Smart businesses have strategies in place to control costs and stick to a budget that helps improve bottom line health. However, many companies overlook the opportunities to reduce printing costs — a mistake that can eat into bottom line savings and also impair the productivity and efficiency of your workflows, further impacting profitability.

Every company must spend a portion of its budget on printing, whether that printing is conducted for internal use, for correspondence and collaboration with partners or customers, or for marketing purposes. However, those monies are often not tracked, leaving companies with up to 30% in excess expenditures that could be avoided with smarter tracking — and purchasing — strategies.

That’s why many businesses are looking to print management software to help consolidate printing efforts and make tracking and transparency easier. When combined with other strategies, such as automated supply replenishment, these processes can reduce waste by up to 15%, reduce energy consumption by 30%, reduce consumption of ink and toner by 20%, and alleviate administrative burdens on staff.

Print Management + Automated Supply Replenishment — Your Strategy for Savings and Productivity

Most businesses understand how a managed print strategy can help control print costs. But many don’t know that if you add automated supply replenishment to the mix, you can save even more — and help staff be more productive.

In general, a supply replenishment program can help you forecast demand for ink and toner, manage your supply inventory, and create a plan that ensures staff always have the right supplies on hand for maximum productivity. Here’s how:

Reduces Manual Error

Effective inventory management requires attention to detail. When you rely upon a manual input system, there is plenty of opportunity for costly manual errors. In addition, staff that must attend to restocking and inventory of printer supplies often have reduced time available for mission-critical operations, cutting into profitability-enhancing productivity. An automated supply replenishment (ASR) program that dovetails with your managed print software (MPS), however, can accurately predict which supplies need replenishing — and when.

Eliminates Costly Overstocking

Overstocking of supplies results in a plethora of problems for the office environment. First, you must set aside costly square footage in which to store your supplies, taking away space that could be used for operational activities. Then, you must lay out capital in advance of actually needing the supplies, tying up resources for items you may not need until much later. Finally, random ordering of print and toner often results in too much of one and not enough of others, which can result in last-minute (and expensive) purchases from big-box stores to fill the need.

Reduces Costs

Labor costs money. And it takes a lot of effort to manually keep up with supply ordering. Additionally, many ASR programs provide incentives that lower the cost of supplies when they are purchased on an automatic basis, saving you additional money. Waste is another element that increases the cost of doing business. Wasting money on printer supply purchases before they are needed ties up your capital and reduces your ability to achieve real-time savings. Receiving supplies only when you need them ensures you are only paying for exactly what you need.

Saves Time

Again, tying up personnel with mundane and error-prone tracking of print needs can represent a huge cost — and a big impact on productive time available for profit-enhancing tasks. An automated system reduces the potential for costly human error and frees up staff to work on mission critical projects that can enhance bottom line health. Importantly, knowing that you will always have the supplies you need in hand means increased machine uptime for enhanced productivity and efficiency.

Blue Technologies Can Help Your Business Get the Most from Print Management with ASR

With our economy on shaky ground, now is the best time to start reeling in those unnecessary costs and ensuring your staff are as productive as possible.

At Blue Technologies, we can create a custom-tailored print management program that can help reduce overall print costs for a healthier bottom line. And, our automated supply replenishment strategy is designed to amplify these benefits by reducing the cost of printer ink and toner, removing the potential for manual errors, and ensuring increased machine uptime with on-time delivery of necessary supplies.

Combine the advantages of print management and automated supply replenishment. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and start saving time — and money — today.