Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Selecting the Right Managed Print Services Solution - Part Twelve

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.



The goal of this series is to present a list of potential requirements you would have for a complete MPS solution. Some of the items on this list may not pertain to you at the start, but you should still consider them when evaluating and selecting the right solution. Our next item on the list is:

Do you have a service directory that you can tap into?

Your fleet of technicians already handle your day-to-day service issues that arise.  However, you may occasionally need encounter a service need where you must find resources outside your company.  Perhaps a customer requests service on a type of device you are not authorized to service.  A company may contact you about a service need in their branch office outside your geographic area. 

How do you handle these situations?  Do you have to now research service companies, contact them and then send them the details via fax or e-mail?  Or would you simply turn down the request, losing revenue and the potential to expand your coverage of the customer's print environment?  Can you turn to  your MPS solution for help?

A few MPS solutions do provide a type of service directory.  Make sure you understand the requirements to using these directories.  Is it an "all or nothing" proposition?  Are you required to send all your service work to this third party or can you pick and choose?  Do you know what company is receiving the service ticket or is that hidden from you?  Do you have the choice of which provider to use?  Can you track the progress of the tickets through the solution in real time?

These are all qustions to consider when analyzing the service directory component of any MPS solution.  The ability to say "yes" to any service need your customer has can embed you into that environment as well as provide you with additional revenue with minimal effort.

What do you think?  Does your current solution provide a service directory?  Have you used it?  How do you think it could be improved?

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