Confidence in a Managed Print Solution

 

The Business Need:

Removing hidden print costs and improving workflow processes was identified as an important next step to support Primark’s rapid growth strategy.

The Solution:

Ergo IT Infrastructure designed and deployed a standardised printing estate, tailoring hardware bundles to meet the different needs in 215 stores across Europe and two head offices.

The Benefits:

Through a process of ongoing management and continual improvement, Ergo has significantly cut Primark’s overall printing costs and made print and workflow a strategic part of the business.

The Business Need

Established over thirty years ago, Primark started out in Ireland but soon established branches in the UK, creating a historical legacy that explains why it retains two head offices, one in Dublin, Ireland (where the company is known as Penneys), and one in Reading, England.

The clothes retailer has been particularly successful in the last decade, enjoying rapid expansion across Europe. Today, Primark has 215 outlets, including 150 in the UK, 38 in Ireland, and over 27 across Spain, Germany, Belgium Portugal and Holland. The number is rising all the time as the company continues to grow.

The ongoing success can be attributed to cost-management strategies that have underpinned its growth. This has involved identifying and eradicating areas of the business that carry hidden costs. Having successfully achieved greater control over their desktop and server environments, print management came under the spotlight as Primark looked to reduce bottom line costs through consolidation and standardisation.

An audit of the print estate found a disparate set of printers, a long list of consumables from different suppliers, and multiple service contracts that were expensive to run and difficult to manage. 

Based on the findings of the audit, Ergo proposed a solution and saw off competition from a leading copier manufacturer to win a three-year contract to provide Primark with a managed print service. The contract was renewed in 2010, highlighting how Ergo takes its customers on a continual journey of cost savings and process improvement.

“Our proven ability to serve multinational customers in the UK and Ireland was certainly a major deciding factor,” said Robert Hardiman, Ergo Senior Account Manager. “We have repeatedly demonstrated how we can save money and deliver improved processes along the way.”

 

The Solution

The IT Infrastructure division of Ergo has a reputation for successfully running managed print services for blue-chip companies. Consolidation and standardisation are the first step. Having conducted a “walk round” of some of the Primark sites, an appropriate bundle of multifunction-printers (MFPs) was selected for each of the retail outlets, and for the two head offices.

“Clearly the shops have less need for colour and functionality, while the head offices can benefit from more sophisticated features and rules-based printing,” explained Jason Quinn, Senior Solutions Architect, Ergo.

All hardware was standardised around the HP range, enabling Ergo to pass on savings, not just on the equipment but on consumables. The relationship with HP also gives Ergo access to state-of-the art technology that its clients can leverage as part of the managed service.

Over a three month period, close to 215 stores in the UK, Ireland and across Europe were fitted out with the new devices. Although the in-store machines are simple to use, their networked functionality still allowed Ergo to innovate. “We are always looking at new ways to improve efficiency with our client’s document workflow,” said Quinn, “and we have been able to bring a number of process improvements to Primark that have gone beyond basic printing and scanning.”

An early win was the in-store printing of product catalogues that are emailed out of the head office. Previously, the catalogues had been output centrally and dispatched to every outlet, incurring substantial delivery charges. These costs were removed by delegating the print to each store.

Next, Ergo reduced a time consuming paper-based process by harnessing the smart functionality of a new generation of MFPs. Most store employees do not have access to a PC, so routine processes, like requesting holiday leave or applying for overtime, were largely paper-based.

Ergo set up a directory on the networked MFPs so that employees in each store could interface with the device and print off a variety of template forms. Once filled in, they use the scan-to-email function which automatically recognises the type of form and routes it to the relevant department.  “We turned a bureaucratic, paper-laden process into a five minute task,” said Robert Hardiman.

At head office, where a large number of printers have been replaced with a few strategically positioned MFPs, Ergo introduced SafeCom, a smart printing solution that gives administrators greater visibility and control over print usage. At the same time it gives employees more flexibility and security.

Jobs are only released when the employee stands at a machine and uses their swipe card, reducing waste (no more uncollected documents) and enhancing security. Employees can do this from any device on the network, even in another building if they have travelled between the UK and Dublin offices.

The scan-to-email and scan-to-folder features also become much more secure. Each email is authenticated by the swipe card so the recipient can see precisely who it is coming from.

The networked environment has also made the head offices more resilient. Should a print server go down in one office, it automatically switches over to the other. Printing can continue uninterrupted, giving Primark new levels of business continuity. 

The Benefits

In the first phase of Ergo’s managed print service, Primark cut printing costs significantly. As well as hard savings from imposing rules around colour and single sided printing, there were soft savings that come from a homogenous print environment with hundreds of machines.

Standardising on one manufacturer and one supplier makes ordering consumables much more efficient. The number of invoices and purchase orders associated with the print environment dropped from thousands a year to just four. “We have helped them take reams of paperwork out of the system,” said Jason Quinn, “and it gives them a level of visibility that they simply didn’t have before.”

Quarterly business reviews between the two parties are an opportunity to plan for the future and seek further improvements. Out of these meetings came strategic initiatives like colour volume reduction and the form request workflow.

The managed service has also relieved the internal IT department from the burden of running the print environment, but the biggest benefit is that print is no longer a hidden cost. Primark calculates the profitability of its stores based on square footage and turnover. Print is now part of the calculation and integrated into the wider business, both in terms of controlling costs and making strategic improvements.