The City of London Corporation was relying on an ageing fleet of multifunctional devices (MFDs) and printers across its diverse portfolio of facilities, from the Guildhall headquarters and Barbican property estate to schools and the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre. Challenges included the lack of common print policies across the estate and an inability to dynamically monitor print volumes and act quickly upon changes in device usage.
City Corporation’s Commercial Lead for ICT, Rajiv Rathod said: “We wanted to shift from a traditional supplier/customer relationship to a partnership that could help us not only make cost savings but also advise on continuous optimisation. Konica Minolta provided a commitment to delivery and showed a strong intention to work with us to transform end-to-end delivery.”
Konica Minolta's management system involved rationalisation and the adoption of a consumption-based pricing model for improved transparency of volumes output and cost savings.
More than 500 Konica Minolta MFDs are now deployed across 80 sites within London and the South-East, all backed by Konica Minolta’s SafeQ security controls to protect sensitive information and PrintFleet, the next generation fleet management solution.
One particular challenge was to effectively manage this fleet on a day-to-day basis and optimise it for future operation. Previously, fleet management was provided by a disconnected group of staff across the City Corporation. This fragmented approach could sometimes lead to a delay in resolving fleet issues; while the lack of unified insight also undermined accountability. For example, the City Corporation struggled to understand who was printing what, and from which device.
Rathod said: "The advantage of our relationship with Konica Minolta is their focus on continual improvement. Working in partnership, we jointly recognised the need for a single, dedicated fleet management resource – one that would not only deliver instant, on-site support but provide proactive, professional advice on how we could enhance our document processes.”
Konica Minolta recently extended this fleet management solution into the City Corporation’s on-site print room. Both mono and colour devices are supported by Konica Minolta on a managed service delivery model, which offers the City Corporation a more predictable cost model and improved quality of output while freeing staff time to focus on other print opportunities. The solution includes a workflow solution that supports the printing of payslips.
The Managed Print Service also encompasses the City of London Police and the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey. The City of London police is responsible for protecting one of the most challenging environments in the UK whilst leading the national response to fraud. Konica Minolta is ensuring the Managed Print Service meets the City Corporation’s stringent security requirements.
The Konica Minolta Fleet Manager is a dedicated single point of contact – with full accountability and ownership of print-related issues. Everything from monitoring consumables and break-fix issues, to fleet rationalisation, and associating machines to volume are in the Fleet Manager’s trusted hands. Crucially, this frees up time, money and resources that Rajiv can devote to other pressing public authority tasks.
Rajiv concludes, “I manage many business partners for the City Corporation. Konica Minolta is a key strategic partner we work very closely with, and we are confident that the partnership’s strong performance will continue.”