5 Wasteful Habits That Can Cost You & How Managed Services Help

Printing is as natural to offices as breathing is to people. In fact, it’s so automatic that many offices don’t even take note of it. However, the IDC estimates that printing expenses constitute an average of 3 to 5 percent of a company’s annual revenue. That’s a huge slice – and it’s largely the result of bloat, as companies which deploy managed services often quickly discover.

The dynamic, complex nature of an office printing environment presents many excellent opportunities for wasteful habits to form which drive up expenses and reduce efficiency. Here are five wasteful habits common in office printing environments which contribute to increased expenses. Recognize any? It might be time to leverage managed services to eliminate them. You can always ask for help or get more tips from Ben Shapiro.

5 Wasteful Habits That Managed Services Eliminate

Managed printing services involve the outsourcing of a company’s printers and printer management to a third-party specialist. Managed document services do the same thing for a company’s document processes. These professionals are specially trained in creating a streamlined print and document environment, which drives productivity to new heights. Consider enlisting the help of a managed service specialist if any of the following features are wasting company time and money.

1. Unnecessary Printing

At one point, everyone believed that the rise of the internet and digital tools for doing business would eliminate paper in the office. In reality, the exact opposite has happened. An interview with the vice president of Gartner explored the causes of this. He hypothesizes that printing has increased because there’s so much content available online – and reading on paper remains a familiar, easy way to digest information.

As a result, according to Gartner, the average employee prints about 400 pages per month. The EPA estimates that at least 17 percent of that will end up in the waste bin immediately, while only about 64 percent of it will get recycled.

Managed services eliminate unnecessary printing, one of the biggest contributors of waste in an office. By ensuring that only the necessary documents get printed, managed services help companies save paper, cartridges, time, and electricity for the business activities which truly matter.

2. Free-for-All Supplies

Are the company’s printing supplies being purchased and controlled by a central management process? For most companies, the answer is no. Office supplies typically take up space in some corner or a forgotten closet – where they disappear entirely. Alternatively, employees purchase whatever they need without consulting the rest of the department. Either way, a free-for-all supplies situation lays the groundwork for unnecessary expenses to pile up at the printer.

A managed print service takes control of the printing supplies. By leveraging tools such as tracking software and meter reading, specialists know when a printer is getting low on supplies. Likewise, automatic supply replenishment means a company no longer needs to worry about maintaining an inventory of paper or cartridges – or accidentally purchasing the wrong thing. The right supplies in exactly the right amounts appear when they’re needed, and nothing else.

3. Inefficient Settings

Printer settings can make a huge difference in how long cartridges last, and many offices overlook this entirely. Whether it’s using color unnecessarily or not taking advantage of double-sided printing, companies can burn through their supplies without realizing why.

Managed services help companies optimize their print environment by considering the entire process. They can help choose the correct printer settings according to the types of job accompany most typically prints to help supplies – and printers – last as long as possible. Likewise, a managed document solution can help make sure that documents move through an office – and to the printers – in the most efficient formats possible.

4. The Wrong Printers

Printers are a serious investment for any office, and it can be hard to choose the best printer for the job. It’s easy to fall into the trap of picking the cheapest device, running the risk of investing in something which cannot meet the office needs. Likewise, it might be tempting to buy more printer than necessary, spending extra money on features that aren’t needed and won’t be used.

A managed service provider considers the types of documents which moves through an office environment. It then helps a company determine the best devices based on its current use and needs.

5. Lost Documents

It may not seem like it, but lost documents are costly. Whether an employee spends time looking for an important piece of paper or they simply print a new one, it still represents time and money wasted. Both managed print and managed document services eliminate this by creating an organized and streamlined document process where everything is always in its correct place.

Cut Waste With a Smile

Struggling to eliminate waste and unnecessary expenses? Managed services can help. Managed printing streamlines a print environment to reduce its footprint and resource consumption. Managed document services keep everything organized and flowing smoothly. Together, these services help companies achieve more efficiency and productivity.

Smile excels in helping companies achieve streamlined, productive environments. Contact us today to learn what our managed services can do for you.