MPS
PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
31
It is customary to divide managed
print offerings into Basic Print
Services (BPS), consisting of device
and consumables monitoring with
alerts and easy ordering when new
supplies are required, and Managed
Print Services (MPS), which offer
pro-active consumables management
and the assessment, right-sizing
and continuous improvement of a
printer fleet.
Now, Lexmark is introducing a
third category specially designed for IT
resellers that want to strengthen ties with
customers and capture more of their print-
related spend. Sitting somewhere between
a BPS and an MPS, the Lexmark Advantage
MPS Core Program is a post-sales service
and support offering for Lexmark print
devices sold or leased by a reseller. It
provides:
n
proactive consumables monitoring,
with just-in-time delivery of replacement
supplies;
n
device monitoring;
n
remote collection of page counts via
cloud services;
n
servicing and maintenance;
n
quarterly billing;
n
a single click charge;
n
no minimum number of devices;
n
no minimum print volumes.
Advantage MPS Core Program includes
elements not normally found in a BPS, such
as proactive consumables management,
but also lacks key elements of an MPS,
notably printer fleet assessments and
right-sizing.
Leaning on Lexmark
The big benefit for Lexmark’s target market
of IT resellers that don’t have the expertise,
infrastructure or confidence to deliver MPS
themselves is that almost all elements of
the service are delivered by Lexmark. The
only thing the reseller has to do is add
margin to the bill it receives from Lexmark
and submit the final invoice to the client.
Martin Fairman, Lexmark Channel Sales
Director, UK & Ireland, said: “We do all
the heavy lifting for a reseller. We will set
up software on the end user site so that
we can monitor the estate; we will do all
the proactive consumables management,
which is a unique part of our offering; and
we will do all of the maintenance and all
of the servicing necessary for the life of the
contract. The reseller has little exposure to
any of the aspects people associate with
MPS.
“Where we do differ from some of our
competitors’ offerings is that we don’t
want to invoice the end user directly, which
is what a lot of our competitor vendors
are doing. We will take all the data from
the end user and we will package it in an
invoice directly to the reseller. We then ask
the reseller to add their margin – whatever
they feel comfortable justifying to the
end user for the service that Lexmark is
providing on their behalf – and send the
invoice to the end user.”
Fairman said that maintaining that
connection between reseller and customer
is a key selling point of Lexmark’s
programme.
“It’s really important for Lexmark,” he
said. “We know there's a lot of concern
in the IT market that vendors seem to be
seeking a direct relationship with many
more end users, so we want to make sure
the reseller is always in touch with their
end user. While they rely on our heavy
infrastructure to manage the estate, they
are the ones that present the invoice on
a quarterly basis. It gives them a reason
to go back to that end user to talk
about other applications and software
that Lexmark can help them deliver to
transform a standard MPS into more of a
digitised process.”
Simple entry point
The Advantage MPS Core Program is
specially designed to give SMEs and IT
resellers a simple entry point to MPS. This,
says Fairman, explains why there are no
minimum fleet sizes or page volumes – and
also why expensive fleet assessments are
not part of the programme.
Lexmark has launched a no-risk MPS offering for IT resellers
wanting to get more value from hardware sales.
PITR
spoke
to Lexmark Channel Sales Director Martin Fairman about its
benefits and how it fits into Lexmark’s existing portfolio
Big margins, no risk
“There’s no minimum number of
devices on the contract that we offer to
partners. If they find a customer with one
machine, we will satisfy that requirement.
It’s not ideal; we’re probably after a
50-100 plus estate, but we are realistic,”
Fairman said.
“And there is no minimum bill, so
whether the end user prints 1 page or
1,000 pages, we will only charge for what
they print and that is a fixed cost per copy
throughout the contract. There is also a
small monthly service charge per device
that covers all maintenance for the life of
a contract and the delivery of consumables
to the end user’s site. We’ve made it a
really simple, but very comprehensive
package to go to end users with.”
Fairman added that the simplicity and
affordability of the programme precludes
the requirement for fleet assessments.
“Very few resellers have the skill set or
the manpower to go out and do site audits.
And end users typically want these for free,
so we have taken that element out of the
programme,” he said.
Risk-free
Because Lexmark is responsible for all
aspects of the MPS, it is promoting the
There is no
minimum bill,
so whether
the end user
prints 1 page
or 1,000
pages, we will
only charge
for what they
print
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Lexmark :
Advantage MPS
Core Program
