By Bill Johnson

Striving to achieve document acquisition as close to the point of origination as possible has been a design objective for solution architects for as long as we have been working in the EDMS world. We are all aware of the potential benefits and cost savings from:
• accelerated transaction times
• accelerated capital application
• labor reductions through the elimination of redundant effort
• the reduction of in process errors as a result of reducing the number of touches by preserving transactional data electronically

With recent advances in distributed capture control software, wide availability of high speed Internet, and secure FTP transmission; many companies are reaping huge benefits using intra-corporate distributed capture and shared B2B document capability.

When looking at this model through the lens of efficiency and constraint we find one of the most underutilized devices in the model is the multi-function device (MFD). This is the scan/fax/print device produced by all the major office equipment providers and sold as the ultimate versatility machine for your office. Interestingly enough, we find that many companies and government agencies that deploy MFDs also deploy B/W and color printers in almost equal numbers. Research indicates that most businesses use their MFD’s for copying and scanning and for some reason, they print on a separate device.

Because printers are relatively inexpensive and the cost to support them (ink, paper, maintenance, etc.) typically falls under office supplies in the budget, the true cost of operation can go undetected. One study conducted by a major city administration puts their true cost of a $649 printer at $1,800 dollars over 3 years after ink and consumables are factored in. I have seen deployments where virtually every administrative and/or “contributing” person had their own “small” printer because it was “more efficient” and yet there was an MFD nearby as well. The same applies to desktop scanners, when an MFD is around the corner. I have even seen people print from a personal or department printer and make 25 copies on the MFD sitting right next to it. Government studies have shown savings in excess of $18,000 per year per MFD when organizations consolidate on using the total capability of an MFD to also print, scan, and fax.

Many organizations are adopting distributed capture with MFDs as the scanning device. This is excellent from a process standpoint but they too have a negative aspect that often flies below the radar. As these devices are typically classed as departmental acquisitions, it is not uncommon to see large organizations with several different models of MFD spread throughout their organizations—with the associated document or image library that comes with them. Accounting has one device, maybe Xerox. Branch Operations has another, perhaps Richoh. Et cetera, et cetera. Couple this tendency with corporate mergers and acquisitions where you have to metabolize existing systems into your own and you can easily see how it can drive the IT department nuts; i.e., ending up with multiple leading manufactures like Xerox, Ricoh, Canon, Sharp, and Konica Minolta to support can drive you bonkers.

This operating scenario brings to light a number of areas of additional cost savings and increased efficiency opportunities. The first thing to do is analyze your printer utilization and determine any optimization through the use of MFDs as their replacement. I would not be surprised to see a 30 to 50% reduction in the number of devices and associated cost of operation in consumables and maintenance.

As you research MFDs for your company, remember that they are not all created equal—many offer their advanced functions as an “add on” to the base price. Various manufacturers are at different stages with respect to the capability of their control panel and there has been more than one large company who bought into the MFD strategy as an early adopter and found out that, while their device was capable of scanning, they failed to purchase that option at the time and were faced with upgrade or replacement requirements.

The other thing to do is research centralized control software for those devices. There are a number of Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s) who are developing server based software that allows you to program a “soft button” on the MFD.
 
All the operator has to do is put the document in the feeder and select the appropriate process button. Under the button is the intelligence that defines the business process rules to the central or interim repository. If your application is a departmental electronic library you may need to go no further. If you have more sophisticated needs and/or already have a capture process in place like Kofax, AnyDoc, Captiva, etc. the MFD central repository provides an excellent staging point for submission to those applications. In addition, you are able to extend the audit function further up the process line to the point of origination using database reporting tools and dashboards.

One of the big benefits here is you can address multiple makes and models of MFD. This keeps your IT department happier, you get much better utilization of devices and consumables and you tighten the noose with respect to error elimination and correction.

Bill Johnson has been in the Process Improvement field for over 30 years the last 18 at the helm of a successful EDMS Systems Integrator. He has recently formed Result Oriented Solutions, Inc., (www.ros-inc.com) a consulting firm dedicated to the EDMS industry specializing in optimized capture solutions, application architecture and design, project management, and opportunity/environmental assessments.