Selecting the Right Managed Print Services Solution - Part Four

This series discusses some of the key factors in selecting the right MPS solution for your organization.  As an independent, time is precious.  Having fewer resources than national service organizations and the OEM's, you need to quickly assess your options, make your selection and implement it.  Hopefully, the questions we are posing help you in this process.

In parts one, two and three, we discussed how autonomous you wish to be, the need for flexibility in a solution and if the MPS solution should offer a hardware DCA, software, or both.  Our next factor is:

Will the solution meet ALL your customers' requirements?

Customers have different needs.  Some want toner fulfillment and service/repairs on an as-needed basis.   Others demand a more proactive approach, expecting toner and maintenance needs to be managed as a background process with little intervention on their part.

A few things to consider:

1. 
   
   Can you discover and monitor only the print devices you are contracted to manage?
2. 
   
   Can you receive e-mail alerts or automated tickets for just the service issues you need to deal with?
3. 
   
   Are you able to manage some devices under a CPP program type and other as break/fix (T&M)?
4. 
   
   Can you set different alert notification/ticket generation for different locations? Device types? Individual devices?
5. 
   
   Will the solution send automated e-mail notification to the end user when a technician is assigned to a ticket and another when the ticket is closed?
6. 
   
   Does the solution give you the ability to handling local tickets in-house while sending tickets outside your geographic area to a third party provider, seamlessly and with real-time monitoring of the progress?
7. 
   
   Does the solution allow the customer to allocate devices to multiple cost centers and have reports showing the the costs and activities broken down by those cost centers?
8. 
   
   Does it give you flexibility in determining how you monitor the environment?  Do you have a hardware and software option? Does it have a method for managing local devices, with or without a DCA?
9. 
   
   Can it capture end user toner changes and give you a mechanism to associate the toner cost, calculate the yield and develop trending data to provide a more just-in-time inventory delivery system?
10. 
    
    Does the solution provide reporting that evaluates the performance of the service department (SLA's met, recall reports, average call duration, etc.) that can be shared with the customer, if they require it and you wish to share that information?

Understanding your customers' requirements is key.  Having an MPS solution in place that manages all these requirements effortlessly is vital.  Take your time investigating all the solutions in the market today.  Invest in the one that fits your needs now but gives you the flexibility to grow in the future.