is some of the solutions we’ll be delivering. When you look at all of that, that’s what sets us apart from others—experience, stability, and knowing we’re going to be here in the future.”
What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?
“Depending on what people are looking for and what they’re currently using and where the dealership is coming from, ROI can be incredible,” emphasizes Alexander. “As hard as it is to imagine, we still have dealerships that are running on spreadsheets. They’re using multiple software packages, one for accounting, one for service, one for contracts; all that means is there’s redundant data entry, there’s a higher probability of inaccurate information, and not having the ability to do the analysis because everything is so fragmented. By having one completely integrated system it allows them to do the same things with great efficiency [and bring] real-time visibility into their business. Even though it’s hard to set a value on the ROI, there can easily be a full-time employee or more that can now be repurposed for more revenue-generating opportunities. I always think that the bigger question for them is whether or not you can afford not to have a solution like e-automate in today’s competitive environment.”
ECi FMAudit
What’s new at FMAudit?
“A reconstruction to our Central User Interface with a modern look and feel featuring increased user functionality and simplicity,” responds Kevin Tetu, VP of Strategic Opportunities and Partner Alliances for ECi. “Along the same lines we are revamping our Adaptive Supply Management (ASM) module to include alerting based on estimated days remaining and have enabled automated supply order entry into ERP systems via ECi’s ESN technology. FMAudit is bridging the gap between MPS and MDS by offering our dealers a new strategic alliance with ROI Print Manager for the industry’s first automated overlap of user and device data.”
Why dealers choose FMAudit?
“Being part of the ECi umbrella is valuable and significant for FMAudit and our customers,” notes Tetu. “The relationship provides us the unique opportunity to offer priority access to integrations and releases with sister products. We are able to offer unprecedented bi-directional integrations with ERP systems and offer flexible hosting options to accommodate existing and new relationships. FMAudit has a strong architectural platform and reliable engine resulting in limited device failure rates which allows us to continue building on our already strong OEM relationships.”
What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?
“Because of our low upfront fees and optional hosting infrastructures, in terms of hardware and Internet bandwidth, FMAudit is about one fifth the cost of other solutions in the industry and our customers can expect an eight-month ROI,” concludes Tetu.
MWAi
What’s new at MWAi?
The key words when it comes to what’s new at MWAi are SAP and FORZA.
“Across the 20-year history of MWAi, the mission was to increase efficiency and profitability to the dealer in a very competitive industry. We focused on the service organization and how to help the dealer be more efficient with service calls, first call effectiveness, maximizing the amount of service calls, etc.” says Gavin Williams, executive vice president. “When we introduced SAP as an alternative choice, we quickly identified the opportunities that were presented because of stifled or limited technologies that in one form or another dated back 40 years.”
Williams explains that many dealers typically have anywhere from 15-35 disparate systems plugged into their central business system. “There is no central consolidation of information,” he notes. “If your data is not consolidated, then how do you know what needs to be addressed? How do you know in real time if a device or contract is profitable? It’s about the management of the big data. SAP is what brings that ability to the dealers because, instead of having a separate CRM program, a separate meter collection program, and a separate service program, all of that information is rolled into their central FORZA platform that handles all those areas of business. Dealers who go on FORZA with SAP can consolidate all of their systems into one.”
Williams adds, “SAP, FORZA, and MWAi deliver to the dealer a centralized point of data that is open source and can be used internally or externally to drive revenue.”
Why do dealers choose MWAi?
“Because of where they see their business in the future; are they looking to get into managed services, are they looking to expand their managed print, are they tired of the limitations in their infrastructure?” says Williams. “SAP is the most installed ERP in the world with millions of users. This benefits our industry by providing the single most used analytic engine driving the best companies in the world. In today’s world auditing is not only necessary, it is required. It is important to have a GAAP-approved accounting system that follows normal accounting principles that dealers can stand on because SAP is the most accepted ERP in business today. This is the first platform for the industry with sales, marketing, service, HR, warehouse, AP, AR and contracts built into the dealer’s platform. Sales can now see what service is doing and what the billing is doing. It increases retention of existing customers and gives dealers never before seen tools [for processes] that they had to do manually, which is now automated within the SAP platform.”
Williams explains that MWAi introduced SAP because it provided the best framework for what the company wanted to accomplish. “It was the only ERP that was open source, open architecture that had solutions for best practices not just in our industry but in all areas of the business. It’s not just about billing copies. It’s also about all the components around that—connected service, connected sales, the entire organization is connected. Mobility for everybody is important in today’s business, not just service, but sales and everyone. It truly is by definition an ERP. Wikipedia ERP, and compare what you have today, to what MWAi FORZA delivers.”
What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?
“There’s two parts to ROI, hard costs and soft costs,” explains Williams. “The hard costs are straightforward; we add up what every one of the dealer’s disparate systems costs and provide them with a straight cost comparison. Then you have the soft costs. How many people does it take to make a sale, deliver a sale, and manage a contract? If you’re doing a leasing deal in a legacy environment, typically you have to input the same information into many different systems and the leasing company. With the leasing integration you have automation all the way from credit approval through reconciliation. All of these processes are tied into the soft costs and add up quickly. How long and how much did it cost to close your quarter, your month, your year, etc.? How much did it cost you for that yearly outsourced accounting that you have to go in and look at because you don’t have a GAAP-approved system?”
Williams concludes, “Every dealer is different but when you add up all the costs and really dive into what the current infrastructure costs, MWAi FORZA provides the fastest ROI I have personally ever seen of solutions.”
PrintFleet
What’s new at PrintFleet?
“Our focus is on continuously improving the performance and manageability of our products, making them at once easier to deploy and use and increasingly valuable in helping our customers drive competitiveness and profit improvement through data-driven solutions,” states David Morrow, CCO. “Our development roadmap is driven by ease of use, data comprehensiveness and quality, end-to-end system performance and reliability, and our products’ overall utility in support of business-critical solutions such as assessment, billing, supplies fulfillment and service management.
“In keeping with this we have recently made or are in the process of launching significant improvements to our data collection agent, our user interface, our core enterprise application and our suite of Web services.”
He identifies some notable initiatives:
Data Roll-up: This enhancement dramatically reduces the amount of system data needed to sort through at any given time. This means that data can be stored and retrieved more efficiently and easily since the data is a fraction of the size, without compromising the usefulness of the information. The data will be rolled up midnight to midnight UTC. This ensures consistency regardless of the time zone of the user or the device reporting data.
Next Generation DCA: The benefits of a new DCA to customers will be significant, including:
- more reliable and up-to-date device data
- lower network and server loads
- a simplified install, activation, and configuration
- DCA always stays up to date
- cross-platform support
- on device options
- mobile
- faster turn-around on device support
- remote administration
Web Services: PrintFleet Optimizer (PFO) has been built on a foundation which includes ‘RESTful’ Application Programming Interface (API), which enables external programs to access data without having to use its UI to do so. By empowering multiple third party integrations PrintFleet is enabling choice for all of the dealers/resellers to choose who they wish to work with for supplies fulfillment, billing, service, and other unique options, such as PrintReleaf.
Why do dealers choose PrintFleet?
“See all of the above,” responds Morrow, “plus our move to SaaS and subscription pricing models, which have reduced the cost of entry into a PrintFleet-based MPS program, our deep engineering relationships with the OEMs and our global reach.”
What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?
“Many analysts as well as some of our competitors quote ROI for successful MPS programs,” says Morrow. “We think that a 30 percent or more reduction in a dealer’s cost base is definitely achievable with the right tools, the right supply chain relationships, and the appropriate focus on true data-driven automation of core business processes. That adds up to a healthy ROI. When you add in win rate improvements through enhanced competitiveness in the market, ROI is further enhanced.”
Print Audit
What’s new at Print Audit?
“Facilities Manager V3 was released February 5th, 2014,” says Rob Thiessen, vice president of sales. “With this release we incorporated new alerting options which were designed to improve and enhance the automation of supplies and service tracking and delivery.”
The latest version of Print Audit’s Managed Print Services tool has a new alerting system designed to help MPS providers eliminate meaningless alerts and increase the efficiency of their service and supply management programs. Facilities Manager remotely collects meter reads, automates supplies fulfillment, and reports service information for managing fleets of printers, copiers, and MFPs.
The new alerting system is in response to complaints from dealers about receiving too many raw, often irrelevant alerts from the printers and MFPs. To eliminate this, Facilities Manager V3 Smart Alerts allow dealers to customize the way that alerts are triggered and cleared through the use of filters.
In addition, Print Audit has released an update for the Print Audit Facilities Manager Web portal. Facilities Manager 3.1.0R includes fixes for issues found in previous releases of the software as well as new reporting and alerting enhancements. The latest version offers several toner change detection enhancements, including the ability to detect if a toner cartridge has been changed based on the toner serial number for devices that provide it. The latest release also allows users to view the toner level and device life count before a cartridge was changed in order to track if cartridges are being replaced too soon.
Why do dealers choose Print Audit?
“Print Audit has the number one MPS Software in the industry according to Buyers Laboratory,” states Thiessen. “Print Audit also has tools that enable office equipment dealers to do more than just track and manage printers. Print Audit has user management capabilities that the other companies don’t. The combination of both device monitoring tools and user management capabilities is crucial to understanding and managing a customer’s print in general, i.e. printers don’t print, people print!”
What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?
Thiessen points out that the ROI for using Print Audit’s systems comes from several sources, including:
- Proactive management of customer sites – To block out competition
- Uncovering opportunities through more comprehensive data capture – More revenue per customer including local print devices and additional aftermarket revenue for software as a service to manage workflow
- Better automation of supplies and service management – through “Smart Alerts” that reduce man hours required to manage data
“You can’t underestimate ROI,” emphasizes Thiessen. “[Our solution] allows you to be proactive, which helps uncover opportunities more quickly and blocks out competition. It’s to prevent another dealer from taking advantage of the knowledge that you didn’t know there are five printers out of toner within your customer’s environment and saying to the manager that normally deals with you, ‘We’ve got some remanufactured cartridges we can give to you real cheap and give them to you now.’ These are the things you want to avoid because you want to know when your customers are out of ink before they do or when their printer is down before they do. Being proactive gives you an edge over competition and allows you to uncover opportunity. You can’t place a number on it, but that is significant for all kinds of companies whose sole revenues are coming from services and supplies delivered to that customer.”
Another source of ROI is the automating of processes. “These systems eliminate the need for your customer to take any steps whatsoever in managing their printer fleet,” emphasizes Thiessen. “You don’t have to send service reps on site to diagnose an issue. You can diagnose prior to going on site and equip them with all the parts, eliminating a second trip to a site with parts. That’s another way that these solutions create efficiencies.”
