How to Successfully Procure Managed Print Services

Managed Print Services (MPS) are facing one of the biggest changes to date.

As companies find the need to improve performance, efficiency or security, they will often identify an over reliance on paper. This has often led to the need for MPS in order to control, manage and potentially optimise paper processes.

However, as the workplace changes with an increased emphasis on mobility, cloud services, big data, analytics and social media, staff and employees have come to expect a new and different way of getting things done.

The traditional ‘MPS’ contract is becoming something new: Managed Document Services (MDS). Your MPS providers should now be able to provide digital solutions to transition you to a digitally-led environment.

With this change comes new ways of procuring print and document management.

Buying the right Managed Print Services can save time, money and have a genuine return on investment over the contract, while buying the wrong thing can leave you in an awkward position and at times, a costly one.

With MPS evolving into MDS, or at least a blend of the two, an important question remains: when procuring Managed Print Services, where do you start?

There’s a good chance you’ve already got an MPS provider in place, and this is a great place to start when looking for new Managed Print Services - what have the pains and gains been from your previous contract and what changes are needed for the next contract?

The end of an MPS contract is a great time to shop around and check you really are getting the best service or the best value for money, especially if the company has grown or changed business objectives during the contract.

Once you’ve identified what you’re looking for from MPS, it’s all about asking the right questions in the RFP.

There’s a huge amount to consider in the RFP from asking about the average tenure of an account manager through to the security measures that the MPS supplier will put in place to avoid breaches of sensitive information.

Further to this, it’s good to ask about change management and how any potential supplier can deal with changes in the business such as growth or how they can take on digital transformation in the event that the business wants to go paperless or wants to focus on environmental sustainability.

Even if you don’t need it today, you may need it tomorrow.

The move to digital is a game changer! And some may not be aware of how to choose a company that can both manage print and transition to digital.

Xenith’s new guide, How to write an invitation to tender/RFP for Managed Print Services, helps you to write an invitation to tender or a request for proposal for Managed Print Services in order to ensure that the provider, service and solution you choose are all aligned to your business objectives, meet or exceed your requirements and provide good value.

The guide will help you to

1. Realise what aspects of MPS are important and in line with your business objectives.
2. Write an invitation to tender/request for proposal that will help your business to choose a capable provider that can deliver on your business goals.