Executive Order promoting efficient spending calls out printing for savings opportunity

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As our economy continues to languish and our government is burdened with record deficits and a need to reduce spending it’s no surprise that they are looking for any and all cost saving opportunities.  I find it interesting that I keep seeing printing being called out as an area to focus on for cost savings.  I blogged previously about the July report from the Government Accountability Office on Green Information Technology which recommended implementing print management actions that could reduce over $400 million in wasteful government printing each year.  Now, in a just released executive order promoting efficient spending, President Obama calls out printing (in section 5) as a cost-saving area as well. 

The opportunity to reduce expenditures on printing related costs through managed print actions and improved document workflow are as relevant for the private sector as it is for the public sector.  Depending on the size of your organization the potential for savings can be substantial.  I love sharing case-studies because it’s an opportunity to learn from the success of other organizations how they implemented cost-saving print management strategies.  I think you will find strategies used by each of the following companies that you could leverage into your own organization to reduce print-related costs and increase efficiencies. 

When Merck, an innovative, global healthcare leader, implemented Managed Print Services across the organization, it reduced the number of printing and imaging devices by 80%, reduced costs with 40% reduction in output, and reduced environmental impact by using less energy and printing fewer pages.

The Walt Disney Company's "Green Standard" implemented via Managed Print Services reduced energy consumption by more than 18%, and reduced printed pages by 1.5 million per month through automated duplexing. 

With Managed Print Services 3M saved over $3 million over two years by consolidating their printer fleet with energy-efficient devices and centralizing printer management.

General Mills has achieved $1.1 million in annual savings with Managed Print Services --- more than a 50% cost reduction which enables resources to be redirected to growth and innovation. 

Humana, Inc. boosted member satisfaction while saving millions in customer communication costs with HP Exstream which enables the high-volume production of customer friendly, informative and personalized documents that in turn boost member satisfaction, retention rates and referral rates at the lowest possible delivery cost.

I hope these examples give you ideas about how you too can drive cost savings for your organization through Managed Print Services.  My question to you --- do you know the true cost of your imaging and printing environment?  Most IT managers I’ve surveyed do not.  Why is it important to understand the true costs --- you can’t control costs you don’t understand.   

» Learn more about HP Managed Print Services.

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