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Trying To Cut Copy Costs?
Yes, You Can!
Note: This issue is particularly pertinent to CFOs and COOs. Please forward as you deem appropriate.
Eight out of 10 law firms would be very surprised to learn what they're paying for copies on a per-copy basis. On the average in AmLaw 200 firms, we see 8 cents per page instead of the penny they'd assumed.
Given today's difficult economy -- and the fact that copy and print costs are typically the third largest expense in a firm (3% of your revenue according to Gartner) -- not having a firm grasp on your copy outlay is not where you want to be right now.
What's YOUR cost per copy? Don't look at your overage rate; instead, divide the total of your monthly base and overage charge by the actual copies made. That's the true cost per copy.
I just visited a firm that was paying almost TWO DOLLARS per page for one copier because they were locked into a $562-a-month lease and were making only 300 copies a month (divide $562 by 300) even though their allowance was something like 90,000 copies a month. They thought they were paying less than a penny a copy. Not even close. Do you know of a copier in your firm that isn't being used as much as it once was?
The truth is that copy salespeople are awfully good at convincing customers to buy larger copiers than they really need. And once locked into a contract, most firms never take a second look to see if there's anything they can do to reduce their monthly nut. I'm here to tell you that you CAN trim your copying costs.
It all starts with leasing the right copier for your needs. A salesperson will tell you that you need to get a bigger copier, something "you can grow into" that's faster and has a larger duty cycle. But we're not children growing up and buying a pair of shoes; there's no need to "grow into" a copier. In this economic cycle, firms are printing and copying less. If you commit to copying and paying for 100,000 copies a month and you only make 50,000 copies, your cost-per-copy is double what it should be and you're paying for copies you never made.
In the best of all possible worlds, you want to do an assessment of your fleet BEFORE you lock yourself into contracts. Figure out what your needs are in terms of monthly volume and functionality. The $4,800 multi-function printer may be all you need, not a $25,000 copier with a 36-month commitment.
Do you know how to do an assessment? The good news is that Advantage performs this service for our clients for free. And because we do them all the time, we are able to bring to the party three things that most law firms can't -- we know what information to gather, we're proficient at doing that, and we have the time. (If you're not a client, we can do the assessment for a fee … or talk to you about how you can do it yourself.)
But what if you've already signed a contract? Then the assessment still needs to be done anyway, especially the "lease aging schedule" portion which shows when each of the copiers is going to come off their lease. We'll determine what equipment you have, what each piece of equipment costs to operate, and for how long you are committed to keeping that equipment. And I'd recommend updating that assessment at least six months before the commitment ends so you can determine what's your best course of action when the copier salesperson comes a-knockin'.
The assessment can actually start saving you money immediately. If you discover that you're currently paying for copies that you aren't making, you may want to direct your printing to that copier instead of to your printer which essentially means you'll be getting copies "for free." We call that "right-sizing" … directing your printing to where it has the lowest cost to you. You may have one copier that's actually being over-used and you're being charged overages for it, while the one over in the corner is being under-used. Saving money could involve something as simple as relocating the copiers and right-sizing the printer and copier fleet. That's the kind of information an assessment reveals.
We recommend the following:
- Do due diligence. Don't just rely on copier salesmen to look out for your best interests.
- Read and understand contracts before you sign them.
- Never sign a contract with an evergreen clause.
- Conduct a copy assessment and find out the truth. Plan based on knowledge.
- With the new economy, don't make expensive long-term commitments.
And you can print that!
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About Us |
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Advantage Enterprises delivers advisory and managed print services, primarily to Am Law 100 law firms so they can focus on their highest and best purpose of billing their time and growing their client base.
For over 20 years, Advantage's environmentally green
lifecycle management programs have increased productivity
of printing and imaging fleets and cut costs while
saving the environment.
To learn more about what gives the top law firms their
competitive edge, please visit our Web site at www.advtg.com
or e-mail us at
marketing@advtg.com. |
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Warren Jones was previously CIO of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and is now managing director of management consulting firm 
"Can you recommend a few dashboard metrics that I could watch to make sure that my fleet is doing okay?"
We recommend our clients establish a few dashboard metrics to give them a quick way to check their fleet's performance and compare it to that of their other offices and even competing law firms.
