Minolta South Africa is one of the first companies of its kind in the country to offer outsourced document management solutions to large corporate organisations, and today this business equates to 11% of the company`s turnover.
Minolta SA outsourcing sales and marketing manager, Linden Kerwin, expects this figure to grow to 18% within the next few months. "The copier industry has re-aligned itself dramatically over the past three years with more and more people looking to buy copies and prints rather than copiers and printers. The emphasis has shifted towards solutions, rather than hardware sales," he says.
In response to this trend, Minolta`s outsourcing division has evolved to provide clients with Minolta digital output devices and Oc'e high volume printers and copiers on a contractual basis and integrate this equipment with existing systems in the client`s environment. The client then pays for the print output at a fixed cost which only changes if a technology change is required or requested. This means our clients can use the latest technology without the fear of ownership.
"Once a client has expressed an interest in outsourced print management, we conduct an orientation and analysis procedure of the client`s business. We then design a print concept for them based on their specific print requirements and present them with a projection of their future printing costs based on an approved service level agreement," says Kerwin.
According to Kerwin, many medium-sized to large organisations do not really understand the cost of producing a paper document. "They only see the tip of the iceberg - the capital, service charges and, maybe, the cost of paper - but industry research reveals that between 10% and 15% of organisation spend goes to putting images onto paper.
"We educate the end-user on how to print more wisely and by installing current management software, it is possible to track every print made in the organisation countrywide. In this way organisations can see the real cost of ownership and it allows them to prepare future projections and budget accordingly," says Kerwin.
Kerwin cites Nissan as a case in point where approximately 1 000 people were producing a total of 1.1 million prints a month, with 1.18 people allocated per printer, indicating a total over-supply of print devices. "After we completed our intervention, 82 devices were being shared by 1 000 people (approximately 12 employees per printer) and the print volume had been reduced to 650 000 prints per month," he says.
Some 90% of outsourcing is on-site but work can also be completed off-site. Most clients require the relevant equipment on-site so that their print-on-demand needs can be met. These needs include toner replacement, paper management, servicing, and the management of third-party relationships.
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