Tag Archives: print management

Invoice processing and printing.

There are many companies still choosing to print these time critical documents in-house.

Choosing an end to end invoice processing and scanning solution will speed up the accounts payable process.

Why?

Here are some well documented reasons…

Because its too expensive to outsource.
Because we don’t want to give up control.
I want our envelopes post marked with our address details.
Because the Directors want to retain control of the print and despatch of our statements/invoices

If it’s taking you and your company too much time to process and generate your invoices and statements then you really should think about automating the processing by opting for a print services provider.

A printing mailing service provider specialises in the process, printing and inserting of invoices and statements.

Let’s look at the above points in more detail.

Twenty years ago outsourcing this onerous task would have been cost effective for the for high volume generators of statements and invoices.

Today, technology has changed and improved to such a degree that any company generating a few hundred invoices will benefit from tangible cost savings in postage and processing especially when this is weighted against the costs of doing it in-house factor in over ordering of stationery, consumables, maintenance fees, inserting machines and employees who are involved in the process too.

Retaining control – The question that needs to be addressed is do you trust your billing software to output the correct data? Are you painstakingly checking certain customer invoices for errors or omissions prior to actually sending them out?

Even if you have specific customers that require you to check prior to sending most, if not all mailing services will have a medium with which you can isolate those documents view and approve prior to print or sending electronically.

Envelope details – this is given as most print companies will suggest that the outer envelopes will be pre-printed with a return address, company logo and postage indicia in the corporate colours.

Company Directors are insistent in keeping the process in house – Next time the accounts department process the monthly, weekly invoice or statement run ask the Directors to spend time in the department just to see what’s involved in the process.

Present them with a time V cost analysis report that you’ve done in advance, costs both visible and invisible should be shown then see what response you get? I’d be very surprised if they didn’t exhale sharply and respond with “really it costs that much!”

What are the benefits of automating the process?

If your company regularly sends out invoices and statements in a paper format as well as providing electronic billing then you will benefit from having this process automated.

The outsourcing of invoice and statement printing is not as complicated as you think.

By understanding a company’s billing cycle, how the information (data) is extracted out of the accounts system and how to send the data are taken care of by the mailing partner.

If managed correctly by the printing services company the cost savings will be evident.

For example by speeding up the processing time i.e reducing the time taken to despatch bills or statements, receipt of a datafile on day 1 can result in despatch the same day, which can have a dramatic impact on the DSO (days outstanding).

There is minimal time spent by the company once the data file has been emailed because the mail service provider does all the work.

Pre-sorting your bills and statements specifically for Royal Mail or DSA (downstream access) will offer huge savings on postage.

Outsourcing this non core business activity enables you to have the option of sending paper based items and an electronic version as well – multi channel distribution.

The data file can be pre-sorted for bills and statements that are required to be printed and posted or to be electronically sent.

In effect, your only concern is ensuring the upload of the information file. This is the only part of the process that your business truly gets involved in.

The biggest advantage of outsource bill and statement printing is that your outsource provider does all the work associated with printing and prepping of your invoices and statements for mailing.

You also have the flexibility to change the layout and format of your documents because most outsource printers can print in colour at the same time as printing the statement or invoice information therefore implementing a form change becomes effortless!

Most customers have come to expect paperless billing and it is cheaper than sending a paper version.

There is also a compelling argument to outsource the processing of your electronic bills and statements.

Of course there is always the option of implementing a complete end to end invoice processing scanning solution.

For more information about how invoice processing and scanning solutions can streamline your company process then click here for more information.

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What do you do, how do you manage the process of billing your clients? Let us know your thoughts so we can share it.

Managed Print Services, Managing Print Costs, Outsourcing, Print Management

Outsource Printing V Printing In-House

July 8, 2011 Caroline Leave a comment

Outsourcing print saves a company time and money.

In the years I have been involved with outsourcing print one question that always comes up is the case for and against outsourcing print!

Print Outsourcing or outsource printing is not a new phenomenon by any means however, there are still many UK companies that manage their print in-house, in fact as I write this article I will be meeting with an independent foreign bank to discuss this very topic!

I am very biased of course, it’s a no brainer to me. I know that over the years we have saved companies thousands of £’s which has translated onto their bottomline!

However, I like to consider the customers perspective and fears, for example: “It’s too expensive!”, “Will I really see cost savings?”, “Just the thought of talking about it sends me into a cold sweat!” “I don’t want to give up control!” “The M.D. wants us to do our own!”

These are some of the comments that actually make me and my team cringe and have cropped up in our exploratory discussions over the years we’ve been promoting the argument for print outsourcing.

Come on, I bet you already do some form of outsourcing; take the domestic situation, maybe you outsource the ironing, or you have some domestic help with the cleaning all with the aim of saving YOU TIME. This is called domestic outsourcing. You are entrusting a service provider to deliver a specific service to suit your needs. So what’s the difference?

Whether to print in-house or not is an important decision for a lot of businesses.

But the real issue is the true cost of printing in-house?

When I refer to true cost I mean the £’s, time, the invisibles which a business can’t really quantify.

Big printer/copier manufacturers have spent vast amounts on promoting to businesses that printing in-house is cheap, fast and more efficient however, this is rarely the case. Printer manufacturers rely on us mere mortals to purchase again and again.

After the initial investment in your chosen printers or MFD’s (multi-functional devices), what about everything else?

Paper, ink/toner, maintenance, drums, fusers, repairs, power and the biggest cost on a company’s bottom line TIME.

Yes, time it takes to evaluate, source and buy or lease your print devices.

Then you’ll need the ancillary equipment, if you’re going to be printing and despatching your invoices in-house then you will need mailing equipment and so the list goes on. Oh, by the way, don’t forget about the training and the personnel required in-house to operate the machinery, then, what happens if he, she/they leave!

Printers and associated equipment bought or leased are often oversold in other words, are of a very high specification and way in excess of the requirement of the company’s needs.

So many times I have seen customers stuck with equipment that is either under used because they have been oversold or not configured or designed for the tasks required by the company allied to that a contract that states in order for them to have the kit at an attractive rate they need to lease hire for something like 5 years+!

Outsourcing by now is looking a very attractive option for the business owner surely?

Outsourcing Print is a viable and cost effective proposition for many businesses.

Big companies are tempted to look at the large manufacturers to provide “managed print services“; in which the vendor takes control of the customer’s production of corporate, office and marketing documents typically owning the machines, providing training on how to use them, maintenance and most likely take a per page or click charge.

In-house printing comes with a pretty hefty price tag when the above are factored in to the equation and then there is the lease hire agreement and the commitment the company then has to make to the vendor to ensure he hits the click rate/nos of pages printed monthly, heaven forbid if he doesn’t!

Some businesses are too small for managed print services to be able to offer competitive pricing but the reality is there are many print management companies who will provide an excellent service at a fair price.

Coupled with the fact that we take the headache away by sourcing printed matter, material, consumables and thus streamline printing costs with ruthless efficiency making it a better proposition to outsource to an independent print manager than purchasing and running the equipment in-house.

One final thought on the above, independent means just that; as a print management company we are independent we aim to deliver a managed print service or print solution and are driven by the customers needs and wants.

Call us for an informal chat and with no obligation and see if what we can do for you!

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Managed Print Services, Managing Print Costs, Outsourcing, Print Management

Outsourcing Print Services. How To Manage the Process of Outsourcing Print?

June 27, 2011 Caroline 1 Comment

How to manage the process of outsourcing print?

Outsourcing whether it is printing, payroll printing or invoice processing, or outsourcing an entire department is about how a company manages the entire process of a particular business function that is or has become a costly, inefficient and time-consuming process to manage in-house.

A truer definition of what is now commonly referred to as BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) is the contracting of a specific task such as payroll or billing to a third party provider (referred to as back office outsourcing) BPO is often implemented as a cost saving measure for tasks that a company requires but is now finding onerous and time consuming to manage in-house.

It’s hardly rocket science but nonetheless companies particularly the SME scratch their heads and ponder whether its worth considering because outsourcing any process has connotations such as “It’ll surely end up costing more, you don’t really save money, please don’t tell me its all about non core business” and one our favourites, “I don’t have time!”

There are inherent risks associated with print outsourcing for example “

Outsourcing Print. How to manage the process of outsourcing print?

Who or what company do you choose to manage this process?

How do you find a print management company to facilitate the implementation?

And here’s the real kicker, after you’ve done the research, irrespective of the companies’ on your selection list; and the various case studies of the customers they supply which reads something along the lines of the top 10 of the Fortune 500; you may choose to do a credit check to ensure that the balance sheet looks healthy, after all, you don’t want to be going through this pain again in another year. Site visits are a must to ensure service provision.

You will, and I am assuming at this juncture, have eliminated a number of wannabee’s; end up with list of say 2 maybe 3 potential print suppliers that you believe understand your future requirements and are actually listening to you not selling what they think you should have!

Will you be able to entrust the chosen one, “the print management company” with managing the process for you?

The answer is Yes, you can!

When you decide to outsource a business function the risk can be minimised by ensuring you select the right partner and I use this term because it has to be a relationship, one that works two ways, it’s not an association; nor is it just the company we happen to use to do our billing, payroll or whatever print function you are outsourcing, it must be a relationship designed to aid your business which translates onto your bottom line.

So how do you achieve this?

Having a strategy that involves the relevant departments employees and company owners. It’s the people involved in the processes who know what the drawbacks or the inefficiencies are in the department currently.

A check list should include some of the following:-

What process/processes are you considering outsourcing?

What selection process/mechanism are you going to use to find such a company?

Who is going to be responsible for managing this task of selection?

What criteria of selection should be used to disseminate the good from the bad?

Please don’t make this solely size of turnover or accreditation driven; there are just as many small and large print management companies doing just a good and bad job of providing services to the end user. If after an initial discussion a potential print supplier can satisfactorily demonstrate quality policy and procedures that are integral to you don’t rule them out!

How do I evaluate the service provisions on offer? This might be what are you asking the incumbent supplier to do for you?

What will my decision making criteria be based upon? We urge caution here as a decision should never be price driven in our experience this has always been to the detriment of the company seeking to outsource and you will end up by shooting yourself in the foot.

Partnering with a company who does it “cheaply” implies that they don’t have the infrastructure to follow through which means they won’t or can’t deliver what you really want or have asked for!

Finally has a budget been set for the process OR what cost savings might we be looking to achieve?

How many companies over the years have we visited who don’t know what it costs to process, print and send documents out of the building in which they reside or know what their print spend truly is?

Determining from the outset why you want to outsource will drive your strategy, will empower company owners and employees to see tangible benefits which will ultimately translate into cost reduction and improved cash retention for the business.

Requesting a print audit is the first step along this dusty path, it will cost you nothing and will give you a good indication as to how you manage your print spend.

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Print Management

What is Print Management?

June 13, 2011 Caroline 1 Comment

What is print management?

Print management is the process of outsourcing your print including office and business printing to a print management specialist who will project manage your printing from proofing to finishing, mailing, stocking and fulfilment.

Print management is complex depending on the work involved and is often bewildering to organisations. The internet has made it easier for companies to source printing directly but without an understanding of print and knowledge of what their project requires could mean you spend more than you need to.

Introducing print management.

There is a myriad of print management companies their services differ so it is important to detail what your project entails before you start searching for a print management company.

If you want to outsource your payslips then Digital Print Management offers that service and have the expert knowledge to guide you through the process.

Print management is a mixture of many disciplines from procurement, storage, fulfilment, stock control and distribution of printed material designed to provide cost savings while delivering a managed print solution.

Print management is also about managing the purchase process.

Many companies are deluged with paper, businesses overprint, overstock, over-order print items eighty per cent of UK businesses don’t really know what their print is costing them.

There are real savings to be had by working with an independent print management company. 30% is a real possibility depending on the nature of the work. Why then aren’t companies not beating down the doors of print managers?

Print is a diverse product it covers anything from a business card to a printed USB stick, mouse mat, cardboard boxes through to the supply of office furniture/equipment to web design, e-commerce and e-marketing such is the diversification of a print manager’s toolbox.

Print is purchased from one department to another with no autonomy forcing the cost of office print upwards, therefore the true cost of print is absorbed by different cost centres.

Print is a diverse product

Although print is perceived as a necessary evil rather than a business process that can or should be improved it is overlooked in terms of tangible benefits it offers a business.

In my experience, many companies continue to define print as business cards, letterheadings and company brochures but it is more.

It is an area of a business that is perfect for outsourcing but often it is overlooked because companies don’t have the time, expertise and knowledge to do so.

Print falls into the ownerless category and ordering daily and discreetly in company departments is a common occurrence; with multiple suppliers, inconsistent quality and often shortfalls in critical printing such as a company’s transactional documents.

Print management is a multidisciplinary approach to managing and sourcing print for you. Including management and purchasing of print, finding solutions to problems and reducing the flow of paper

This is where a print management company comes in.

A Print Management’s business is print and we know about all things print.

It is a specialist discipline in sourcing and providing bespoke print solutions and printed matter for the customer.

Your core business is providing a service or product not printing so why get involved in print when a print management company can facilitate all your print requirements including project management saving time and money!

Many businesses will benefit from some form of managed print solutions because they don’t possess the knowledge, the time to develop the internal infrastructure to physically manage the purchasing, lack resources and the supplier base that a print manager will have developed and cultivated through many years of trading.

4 Things a Print Management company will do to assist a company’s need to centralise print purchasing:

1. Analyse and carry out a print audit of all printed items used by the company

2. Understand the paper flow i.e. who orders what, when and why, how is the product used

3. Review the supplier base to ascertain with a view to providing a more streamlined and sustainable approach to managing print

4. A detailed proposal which will provide an effective, more streamlined process which in turn will show a reduction in total print spend

Top Tips to assist companies with print outsourcing

1. Engage with a proven print management company that can bring the expertise you are looking for specifically whether it is print management, payroll or e-billing.

2. Identify the key personnel internally who will run the process; who will oversee compliance and conformity

3. Identify key areas of spend (this will have been highlighted during a print audit by the print manager) and this should be across all departments, payroll, marketing, credit/billing.

4. Keep any design/creativity spend separate from print i.e. if you work with a design agency that has a completely different skill set required by your company

5. The business needs to be ready to face change management, there will undoubtedly be some internal resistance to outsourcing print by being transparent and open will cause less confusion and resistance from employees

6. If the costs regarding the current print spend are unquantifiable then don’t be overly concerned; the Print Manager will start to create relevant management information on stock, print type and spend.

The print manager will be responsible for giving you up to the minute information on print spend and within 3-6 months you will have a bank of data to work from to help you set a more concrete print budget for the next 6 months.

What do you think? How are you managing your print costs? Do you know how much your organisation spends on print each year?

General

Digital Print Management – New Website

June 9, 2011 Caroline 1 Comment

The new Digital Print Management website went live in May 2011.

Whilst the corporate logo and colours remain the same the new site is designed to be informative and thought provoking for visitors by helping them understand the maze that is print outsourcing and by removing the myth that outsourcing can be costly, that it is flexible and will save time!

Invoice processing and printing.

There are many companies still choosing to print these time critical documents in-house.

Why?

Here are some well documented reasons…

Let’s look at the above points in more detail.

What are the benefits of automating the process?

Please follow us on twitter, we need more likes on facebook and google+ please, or connect with us on linkedin for all our news and updates. Alternatively, subscribe to our updates via email.

Related posts:

In the years I have been involved with outsourcing print one question that always comes up is the case for and against outsourcing print!

But the real issue is the true cost of printing in-house?

Outsourcing by now is looking a very attractive option for the business owner surely?

You can follow us on twitter, like us on facebook connect with us on linkedin and Google+ for all our news, reviews and updates or keep it simple subscribe and receive our updates straight into your inbox..

Related posts:

How to manage the process of outsourcing print?

Who or what company do you choose to manage this process?

How do you find a print management company to facilitate the implementation?

So how do you achieve this?

A check list should include some of the following:-

To follow us please connect with us on linkedin, like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. You can also subscribe to our updates by hitting the RSS button or leaving your email address.

Related posts:

Introducing print management.

Print management is also about managing the purchase process.

There are real savings to be had by working with an independent print management company. 30% is a real possibility depending on the nature of the work. Why then aren’t companies not beating down the doors of print managers?

Print is a diverse product

4 Things a Print Management company will do to assist a company’s need to centralise print purchasing:

Top Tips to assist companies with print outsourcing

1. Engage with a proven print management company that can bring the expertise you are looking for specifically whether it is print management, payroll or e-billing.

Related posts:

Related posts: