Selecting the Right Managed Print Services Solution - Part Nine

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 the last post, we discussed the need for a ticketing system imbedded into your MPS solution. Hopefully, you agree with me that the answer is, "Absolutely yes!"  Maybe you just want e-mail notification of supply and service alerts.  Today, let's expand on this point a bit:


Are the alerts customizable?



Receiving e-mail notification or automated tickets for supplies and service issues is key to implementing a proactive MPS solution.  But getting notification of every issue can actually cause more work rather than streamlining the process.

If you are only receiving e-mail notifications, more than likely you will receive multiple notifications for the same issue.  Image getting an e-mail every day for a low toner until it is changed out.  If a ticketing system is in place, it becomes much easier to manage and track these events.  But there are still potential complexities that can arise.

Here are a few questions you should ask?

1. Am I managing the entire print environment the same? 

2. Do I need to treat break/fix devices differently than those under an MPS program?

3.  Am I providing different levels of service to remote locations versus the main office?

4.  Can I exclude some types or makes of devices from ticketing?

5.  Are there one or more individual devices that I need to manage on a proactive basis than the rest of the customer's fleet?

These are all very common factors when managing an MPS solution.  Rarely will you have a situation where all devices and/or locations are treated the same.  A cookie cutter solution will not give you the flexibility you need to manage these real world situations.

You must select a solution that gives you this flexibility.  The ideal solution would allow you to set multiple "ticket generation rules" that can be customized by customer, program type, location, device type, make mode and even individual device, if necessary.  This means that you can choose what service alerts will generate tickets and which ones will be ignored.  Having this type of solution means that you can structure a program to meet every customer's needs while giving you notification on all (and only) the issues you have contracted with them to manage.


What do you think?  What has been your experience in managing multiple levels of service for a customer? Would a customizable ticketing component make you more efficient?  We'd love to have your thoughts and feedback!