The procurement of print is much more complex than one might think. It requires expertise across several fronts. In its report titled ‘Category Expenditure Management: Print and Print Services’, the Aberdeen Group summed it up succinctly. A South African company, POINT claims proven savings in excess of 30% in this area.. “Print involves both the […]
Just how much is your organisation actually paying for print? Read More »
During the Apartheid era, organisations often grew by purchasing or amalgamating with their competitors. As a result, in the 1990s, when organisations had access to the world stage, South Africa had and still has many industries that are controlled by monopolies or duopolies. Whilst most organisations believe that increased competition amongst their suppliers to be
Does single source supply give customers leverage? Read More »
This is the second in a series of 4 articles on the topic of generating and tracking output savings, with particular focus on the Managed Print Solutions (MPS) category. The focus of this article is the often delicate issue of “vendor contract re-negotiation”. “Re-negotiating hardware/equipment rental agreements with vendors are generally difficult and can be
Before any informed decision can be made regarding an organisation’s hardware and equipment specifications, a Managed Print Solutions (MPS) provider will need to clearly understand and analyse the following: The exact user and business requirements across the entire organisation / print estate (where, what, when, why, internal / external usage, colour / mono, etc.); Specific
“External print services will usually be categorised as indirect spend, unless your organisation itself is in print or publishing, in which case, it would fall into the direct spend category”, Gary Davies, Managing Director of Print Outsource International (POINT), told SmartProcurement. In these times of increased specialty procurement, indirect spend commodities are the ones which
Automating and / or outsourcing external print services Read More »
The process of printing on large scale and in big volumes requires a substantial investment in expensive printing machines and in highly expert manpower. This has given rise to a stand-alone sector of External Print Suppliers such as CTP Book Printers, Tandym Print and the Caxton Group, to mention but a few. These organisations offer
Sourcing of external print services & managing supply challenges explored Read More »
This, the first in a series of 4 articles on the topic of generating and tracking output savings, with particular focus on the Managed Print Solutions (MPS) category. This series of articles will cover the 4 legs of a proven procurement-driven strategy respectively. These legs are: Benchmarks that need to be applied (as based on
Just what is it that makes print such a complex category to purchase and manage from the procurement perspective? “To start with there is a confusingly wide variety of specifications, different types of print (offset, digital) and hundreds of differing grades of paper, inks and finishing options. In addition to this, print suppliers, more often
How to Optimise the Procurement of External Print Services Read More »
The domain of Output Devices (copiers, faxes, scanners and multi-purpose devices) – usually referred to as ‘office equipment’ – is often an area of much controversy as it is serviced by many different companies with often divergent agendas and sales philosophies. When examining the advent of Managed Print Services (MPS) in South Africa, one notices
Managed Print Services Provide a Professional Approach to Procuring Output Devices Read More »
Based on the Aberdeen Research Group Report , which was highlighted in SmartProcurement’s August 2008 feature article, Outsourcing Management of Print Can Lead to 30% Cost Savings, it is clear that the main processes by which print is procured, are: Manually sourced / procured by local procurement person / department. Manually sourced / procured by
Optimising the Procurement of External Print Services Read More »
