PDC calculates TCO for resellers

With the ever-increasing pressure on businesses of all size to ensure they are getting value for money from their IT investments, total cost of ownership (TCO) is a hotter topic than it has ever been before.

"Despite this massive focus on reducing TCO, however, these calculations have remained confusing, subject to a number of different variables and consequently being misleading or inaccurate," says Peter Vieira, business development manager at Oki`s corporate solutions division.

In the light of this, one of Oki`s local distributors, namely The Printer Distribution Company (PDC), recently announced the availability of a `TCO calculation service` for its resellers. This service allows PDC`s resellers to present their clients with comparative TCO reports for both their existing printing solutions as well as those they highly recommend.

Rodney Bartman, CEO of PDC, explains: "The TCO calculation service we have made available to our resellers is enabled through an in-house application we had custom-developed and tested rigorously a while back.

"It compares the cost of ownership of different printing technologies and the different models of printers that use the same technology," he continues, "ultimately building a strong argument for or against certain technologies and printer models. This then empowers the buyer to make an assertive purchasing decision.

"Essentially, all we need to know from the customer is what the proposed life of the printer will be (or in other words, the length of time in which the asset will be written-off); what the client`s proposed page coverage will be; the number of pages they are likely to print per month; whether those pages will be on the A3 or A4 format; and what models the client is currently considering."

Bartman says, however, that there is one essential factor included in every calculation. "All TCOs should be done with maintenance pricing in place." The reason we insist upon this is to ensure that the customer doesn`t have any additional `hidden` costs.

"This ensures that the customer is furnished with an accurate idea of what the actual costs will be.

"We input these variables into our application, which always contains the most up to date pricing on both printers and their consumables. By merely clicking `calculate`, the application immediately generates a report, which highlights the differences in acquisition and maintenance costs, but most importantly, the differences in consumable costs and cost of ownership for the various scenarios.

"These figures are extrapolated over a five-year period, giving the customer peace of mind in terms of their purchasing decision," he says.

Considering all of the value offered by this service, Bartman says the most significant result is the ability to compare one technology against another. "Experience has shown that generally, customers will go for the cheapest option in terms of acquisition cost. This almost always means they end up expending a veritable fortune on consumables over the life of the unit.

"With a service such as our `TCO calculation`, resellers can not only sell higher value products to their customers, but ensure that their customers benefit from real reductions in running costs over the long-term."

Often, Bartman says, selecting a printer that`s more expensive in terms of acquisition cost also saves the company in the long run, by providing them with additional headroom for volume when they inevitably undergo growth.

"By opting for a more expensive printer and one that offers better performance than the customer currently requires, valuable cost savings can be realised over a five-year period. The running costs will almost certainly be less in the long-run and should a growth in print volume suddenly occur, they will be equipped to cope with the volume increase without upgrading, or possibly even purchasing a second printer," Bartman adds.

"It`s great to see a partner such as PDC adding value to the channel in this way," says Vieira.

"We welcome forward thinking like this, especially if it makes such a tangible difference to our business, our partner`s business and most importantly, our customer`s business," he concludes.