Case Study: Department of Ecology — State of Washington

A rightsized printing fleet saves $200,000 annually while tangible data transforms decision-making.

About Washington State's Department of Ecology

Washington State's Department of Ecology is charged with protecting, preserving and enhancing Washington's environment, while promoting the wise management of its air, land and water. Workers embrace this mission every day as they serve everyone from rural farm families to suburbanites to urban dwellers. They operate out of their main headquarters and four regional offices.

"Working with Ricoh, I've learned that they aren't just a print output company. They're really an information management company."
Gary "Mace" Maciejewski
Manager of Infrastructure and Operations
Department of Ecology, State of Washington

Challenge

There were many unknowns at Washington State's Department of Ecology. They had no rules around printer procurement, so desktop printers were proliferating. Without a printer map, no one knew exactly where printers were installed. And decision-makers had no idea how much it cost to buy, run and maintain the print environment — let alone determine how much time was spent printing or waiting for print jobs.

Seeking to right the ship, the department searched for a partner flexible enough to work with budget-strapped government agencies, and willing to absorb some of the business risk.

Solution

Contrary to their environmental mission, the Department of Ecology had become a de facto "department of printing." They had more than 380 devices, and around 80 different models, that were being used by more than 1,500 staff. They needed a partner to not just rightsize their fleet, but help them understand their entire printing ecosystem to make better decisions going forward.

The department chose us as their partner for multifunction printers (MFPs) and Managed Print Services (MPS). The solution involved rightsizing their printing fleet to less than half its current size, and replacing devices with lower-cost, high-speed, better-quality MFPs. TRAC print management software was installed to proactively manage service calls and supply reorders at five department locations.

Other factors beyond technology tipped the scale in our favor:

We committed to continuous services improvement, and subsequently earned a partnership badge from the department.
No devices were purchased or leased. Instead, we structured a pay-per-page pricing model that shifted the business risk to us.
We provided valuable information on the entire printing ecosystem: print volumes, device usage, supply information, service-level data and cost insight.

The department is now taking the next leap: making information mobile for employees. They are testing RICOH HotSpot mobile printing, which allows workers to print anywhere, anytime to Ricoh devices from an app on their tablets and mobile phones.

Results

Scenic View Of Trees Growing In Forest During Foggy Weather

Working together now for nearly a decade has produced impressive outcomes. The department has saved $200,000 annually by reducing and rightsizing their fleet. They now know exactly how many pages they print and at what locations to make intelligent decisions. Faster print speeds and reliable print services are the norm. Desktop printers no longer clutter offices, freeing more space for productive uses. And non-claimed, non-authorized print output has been dramatically reduced, resulting in less paper waste.

"Having MPS saves so much time and effort — and increases our efficiency. I routinely explain to other agencies how using an MPS approach has benefited our agency," said Gary "Mace" Maciejewski, Manager of Infrastructure and Operations at the Department of Ecology, State of Washington.

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