Managed Print Services and the Digital Transformation of Retail
There’s no denying that digital innovation and the pace of change have had a significant impact on the retail landscape. With the rapid increase of online shopping and the worlds of online and physical retail shifting and blurring all the time, these are uncertain times indeed.
But where there is change, there is opportunity. While some businesses are being left behind and disappearing fast, those that are successfully navigating this digital transformation are enjoying increased success and a more secure future.
So, what are they doing right?
Experience and service are the biggest differentiators for retail businesses. As a result, the businesses that excel in this area are the ones coming out on top. But building these experiences takes time and money, so where do you find the cost savings to fund investment and how do you free up your staff to focus on customer experience?
Managed Print Services for digital transformation
Implementing digital transformation can help you develop the smarter, more efficient processes you need to cut costs, improve productivity and future-proof your business.
Print is an area of digital transformation that presents a significant opportunity for retail businesses to streamline their operations and find cost efficiencies. Switching to Managed Print Services is the fastest and most effective way to ‘digitally transform’ your print infrastructure – simplifying and centralising the whole operation.
Four out of five (81%) retailers say digitising paper-based processes will be important for driving their organisation’s digital transformation over the next seven years.
A ‘connected’ print fleet is a much smarter approach, especially when you’re operating across multiple locations. With the ability to communicate with a central print management system, you can keep track of different devices and how they are being used with ease. This means you can monitor how different teams are using supplies and be alerted to spikes in consumption. You can also track levels of supplies and automatically receive new ones when they are running low, so supplies arrive ‘just-in-time’.
Another key benefit is the simplicity of remote remediation, where technical support can be delivered remotely, removing the need for call outs and cutting the downtime before things are fixed – 90% of enquiries in relation to Brother products are resolved by telephone.
With a connected fleet you can also simultaneously deploy software updates without the need for site visits or hardware to be brought ‘back to base’.
All of this adds up to a much simpler system and will help to significantly reduce the work involved with managing your print infrastructure.
Print and costs under control
Managed Print Services put you in complete control. With visibility of print costs and how print resources are being used in your business, it’s easier to spot other opportunities to save time and money.
Brother helped Laura Ashley uncover new efficiency gains by implementing a company-wide Managed Print Service. After carrying out a full audit of the group’s print function, we installed new high-capacity multifunction colour printers across the network of 167 stores.
The results were staggering: a 45% reduction in print spend, 75% fewer toner replacements and 50% fewer service calls. Staff reported much faster printing and better quality documents too.
Of course, the most instantly attractive of these operational efficiencies is the financial savings. Managed Print Services have been proven to help retail businesses stack up impressive savings. Brother worked with Day Lewis pharmacy to reduce print costs by 20% across all sites, equating to a saving of more than £100,000 a year.
Ultimately, these cost savings and the time saved can be reinvested into more valuable places.
Time and money better spent
The money saved with a more efficient print process can be reinvested into delivering service your customers will love. Whether that’s new in-store experiences or even increasing the availability of staff.
Managed Print Services and digital transformation will help you free up your staff to focus on offering this game-changing service and spend less time dealing with print and document management.
Find out more about Managed Print Services and how they can be tailored to your retail business here.