Message to Dealers: To Stay in the Black, Go Green An eco-friendly print program can actually boost your bottom line. Managed Print Solutions are ready with the green products that our dealers need to serve environmentally-conscious customers. How does one sell a green solution? We will provide a cost/benefit analysis from an actual client to demonstrate the true savings of a green program. The result is a clear example of how being good to the earth is good for business, too. Dealers can improve their balance sheet by building a greener bottom line. Making the transition to sustainable products is happening across the globe virtually overnight. And overnight is not a moment too soon. In fact, many companies are moving to a completely new way to measure corporate performance called Triple Bottom Line Accounting. That is, one must measure not only financial profit, but equally consider the cost to the planet and the impact on people. So the new 3 “Ps” are people, profit, planet. A Managed Print Solutions program that’s eco-friendly meets all three criteria. By using refurbished printers, remanufactured parts, compatible toner and remote monitoring software, dealers can keep printer and MFP parts out of landfills while simultaneously earning a higher profit. The key is to be able to offer all of the refurbished products, compatible toner and software in one complete package. Refurbished Printers We’ll start with refurbished printers. In our industry, eco-friendly products are actually less expensive than new ones. Dealers can significantly impact the first “P” — profit — by purchasing refurbished printers. Dealers can reclaim cash by selling us their used Hewlett Packard and Lexmark business class laser printers – further boosting their green bottom line. They can then turn around and purchase other refurbished printers and remanufactured parts at a major savings. The cost of a quality, refurbished HP 4200n printer is $350i. Compare that to the cost of a new one at $1,479. That’s a gross margin improvement of X percent. Multiply that across an entire fleet and dealers will save tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. The second “P” is planet. Environmentally-conscious customers know that for decades, used printers went straight into landfills. That means every electronic, cable, aluminum roller, plastic panel… everything. Hauling away old printers is not only expensive, it’s bad business. Instead of sending hundreds of thousands of used parts off to landfills, we’ve developed a highly respected refurbishing team that refurbishes and resells these components. As a result, we can offer lower-cost products that meet the strictest quality standards — as well as provide discounts to customers who return old parts to us. The effort enables us to keep literally hundreds of tons of parts out of landfills and in productive use every year. Refurbished Parts Depending on the printer model, we’re able to salvage as many as 40 parts for refurbishing and reuse. We can pass the savings along to customers in the form of discounted parts. The cost savings of a new vs. refurbished fuser is clear: a refurbished maintenance kit for the HP 4200n is only $119 vs. new at $174. Multiply that savings over the course of several years and the green bottom line keeps you from going into the red. However, it’s not safe to assume that the vendor you select for refurbished parts is automatically “green.” As you execute this strategy, make sure that your partners are using the best practices in sustainability. At Parts Now!, if we can’t refurbish it, we’ll recycle it. In fact, we’ve been recycling nearly all non-repairable material for many years. Pallet loads of aluminum, steel, printer electronics, urethane foam, cardboard and white paper are recycled every week. Although no regulations require us to recycle much of the material we work with, we make the effort because we believe it’s the right thing to do. For example, in the remanufacturing process, the upper fuser roller is 100% replaced, creating a key byproduct of aluminum. Last year, we recycled 7,733 pounds of aluminum. That’s 3.9 tons! In total, we recycled 394 tons of materials in 2009. There’s a practical side to green initiatives – the opportunity to save each and every day. Remanufactured Toner Cartridges Perhaps nowhere else is the opportunity to green your bottom line more apparent than with toner. According to our toner partner, more than 500 million OEM toner and inkjet cartridges are manufactured every year. If these cartridges are not diverted from our landfills, this equates to almost 1,000 tons of unnecessary pollution that can enter our waste stream every day. In addition to this potential waste, more than three quarts of oil are consumed during the manufacturing of every OEM cartridge. This equates to more than 375 million gallons of oil consumed every year to make toner and inkjet cartridges. Purchasing compatible toner can have the most significant impact on your profit margin. A standard monochrome compatible toner costs less than half that of a new one. Going back to our HP 4200n model, that’s the difference between $66 vs. $135 new. A jumbo compatible toner ($106) provides an even greater value and twice the coverage. Remote Monitoring Software The value of the remote monitoring software lies in its ability to bring the entire strategy together. The Energy Consumption Report reveals approximately how much a printer costs in terms of its energy consumption. The Utilization Report can answer the question, “What percentage toward the maximum duty cycle of a machine are you currently printing at each month?” These two reports help a customer right-size their fleet with energy and usage as the decision-making factors, leading to a more energy-efficient fleet. 4200n Refurbished New Printer $350.00 $1,479.00 Standard $132 $270.10 Monochrome toner (2) ($66  X 2) ($135.05 X 2) Jumbo toner (1) $106 (XX version) NONE Maintenance Kits (1) $119 (OEM-BB) $174 (AB)   Year One: TOTAL SAVINGS: $1,042.10 For the third “P” – people – we know that employees everywhere care about the environment. Our most practical ideas have come from employees themselves. A recent CompTia survey revealed that 67% of respondents place green IT as a mid- to high-level priority and 60% already had some type of green IT strategy in placeii. The fact is, green matters. The economic landscape is radically changing in ways that utterly redefine business performance and, ultimately, profitability. Today’s green incentives will inevitably become tomorrow’s tax. When that day arrives – sooner than you think – the dealer that’s built a strong green foundation is the dealer that will prosper. The view that a managed print program either benefits business or benefits the environment is a trade-off that dealers can no longer afford. It’s not an either/or proposition. What’s good for the Earth is good for business. i A third-party vendor ii CompTia.org As Director of Field Sales and Managed Print Solutions at Parts Now!, Matt helps companies unlock new revenue with total turnkey print management . His approach goes far beyond the technology, teaching companies how to first build a strong service platform. He offers a unique combination of strategic consulting, custom marketing, a parts strategy, training and technical support along with industry-leading software to set companies up for success. Prior to joining Parts Now!, the nation's largest laser printer parts distributor, Matt held sales positions in the healthcare market at DePuy Orthopaedics, Merck & Company and Dey Labs. He earned a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Matt often speaks at industry trade shows and authors articles for trade magazines to further strengthen the industry. He is a board member of the Managed Print Services Association.