Balreed Managed Print Service slashes IT support calls for housing association

Our client is one of the UK’s largest housing associations with 1000 staff operating from 13 regional offices. A charitable organization that provides affordable housing right across the South and South West of England, The Group continues to expand rapidly, and today manage an estate of over 30,000 houses nationally while continuing to improve services on a local level.

The Problem
The level of service and care provided by the previous supplier had declined rapidly over recent years. As device faults became more frequent, their service response times were much slower. Calling them back for the same fault was a common occurrence, and the inaccuracy of billing was unacceptable. The relationship reached a pivotal point when the CEO’s machine broke and despite numerous requests for help by staff there was no response for several days to resolve the problem.

The Solution
Fortunately for our client a representative from Balreed’s Bristol office made contact with their Facilities Manager during this challenging time. Very quickly the shortcomings of the aged device and lack of service were assessed and the Balreed representative proposed to provide a new device, supported by Balreed’s unique remote managed service. Balreed have a team of dedicated engineers who pro-actively monitor and manage devices at client sites remotely using unique Balreed software, and this level of care was what was needed by the CEO. Within the week the CEO had a new multifunction device installed, being constantly monitored by Balreed to maximize uptime.

“I was so impressed by the nature of the offer from Balreed and how they fulfilled it. The speed of delivery and the quality of the installation were excellent but it was the level of care the remote managed service could provide us which has made all the difference.” explains the Group’s Facilities Manager. “After the frustration of chasing our previous supplier and getting absolutely nowhere it was reassuring to deal with a company who care, it was a breath of fresh air”.

Some months later the group needed to equip a new office in Bristol and based on their positive experience to date, invited Balreed to submit a proposal.

“Balreed’s approach was unique. Whilst all the other suppliers simply recommended some machines with basic service when they broke, Balreed proposed a totally managed service tailored to our needs. Based on our experience of the CEO office I knew they could provide the best technology but again they would pro-actively monitor and manage the devices remotely, dispatching consumables or technicians in advance and pre-empting any problems before they even occur. Given they could provide this quality of service anywhere we needed, this gave us the confidence to take the first step towards a partnership with Balreed.”

The Installation
“As the implementation took place it was clear the attention to detail that Balreed put into every aspect, from delivery, to installation and training was thorough. I was informed at all stages what was happening, this was important to me as I am always on the move and knowing what was going on and when helped enormously”

“Remote management has been a wonderful addition for the group. Toners never run out anymore as Balreed know when we need them and deliver them quickly in advance. The administration for collecting meter readings has gone away and the billing accuracy is faultless. In addition, Balreed have been aware of problems before we have and have been in as quick as an hour later before staff had even noticed there was a problem.”

“Every single quarter they come in and tell me how all the equipment has performed, highlighting any devices that are being over or under-used and how best to balance these loads. They also run through the response times across all our regions, and where they believe training could help us. This is the first time in my experience that a company comes to me with information that I need, before I ask for it.”

It was at one of these reviews that Balreed made the Group aware of how they could reduce the running costs and support requirements of their printer and MFD estate and together we developed our new Print Strategy, to reduce the costs of documents within our client’s organisation, and to provide staff with a better quality of equipment to use.

The first step in developing the company-wide strategy was for Balreed to carry out an extensive assessment of all the existing devices at all the Group’s offices, and consult with staff at every location to understand their experiences and requirements.

The project was pro-actively communicated to all staff via internal intranets and staff emails and all staff were invited to meet the team as they visited each office. This staff input helped fine-tune the strategy to the Group’s unique needs.

A phased implementation at every location minimised disruption, replacing older equipment with new print and document devices, together with regular staff communication and user training. All these devices are pro-actively supported by Balreed Remote Managed Print Services.

Our client down-sized their printer fleet by 28%, re-routing much of this volume to more cost-effective MFD’s. The new printers are all remotely managed, just like the MFD’s, so consumables are provided just-in-time by Balreed, and devices are pro-actively monitored and serviced quickly and efficiently.

As well as new, more resilient devices this new technology enables the organisation to reduce their environmental impact and overall document costs, and many staff now benefit from enhanced functionality including scanning.

Our client’s Head of IT explains “About 30% of all support calls to our IT Helpdesk were print-related, and we were spending a significant amount on consumables for printers. Just as our Facilities Manager had worked with Balreed to take control of the MFD fleet, we developed a remote managed service strategy with Balreed for our printer requirements.”

“Balreed’s managed remote service has not only reduced our costs of printing, but has cut printer support calls to our helpdesk by 70%. Our users are much happier with a better level of service, and my IT support staff have several hours more every week to focus on our core projects.”