Local council transforms print infrastructure to achieve cost savings of 30 per cent

Xerox will support BT to reduce Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council’s office printing costs by up to 30 per cent in a five-year, multi-million pound managed print service agreement.

The new managed print service will provide the council with a complete view of its office print environment, enabling it to take control of all costs and processes related to office output devices. Xerox and BT will work together to implement a print management strategy helping the council meet sustainability targets, increase efficiency and reduce costs.

The managed print service will be rolled out as part of ‘Transform Sandwell’, a 15-year partnership between Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and BT to transform Sandwell’s IT infrastructure. Xerox will work with BT to integrate the managed print service into its broader IT service to ensure a seamless user experience.

The Xerox/BT programme includes the replacement of 1,500 printers with 150 new energy-saving multi-functional printers. The team will also introduce ‘follow-me’ printing, which will enable council staff to send a print job to any device on any floor of the council’s premises and release the job with a swipe card. This will ensure documents do not go unattended or unclaimed, helping improve efficiency and security as well as reducing waste.

Stuart Kellas, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council’s finance director, said: “This initiative with Xerox and BT not only saves the council a significant amount of money straight away, but will ensure costs are controlled and managed over the lifetime of the agreement. The partnership’s joint expertise gives great confidence that our crucial cost-reduction, service and wider business objectives will be delivered.”