ChicagolandBoard

Hubie Kocurek, Chapter President, was up early to get the registration table setup for the May 7, 2004 member meeting (pic 1). Hubie and Mike Szajek, EDP, Chapter Board Member, paused for some early morning humor as well (pic 2). The next Chicagoland Chapter meeting is September 17, 2004.

Elaine Wathen, EDP (pic 3) started off the meeting representing Dell and speaking about, “Managing Network Printing Costs.” Elaine also supported the Chapter by donating a Dell Personal All-in-One Printer A940 as this meeting’s Door Prize (pic 4).

Few companies know:
· Exactly what networked printing equipment they have.
· Monitor printer supplies or post acquisition spending.
· Know what users are operating what equipment.

Companies have a fairly low level of concern about the above issues. They are not perceived as a serious problem or opportunity. However, through 2005, actively managed printer fleets can save between 10 and 30 percent of over-all printer costs.

Companies typically employ 3 main strategies to control printer costs.
· Control purchasing
· Monitor and manage the fleet better
· Right size the printer fleet

However, companies don’t do printer asset management or volume management. Factored over a set number of years using industry average monthly print volumes or actual print volumes if available:
· Supplies is 76% of cost
· Printer Maintenance Kits are 6% of cost (Dell provides Maintenance Kits free for their printers under Maintenance Contracts)
· Printer Maintenance is 5% of costs
· Printer Acquisition cost is 13%

Companies can lower printer costs by initiating the following strategies:

Fleet Management and Right Size Initiatives
· Leverage Multifunction technology
· Get ahead of the color tidal wave
· Eliminate some personal printers
· Know your printer volumes per printer

Put Desktop printers in their place
· These printers are inexpensive to buy
· Often are purchased under the radar of IT departments
· Very expensive to run
· Color used for draft copies and printed emails

Do an Enterprise Class Print Assessment
· Don’t concentrate on Cost/page ; reduce the page counts
· Don’t have an Equipment Focus; manage workflow
· Don’t focus on data collection; have a people/work process focus
· Don’t estimate print volumes; do careful per printer data collection

Outsource print management
· Can lower cost and offload management
· To be effective requires accurate data on printer page volumes to ensure enough cost savings to justify the change

Update aging printer fleets
· Few enterprises have a printer retention schedule
· Many printers are more than 10 years old
· The speed and durability of new printers is much higher and maintenance costs much lower

Enterprises must understand the printer users needs to achieve the right mix of equipment and to maximize the savings and productivity benefits the proper printing equipment provides.

Our second speaker, Terry Johnson, EDP from Vestcom, (pic 5) spoke on, “The Steps to EDP Certification and Now That I Have It, How Do I Keep It”.

In the first years of the Xplor EDP (Electronic Documentation Professional) program, the Midwest Region had the most EDP Certified members. Today, this is not the case. How can the Midwest Region regain its lead?

What to do to get started? Determine your eligibility.
· Do you have 5 years experience in the Electronic Document Industry?
· Are you currently employed in the Electronic Document Industry?
· Will you accept the Electronic Document Professional Code of Ethics?
· Submit the Eligibility Form with $50 payment

What resources are available to help you get started?
· Upon acceptance of the Eligibility Form, you will be sent the EDP Candidate Handbook
· A set of Work Example Instructions
· Request a Mentor from Xplor Headquarters
· Utilize the help available on the Xplor web site

Work examples should show your range of Electronic Documentation knowledge
· Breadth of knowledge
· Depth of knowledge
· Level of professionalism

Each work example should demonstrate a clear application of your chosen approach to solving a problem or managing an Electronic Documentation project. The example can be used even if upper management decided not to implement it.

Scott Bannor, EDP found self-evaluation to be the best thing about the EDP certification process. Just start. Procrastination is the biggest thing preventing certification.

The meeting ended with a talk by Scott Bannor, EDP, National Sales Manager, PrintSoft Americas, Inc. (pic 6) Scott’s topic was, Convergence and Divergence: The Road Ahead”.

The problem with the Vision Thing:
· Consultants and Politicians are the only ones who can be consistently wrong and still get paid
To know where you are going you have to know where you have been.
· 20 years ago Electronic Documents were on paper
· It was the beginning of ‘Acronym Hell’
· We felt compelled to make things Better, Faster, and Cheaper
· The Law of Unintended Consequences appeared

Technology improves our lives by making us more efficient. Computers were supposed to make things easy, but we now spend more time at the office. Do acronyms really save time or just cheapen the language. Do they help communication or lead to confusion?

· Time compresses

· Life speeds up

· Do more with less

· Everything becomes a commodity

Convergence:

The document continuum:
· Data collection
· Validation
· Mining
· Document design
· Composition
· Production
· Distribution
· Response

Who is responsible for the document? Marketing, IS, Operations?

Divergence:

· Document design: In-house or Out-house

· What is the role of IS? Whose document is it anyway?

· Document Production: Cost versus Convenience

· Delivery Channels: The Internet has not ascended, while print and mail live on


		...the heart of Xplor

	Chicagoland Chapter Events - Review of 5/07/04 Meeting

	2004 celebrates the 8th year for the Xplor Chicagoland Chapter. Hubie Kocurek, Chapter President, was up early to get the registration table setup for the May 7, 2004 member meeting (pic 1). Hubie and Mike Szajek, EDP, Chapter Board Member, paused for some early morning humor as well (pic 2). The next Chicagoland Chapter meeting is September 17, 2004. Elaine Wathen, EDP (pic 3) started off the meeting representing Dell and speaking about, “Managing Network Printing Costs.” Elaine also supported the Chapter by donating a Dell Personal All-in-One Printer A940 as this meeting’s Door Prize (pic 4). Few companies know: · Exactly what networked printing equipment they have. · Monitor printer supplies or post acquisition spending. · Know what users are operating what equipment. Companies have a fairly low level of concern about the above issues. They are not perceived as a serious problem or opportunity. However, through 2005, actively managed printer fleets can save between 10 and 30 percent of over-all printer costs. Companies typically employ 3 main strategies to control printer costs. · Control purchasing · Monitor and manage the fleet better · Right size the printer fleet However, companies don’t do printer asset management or volume management. Factored over a set number of years using industry average monthly print volumes or actual print volumes if available: · Supplies is 76% of cost · Printer Maintenance Kits are 6% of cost (Dell provides Maintenance Kits free for their printers under Maintenance Contracts) · Printer Maintenance is 5% of costs · Printer Acquisition cost is 13% Companies can lower printer costs by initiating the following strategies: Fleet Management and Right Size Initiatives · Leverage Multifunction technology · Get ahead of the color tidal wave · Eliminate some personal printers · Know your printer volumes per printer Put Desktop printers in their place · These printers are inexpensive to buy · Often are purchased under the radar of IT departments · Very expensive to run · Color used for draft copies and printed emails Do an Enterprise Class Print Assessment · Don’t concentrate on Cost/page ; reduce the page counts · Don’t have an Equipment Focus; manage workflow · Don’t focus on data collection; have a people/work process focus · Don’t estimate print volumes; do careful per printer data collection Outsource print management · Can lower cost and offload management · To be effective requires accurate data on printer page volumes to ensure enough cost savings to justify the change Update aging printer fleets · Few enterprises have a printer retention schedule · Many printers are more than 10 years old · The speed and durability of new printers is much higher and maintenance costs much lower Enterprises must understand the printer users needs to achieve the right mix of equipment and to maximize the savings and productivity benefits the proper printing equipment provides. Our second speaker, Terry Johnson, EDP from Vestcom, (pic 5) spoke on, “The Steps to EDP Certification and Now That I Have It, How Do I Keep It”. In the first years of the Xplor EDP (Electronic Documentation Professional) program, the Midwest Region had the most EDP Certified members. Today, this is not the case. How can the Midwest Region regain its lead? What to do to get started? Determine your eligibility. · Do you have 5 years experience in the Electronic Document Industry? · Are you currently employed in the Electronic Document Industry? · Will you accept the Electronic Document Professional Code of Ethics? · Submit the Eligibility Form with $50 payment What resources are available to help you get started? · Upon acceptance of the Eligibility Form, you will be sent the EDP Candidate Handbook · A set of Work Example Instructions · Request a Mentor from Xplor Headquarters · Utilize the help available on the Xplor web site Work examples should show your range of Electronic Documentation knowledge · Breadth of knowledge · Depth of knowledge · Level of professionalism Each work example should demonstrate a clear application of your chosen approach to solving a problem or managing an Electronic Documentation project. The example can be used even if upper management decided not to implement it. Scott Bannor, EDP found self-evaluation to be the best thing about the EDP certification process. Just start. Procrastination is the biggest thing preventing certification. The meeting ended with a talk by Scott Bannor, EDP, National Sales Manager, PrintSoft Americas, Inc. (pic 6) Scott’s topic was, Convergence and Divergence: The Road Ahead”. The problem with the Vision Thing: · Consultants and Politicians are the only ones who can be consistently wrong and still get paid To know where you are going you have to know where you have been. · 20 years ago Electronic Documents were on paper · It was the beginning of ‘Acronym Hell’ · We felt compelled to make things Better, Faster, and Cheaper · The Law of Unintended Consequences appeared Technology improves our lives by making us more efficient. Computers were supposed to make things easy, but we now spend more time at the office. Do acronyms really save time or just cheapen the language. Do they help communication or lead to confusion? · Time compresses · Life speeds up · Do more with less · Everything becomes a commodity Convergence: The document continuum: · Data collection · Validation · Mining · Document design · Composition · Production · Distribution · Response Who is responsible for the document? Marketing, IS, Operations? Divergence: · Document design: In-house or Out-house · What is the role of IS? Whose document is it anyway? · Document Production: Cost versus Convenience · Delivery Channels: The Internet has not ascended, while print and mail live on For a PDF copy of these notes, click on the icon.

Chicagoland Chapter Events - Review of 5/07/04 Meeting