Northamptonshire County Council has selected NRG as its sole supplier of multifunctional devices (MFDs) for printing, copying and faxing.
This has helped the Council to rationalise its office equipment as Purchasing Officer, Sally Nicholls explains: “Previously, we didn’t have a sole provider which resulted in a rather maverick spend. Different machines were on different leases with different terms. We were looking for a networked total solution, to give us a uniform approach with a clear contract structure.”
Northamptonshire County Council held a ‘mini competition’ where three of the leading companies were invited to tender and NRG won the contract. Sally continues: “We found that the overall package from NRG achieved the best fit to our requirements, providing value for money and good quality machines. Also, as NRG is based in Northampton, this was anotherimportant consideration as we like to use local suppliers and support local industry.”
Cost Control
The sole supplier contract from NRG means that Northamptonshire County Council is better able to control costs. As Sally comments: “Our costs are now much more transparent – we know what we are spending. Although they look higher in some cases, this is because there are fewer hidden costs and we can actually see where the money is being spent. We have much better management information than we had before, which helps us to be more accountable.”
Moving to a networked multifunctional strategy is helping the Council to improve its efficiency and cost-effectiveness in several ways. For example, the removal of all printers over timewill lead to a significant reduction in the cost of consumables and the use of shared MFDs means that more appropriate devices with lower costs per page can be used for most jobs.
In addition, requests for new equipment are now managed centrally by the IT department rather than on an ad hoc basis. This means that they can be incorporated into a collaborative,joined-up strategy for centralised print. Although the machines are leased rather than purchased outright, there is still an impact on the asset register. The reduction in the totalnumber of devices helps to ease this burden.
Time Saving
Sally Nicholls believes that the new contract with NRG will help to take the organisation forwardby streamlining operations and allowing staff to work more efficiently. She comments:“There will be no time wasted in any more lengthy best value analysis because we have doneall that. When new equipment is required we can go straight to NRG, making it an easy choice.”
“Also, having a sole supplier means that the operator key pads on the machines are allconsistent so everyone knows how to use the machines. If they are working in a differentdepartment or need to use a different machine to usual then it is familiar, straightforwardand easy to use. All these factors combine to help us to get on with our task of serving the community of Northamptonshire more effectively.”
Business Support
Sally is pleased with the relationship that is developing with NRG. She adds: “The machines are being installed gradually as the terms on the old equipment come to an end. It has taken some time for us to understand each others’ businesses and what information we do or don’t need, but it seems to be working well. The support that NRG provides is very good.”
Environmental issues
Northamptonshire County Council has a duty to dispose of waste responsibly. Althoughthis was not part of the analysis for the tender, Sally Nicholls explains: “What happens to theequipment when it goes out of commission is an important consideration. It’s more of a softevaluation but it is becoming much more prominent and it is part of the total life cost ofthe machine. We need to be confident that our suppliers will deal with waste properly.”
