Success Story

NIPPON PAINT

Streamlining Print Environment to Increase Efficiency

NIPPON PAINT SINGAPORE

Nippon Paint Singapore is a leading paint manufacturer with an established presence in Singapore, China, Japan, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia. It is an affiliate with Nippon Paint Japan.

The Challenge

Managing the multitude of printers and copiers from different brands and manufacturers was an enervating and time-consuming task for the Department of Management Information Systems (MIS) at Nippon Paint Singapore.

The department’s IT engineers were responsible for ensuring a ready supply of toners for all departments. They were also expected to troubleshoot any printing problems even though they were not trained in print management.

Whenever there was a need for copier or printer repairs, servicing or toner replacement, the staff at Nippon Paint Singapore would automatically contact the MIS department. Many man-hours were lost having to deal with different suppliers and vendors because of different printer and copier brands and models. These non-core IT activities took up a significant amount of time away from core, strategic IT work.

Another challenge was wastage. Departments maintained an inventory of toners for convenience, but when equipment manufacturers retired older printer and copier models, the company’s inventory of unused toners had to be discarded which caused unnecessary wastage and expense.

The Process

In view of the need to manage printing costs, lower toner wastage and reduce non-core workload on IT staff, Nippon Paint Singapore decided to outsource its print management to a managed print solutions provider.

Adventus presented a comprehensive proposal after conducting a detailed audit of the company’s entire print environment. The proposal focused on enhancing staff productivity and cost efficiency, and optimising the fleet of printers and copiers.

The Solutions

Adventus designed a managed print solution that streamlined the “unmanaged print” situation in Nippon Paint Singapore. It would optimise its printer fleet, reduce printing cost, and free the various departments from the onus task of maintaining a consumables inventory. Under the managed print solution, Adventus would:

Optimisation of printer fleet
Replace the multitude of copiers and printers from different manufacturers with the latest models but using only singular brands – Canon for its copiers and Hewlett Packard for printers. This streamlining of copiers and printers would help the company reduce overall operating costs.
Adoption of pay-as-you-use service model
Compute printing cost based on end-user usage, i.e. pay per print or cost per page. The variable cost structure enables the MIS department to monitor the overall printing cost more efficiently every month.
Automatic toner replacement
Manage toner supply on behalf of the MIS department. It will replace toners within the day of notification. An in-built monitoring system will alert Adventus when toner levels are low. There is a no longer a need for respective departments to store excess toners to avoid being surprised by the lack of toners.
Guaranteed service maintenance
Provide equipment repairs, servicing and maintenance for a period of five years. Adventus will be responsible for toner replacement, parts replacement and repairs and servicing of all printing equipment; thus, freeing the MIS staff from these time-consuming peripheral tasks.
Dedicated service hotline
Technical help is only one phone call away. Adventus technicians will be on-site to troubleshoot any printing problems within one day of notification.
End-user training
Provide practical training to staff on how to use the new printers and copiers.

Adventus’ managed print solution was very attractive because it was a pay-as-you-use service so we could control the printing cost. The proposal included free prints and a five-year service maintenance which would free us from the hassle of troubleshooting printer problems

Koh Soon Meng, Assistant Manager, MIS

Outcomes

Nippon Paint Singapore decided to outsource the management of all its printers and copiers to Adventus. The service agreement included both leasing and purchase of copiers and printers.

How Adventus’ Managed Print Solutions benefited Nippon Paint Singapore:

Better cost management
Adventus’ scalable, pay-per-print service model helped Nippon Paint Singapore reduce printing costs because they only need to pay for what they used every month.
Enhanced user experience
Adventus’ automatic toner replacement service meant no waiting time and no work disruptions for staff at Nippon Paint. The printers and copiers were equipped with an automatic monitoring system which would send an alert to Adventus whenever toner levels reached replacement levels.
No more wastage
No longer do departments need to keep a costly inventory of toners to avoid the “just-in-case” the “toner-runs-out” scenario because Adventus would automatically replace toners when levels were low.
Enhanced control over print environment
The MIS department could easily keep track of the company’s printing costs and printing usage with Adventus’ Managed Print Solution.

I am very satisfied with the service provided by Adventus. They are very prompt in responding to any request for servicing or repairs. The technician will come on-site to troubleshoot within one day,” says Soon Meng, MIS Assistant Manager. “A fast response is critical to reduce the impact of disruptions and keep the business going as soon as possible

Soon Meng, MIS Assistant Manager