Today, I'm moderating a series of discussions with one of our clients, Swiss Post, around the latter's implementation of managed print services to support its 55,000 employees.   I use the word 'moderate' advisedly, since the presence of eager analysts and journalists in each session meant that I was simply required to remember the order and content of each question.  I felt like a barman working my way through a Friday night trying to ensure everyone was sufficiently served in something like the right order!  Our client, I may add, courteously and carefully responded to each questioner adding detail and anecdotes as appropriate. 

The statistics (see below) make a powerful and compelling argument for managed print services, but it was the human impact which really struck a chord with our audiences.   We even learned that print patterns were seasonal with September generating the highest volume of A3 colour prints, a fact explained by the piles of holiday photos which regularly appear on desks during that time of year.  The beauty of the centrally managed MPS programme is its transparency, detailed reports on the print volumes and formats are produced on a daily basis - since these costs are allocated on a departmental basis most non productive behaviour is self-regulating.   

We also learned that user confidence is crucial for true savings to be generated.  Despite the roll out of new hardware and a fully automated supplies replenishment programme, staff members were still stockpiling toner cartridges in the event of a shortfall or emergency.  Confidence was soon restored when the efficiency of the system became apparent (as part of the MPS programme, supplies are automatically ordered when toner levels reach a specified level; the timing of delivery is based on the volume of activity being undertaken by the device and the time required to deliver (ie the location of the site)).  Staff satisfaction levels soon reflected these new levels of confidence moving from below 6/10 to well above 8/10 - the local caches of 'emergency' toner (together with the associated costs) have virtually disappeared. 

Here are a few facts and figures that cropped up during the various discussions:

• 15 million - the number of letters delivered by Swiss post every day
• 2,500 - the number of post offices in Switzerland (all equipped with centrally managed HP printing equipment)
• 3,454 - the height in metres of the highest of them; Jungfraujoch, which is, in fact, the world's highest Post Office: http://www.wengen.com/topof.html
• 160 million - number of pages printed per year by Swiss Post
• 17,000 - the number of printing and digital imaging devices across Swiss Post's network prior to the implementation of MPS
• 6,000 - the number of devices following MPS implementation
• 140 - the number of different devices across Swiss Post prior to MPS
• 6 - the number of different devices after MPS roll out
• €3 million - the savings generated per year from Swiss Post's MPS implementation
• 200 - the number of functions which are configured before devices are sent out for installation across the Swiss Post network
• 3-6 - the number of minutes requires to configure a device via the automated MPS programme
• 50-60 - the number of devices which can be configured per day by Swiss Post
• 1 - the number of buttons which Swiss Post post office staff have to press on their new HP devices to install them