Case Studies

About the customer

Ceram is an international, independent materials technology company based in Stoke-on-Trent and employing 150 local people.

Challenges

As a customer of the GB Group since 2003, Ceram had several multi-functional devices located in different departments across two different sites. Yet the company still looked at printing in a very traditional manner, with most PCs connected to a stand alone inkjet or laser printer. Because most of the printers were not connected via the network, Ceram had no clear view on how many prints were being produced or at what cost per page.

Ceram’s Finance Director recognised that the company’s print costs were significant and on the increase. The IT department was keen to have more control over printing and wanted to reduce the number of printing devices onsite.

Solution

Sally Cooper, the GB Group’s Sales Manager, carried out a full print audit across both sites and all printing devices. A portfolio of every single piece of printing hardware was built to include its location, type of unit, prints it had produced in a given period, and its cost per page. The audit found that the majority of printers were printing low volume but had a very high cost per print, and that in most cases the devices were colour, which was not required in most departments. Whilst expensive to run, most of the original print fleet had poor functionality - no double siding, sorting or scanning. The audit also revealed that a number of the MFDs already onsite were under utilised.

GB Group proposed a three way strategy to streamline Ceram’s print costs:
  • Utilising hardware already onsite.
  • Reducing the print fleet substantially.
  • Replacing high running cost devices with lower cost alternatives.
Results
  • By fully utilising current MFDs and replacing high running cost devices with low cost alternatives in key departments, we drastically reduced Ceram’s print fleet by 65%.
  • We replaced inefficient and expensive to run units with a selection of network print devices offering low cost output and MFD devices offering copying, printing and scanning with facilities such as double siding, sorting and stapling. Colour facilities were offered in key areas only, where  they were actually needed.
  • We introduced PIN code facilities, enabling Ceram to manage and track the use of all their MFDs and network print devices. Ceram could assign individual user codes to according to which function(s) employees had permission to access. This level of control enables the IT department to monitor system usage.
  • We also introduced a locked print facility, allowing users to send documents to printers where they are held securely until released by the authorised user. This means that documents cannot be picked up at the printer by another user, protecting information confidentiality.
How did the customer benefit?
  • Significant reduction in print costs
  • Departments have access to better facilities
  • Complete transparency of print volumes and costs
  • Considerable reduction in wastage
  • IT department free to concentrate on Ceram’s business and downtime is kept to a minimum now that the GB Group manages and takes responsibility for the complete print fleet
  • Rapid and comprehensive service if any problems arise, and expert advice on hand concerning software and upgrades

What did the customer say?

“The GB Group is swift to respond to our service needs and downtime is kept to a minimum. If equipment becomes a problem due to a change in our application or departmental growth they always recommend a suitable upgrade before matters get out of hand. All the staff at the GB Group have been extremely helpful – they even have a dedicated member of staff to ensure our staff are comprehensively trained on all aspects of the equipment installed. However it’s also good to know that the Directors have an open door policy. If I need to talk to Rob directly he is always accessible and ready to help, which is very refreshing.

We can trust GB to ‘get things done’ and know we can rely on them from supply through to service support and after sales training.”

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