Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University contracts Xerox

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University's (NMMU) Bulk Printing Facility has a print output of just over 2 million A4 images a month.

Being a strategic business unit that receives no subsidy from the university and with stringent SLAs in place with its internal customers, the Bulk Printing Facility has a tight business case to fulfil. During a recent open tender process, the university appointed Xerox to replace its ageing fleet with new High Speed Digital 4127 Copiers and a Xerox 700 Digital Colour Press.

“The Bulk Printing Facility employs just 10 people, relying on the new digital equipment from Xerox to deliver the workload,” says John Anderson, Senior Manager, Reprographic Services at NMMU.

“Based on the tender evaluation criteria applied, the proposal from Xerox was adjudicated the best in terms of equipment performance, cost and maintenance costs,” said Anderson, adding that in terms of the tender agreement: “We don't own the equipment, but rather lease it from Xerox.

“We were initially unsure of the take-up of colour copying in our environment, but since acquiring the 700 Colour Press, we have seen an enthusiastic response and our colour volumes are growing each month.

“The 4127s are used to great effect for course notes and class tests and exams, and the 700 for all high-end colour work, such as posters, brochures, reports etc. The 700 has helped us to improve our offering to our internal customers and provide an enhanced service to the university community as a whole.

“The fact that we were able to lease the machine on a copy cost only gave us a leg up into the market, which would not have happened had we had to acquire it from scratch as a capex item. In my opinion, this is an excellent example of Xerox using their experience to analyse and understand their customer's needs and submit tender proposals that are cost-effective and enabling to their customers.”

Anderson has introduced an innovative touch; an online requisition and workflow system, where jobs are submitted by customers electronically and can be tracked through the system. It has checks and balances, such as if there are sufficient funds in an account, HOD approval before work can be commenced, as well as copyright compliance. When the job is complete, the customer is notified electronically. Customers have full insight into the process and can monitor and track their job from beginning to end.

“It is this level of control that sets us apart,” adds Anderson.

The level of service and support the university enjoys from Digi Copiers, the Xerox Authorised Partner in Port Elizabeth, must be applauded,” says Anderson.

Bytes Document Solutions is part of the Bytes Technology Group, wholly owned by Altron, and is the approved Xerox distributor to 26 African countries.