Fonda-Fultonville Central School District Cuts Costs
Fonda-Fultonville Central School District recently announced that it has partnered with Canon Business Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. and a leading provider of document imaging and print production solutions, to achieve their goal of reducing costs while consolidating all document management services through a single company. nge over."
Fonda-Fultonville Central School District faced many challenges with their print production, including having a multitude of separate, unrelated devices for printing, copying and faxing. The District lacked the ability to systematically control printing costs or require authorization for users, and was unable to scan, print in color or connect devices through a network. The District recognized the need to achieve significant cost advantages, increase employee productivity and reduce waste. This meant not just obtaining new machines, but the addition of software to monitor and control print services.
Mr. Carey Shultz, District Treasurer, stated, “Change in any public school district is extremely difficult. The copier contract and logistics of printing/copying had been the same for almost 20 years. To introduce a completely different setup both on the hardware and software side was going to be no easy task.”
Fonda-Fultonville Central School District chose Canon Business Solutions for their improved workflow options, cost control management software and ongoing consultative services.
Mr. Andrew Vern Rosenkrans, Document Management Solutions Analyst at Canon Business Solutions said, “After meeting with the District and surveying their current equipment, needs and costs, it was quickly surmised that they were in need of a technology upgrade. Our proposal included recommendations for device security, output management and document management.” Working with Mr. Nicholas Stone, Account Executive, a plan was developed to meet and exceed all of the requirements of the District. As a result, over the next five years the District expects to realize savings of at least $256,000 through the new hardware contract alone. “Add in projected savings of $219,000 through the usage of budgeting and output control software,” said Mr. Stone, “and total savings for this time period could be nearly half a million dollars.”
When searching for a managed document solution provider, the District was looking to replace their current staggered leases with a single-lease fleet of upgraded machines, all of which would have printing, copying, faxing and scanning capabilities. The District wanted to take advantage of latest software offerings available for output management, including reporting, statistics, rules-based routing and secure printing. They needed to be able to implement a budgeting system and user authorization controls. Additionally, they wanted all of their document management needs served through a single contract, not only for convenience but to realize even greater cost savings.
The managed document solution the District arrived at through its selection of Canon Business Solutions included all of the hardware, software and support services that should be necessary to be successful. Canon Business Solutions agreed to supply the District with:
13 imageRUNNER multifunction devices, all of which have duplex and full-color scanning capabilities; One imageWARE Document Server, to be used as a repository for all financial and student records for the District’s Business Office and the Pupil Services Department; and uniFLOW, a print analysis and reporting solution that allows the District to accurately measure usage and cost by user, workgroup or department.
Fonda-Fultonville Central School District was able to eliminate dozens of outdated, cost-intensive inkjet printers and replace them with fewer, yet more efficient, multifunction devices. All users now have easy access to faxing, printing, copying and scanning through strategically placed machines. One of the devices the District chose also has booklet finishing capabilities, expanding the services available in their copy center.
By implementing budget control software, the District is now able to control print resources and assign specific cost allocations, which should result in significant savings. uniFLOW will help manage and control print jobs to maximize productivity and minimize expenditures. It can be used to implement individual or role-based profiles on each device, ensuring appropriate usage as well as reduced overages. For example, students may only be allowed to print in black-and-white and the number of pages they may print is restricted, while teachers and support staff may have access to color and other features.
The result is that the District’s print environment is now more secure, yet simple to manage. Teachers can send a document to print while in the classroom, and pick it up between classes or later in the day at any conveniently located device. Security is ensured because the job won’t actually print until the teacher provides authentication at the machine. This also prevents overuse, as forgotten printouts won’t pile up and need to be discarded.
Soon after the installation of the devices and solutions, the new software proved its value. A teacher contacted the business office and stated that he was unable to print, and a pop-up message was telling him that he had $0.00 left in his budget. After generating a quick report, it was determined that the user had exceeded his monthly budget and was prevented from making any further copies or prints. The teacher was given a small amount of overage until the end of the month, when his budget would be reset automatically along with those of all the other faculty members. Mr. Shultz declared, "The new system works perfectly."
Through working with Canon Business Solutions, Fonda-Fultonville Central School District created a new document management strategy that has resulted in increased efficiency and lower costs. This was achieved through a single contract instead of multiple leases with varying expiration dates, resulting in a much simpler process. The District was able to implement programs that are designed to reduce waste and have a positive impact on the environment while also controlling costs more easily. Said Mr. Shultz, “The switch to all Canon products has been one of the best decisions the District has made this year. Nick Stone, our Sales Representative and Vern Rosenkrans, Technical Support Representative, were and continue to be incredibly attentive, professional and instrumental in the continued success of this change over."
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