Fraser Helps Foster Wheeler Improve Their Business

Fraser Helps Foster Wheeler Improve Their Business
Challenge
• Unfavorable Multifunctional Copier Contract
• Unmanaged Printer and Fax Machine Fleet
• Costly Document Management
Solution
• Right Size Printer and Copier Fleet
• Ongoing Device Management
• Scan and Archive Legal Files
Benefits
• Better Service
• Flexibility
• Cost Reduction
OUTCOME: Fraser provided an integrated solution to address the company’s document output and management concerns.
Foster Wheeler’s Coal Fired Power Plant division depends on documents to run their daily operations. The challenge was that there was no central strategy to manage document output and storage.
Tasked with reducing overhead expenses and improving productivity, John Cartright, Manager of Indirect Purchasing, saw an opportunity for cost reduction in their copier contract. He didn’t realize that the process he set in motion was going to end up having even more positive benefits.
Fraser Advanced Information Systems helped this Fortune 500 company reduce their costs, improve end user service and boost productivity with an integrated solution including multifunction systems, printers and ImagEze document management.
The Challenges
The company faced several challenges relating to document production and management:
1. Unfavorable Multifunctional Copier Contract
The terms of the contract for the company’s 72 multifunction systems (MFP’s) were not favorable to the company. The contract included a clause that increased the cost-per-image up to 10% per year, adding over 50% to the cost of output over a five year term. The current vendor provided unresponsive service, leading to productivity issues in the office.
2. Unmanaged Printer and Fax Machine Fleet
The company owned a fleet of over 300 printers and 130 fax machines. The challenge was that the devices were not centrally managed. When a printer needed repair, the department sent a requisition to Information Technology (IT). They approved the order and sent it to purchasing. IT was notified when the part came in. In total, it would take 4 to 6 hours of time just to process a repair order.
3. Costly Document Management
A large body of legal documents were being stored offsite in a paper format. The management of these documents was outsourced to a third party. Retrieving documents took time and cost over $85 per hour.
Right Size Printer and Copier Fleet
The first step was to right-size the printer and copier fleet. Faxing function- ality was moved to multifunction systems, eliminating the need for most of the company’s 130 machines. Where appropriate, printing functionality was also moved to MFP’s since the systems cost less to operate than most of the existing desktop printers. The company was able to eliminate 255 printers. 65 of the printers were retained in situations that required standalone printers.
Ongoing Device Management
With the fleet right-sized, Fraser recommended a cost-per-image agreement to manage both MFP’s and printers. The agreement includes supplies, parts and on-site support. Service issues for all document output devices are routed directly to the Fraser field service team. One invoice covers all of the company’s output costs.
Scan and Archive Legal Files
Instead of storing legal documents off site, they are now scanned to ImagEze e-archive. This intuitive document management software makes it easy to retrieve documents by keyword or full text search. The time required to scan the documents is a fraction of the delay and cost of retrieving docu- ments from off site storage.
Benefits
Foster Wheeler is enjoying many benefits from the partnership with Fraser:
Better Service
“In less time than it took us to process an order for a printer repair we can have a Fraser technician on staff to resolve the problem,” comments Cartright. This keeps our staff productive. Since Fraser handles both printer and MFP service, they can take care of multiple issues in a single visit.
Flexibility
“We needed a partner that could be flexible with the terms of the contract. As a local company we found Fraser to be more in tune with us than the large vendor we had used previously.” Fraser worked with the company to develop a line of credit and create terms that fit Foster Wheeler’s specific needs.
Cost Reduction
“When you can improve service and reduce costs at the same time, it is a real win.” The company anticipates saving over $750,000 per year in offsite document storage and retrieval costs. The new arrangement provides several additional areas for cost reduction:
• Fewer devices to power, supply and manage • No annual increase in cost-per-image • Fewer invoices to process
Cartright happily recommends Fraser to other companies looking to improve service and reduce costs. “The one thing I will say about Fraser is that their employees really enjoy working for the company,” remarked Cartright. “Their enthusiasm is something you don’t see every day.”