BestSourcing benefits

Bidvest Group company, Minolta South Africa, has introduced BestSourcing, an innovative way of dealing with its clients` varying business technology needs, and a departure from the typical outsourcing model.

Minolta SA divisional manager: BestSourcing, Marc Pillay, says while many clients want their entire document management solutions to be outsourced, others want a solution that combines some elements of outsourcing with greater internal control of the document management process.

"To offer more flexible solutions that best suit our clients` needs, we introduced BestSourcing, a technology sourcing concept aimed at minimising customers` total cost of ownership by leveraging their existing hardware and software and developing a customised print policy for them. The result is improved internal governance with mechanisms in place to measure and control paper and print consumption, resulting in a reduction in print costs and paper and consumable usage," says Pillay.

He says the BestSourcing concept has already shown the following benefits.

BestSourcing allows organisations to establish a single point of contact for all their document management needs, regardless of the different brands and devices in the office automation mix. Minolta South Africa has trained engineers capable of rationalising all types of devices and brands, which means companies can implement Minolta SA`s BestSourcing solution without replacing existing functional equipment.

Minolta South Africa`s BestSourcing concept allows organisations to minimise their stockholding on consumables. Most organisations use a range of office automation devices. Even if these devices are the same brand, they may need different ink, toners, imaging cartridges and spare parts. Where it has on-site staff, Minolta SA manages the stockholding of the various items and clients only keep a small stock of replacement items.

Traditionally, office automation companies that offered outsourcing services expected their clients to purchase the expensive equipment. The office automation company would then offer to manage the equipment, often providing on-site personnel to run the print room or on-site technical staff. The client still paid for consumables such as ink, toner, paper, imaging cartridges and spare parts, which, over a three-year period, could constitute up to 90% of the total cost of ownership.

While the concept of having an on-site expert to manage the printing and copying requirements of the client was certainly beneficial, the capital investment and risk still resided with the client, who had to invest in the equipment in the first place.

In recent years, the emphasis has moved from hardware sales to client-specific print solutions. Now increasingly more clients are using cutting-edge technology without the fear of owning it. In these instances, the office automation company owns the equipment and carries the risk. It provides the client with the relevant digital output devices on a contractual basis and integrates the equipment with existing systems in the client`s environment. In the end, the client pays for prints and copies, rather than copiers and printers.

Minolta SA`s BestSourcing concept protects the user from purchasing unnecessary `over-spec` equipment from commission-earning sales people. Conversely, it precludes purchasers taking on `under-spec` equipment, which is offered at what appears to be a cheaper price than the competitors` products. Since Minolta South Africa carries the risk of owning the equipment, it is in its best interests to ensure the appropriate equipment is installed for the user`s requirements.

Establishing what devices work best for the client is achieved through orientation of the client`s environment, followed by an investigation in which all users are interviewed to determine the current and future user requirements. An analysis of the current situation and what may be required is conducted and a solution is designed that meets the required output of the client.

For greater control of paper output, Minolta South Africa installs hardware, software, tracking and billing systems for its clients and provides the people to manage the process, where requested.

Document management systems allow users to recover costs and manage expenses associated with prints, copies, faxes and scans. This is done by breaking down document production costs per user, department, cost centre, project or billing code.

Where required, BestSourcing includes full management reports from which trend analyses can be drawn. This has the advantage of busting fraudsters, clamping down on non-business related printing and copying, and providing meaningful data for future budgets and projections.

Minolta South Africa provides the necessary hardware and software support to its BestSourcing clients, which includes access to its national help-desk and its software division - Integrated Systems Information Exchange (MiSix) - which is capable of delivering the most comprehensive support the industry has to offer.

BestSourcing can escalate into a full outsourcing exercise whereby the facilities are managed, on-site where viable, on behalf of the client. Good governance, policies and procedures are implemented that can save paper-intensive organisations thousands per annum.