International fashion giant

Added value for the customer

Management Summary

In addition to replacing its printer fleet, the major fashion retailer was looking for a service partner capable of implementing a standardized concept for all of its international branches. The company is already benefiting from the Managed Print Services of IT-HAUS GmbH at its German and Belgian locations. The central administration of the consolidated systems, including the supply of consumables, ensures greater transparency at significantly lower costs. Thanks to a global partner network, the devices can be rolled out worldwide if required.

Project environment

At its two main locations, the German headquarters in Düsseldorf with around 1,200 employees and the Belgian headquarters near Brussels with 600 employees, the customer had a historically grown print fleet without comprehensive management. There was also a lack of overview of device numbers and utilization. The experts at IT-HAUS identified a total inventory of around 600 printers from different manufacturers and around 50 multifunctional devices (MFPs) at the Düsseldorf site and a further 50 MFPs in the branches throughout Germany. In addition, there were between 50 and 100 end devices in Belgium, including around 20 MFPs. When the existing support contracts expired, the company intended to replace them with new devices across the board. In view of the low print volume, the focus was on consolidation. The aim was to consolidate the fleet to eight device classes from a single manufacturer (HP) and to save at least two thirds of all office devices by using centralized floor systems with full functions and end processing options. Furthermore, a kind of all-round carefree package including automated delivery of consumables and service was envisaged, not least to relieve the burden on purchasing. Ultimately, however, the decisive factor was the customer's desire for a service provider that was also able to deliver to its international locations. This is where IT-HAUS , in close cooperation with HP, scored with an unprecedented end-to-end concept that none of the competitors were able to offer.

Project success

The flexible concept provides for a gradual replacement of the existing infrastructure: The MFPs will be rolled out first in Belgium, then in Germany, so that users can switch to these devices immediately after support for the standalone printers ends or in the event of a defect. However, individual needs are also taken into account: If necessary, employees can select an office device from a defined shopping basket. In this way, the customer ensures user acceptance; additional devices can also be integrated into the concept at any time. All basic configurations and security settings for the machines are worked out together with the customer and distributed to the devices in advance using deployment software so that they can be delivered to the customer ready for operation. On-site commissioning is carried out by IT-HAUS Field Service. In this way, around 200 new devices are to be rolled out across Germany alone within two years. In addition to supplying the customer with consumables, a globally valid framework agreement regulates the provision of comprehensive services. The customer pays their toner consumption and a fixed service fee via a monthly collective invoice. This includes all maintenance costs such as replacement and wear parts, technician assignments and the provision of appropriate software. As a managed services provider, IT-HAUS assumes responsibility for the smooth operation of the systems on behalf of its customers. This also includes proactive remote and on-site maintenance. This means that IT-HAUS uses various monitoring tools to monitor device utilization, for example, in order to ensure the optimal use of all devices over the entire contract period. In addition, the Föhren-based company is also on hand to support and advise its premium support customers in the event of server-side faults or firmware problems.

Software

The printing environment is managed centrally via the manufacturer-independent ECI FMAudit solution, which records all relevant data from the existing systems. Daily counter readings, broken down by color, format, duplex, etc., are automatically transmitted, and an automated toner requirement message is sent to IT-HAUS as soon as a defined threshold value is not reached. The software also uses an encrypted connection to automatically inform you of any faults so that IT-HAUS , as a service partner, can take quick and targeted action if necessary. The solution is enhanced by HP Smart Device Services (SDS), a cloud application for remote monitoring and management of HP fleets. The data generated by the sensor is securely stored by the FMAudit Onsite Client in a cloud hosted by IT-HAUS and managed via a web portal. Management functions such as restarts or firmware updates can be carried out easily via interfaces. The time required for error qualification in the IT service desk is reduced by up to 90 percent, while cloud-supported on-demand training also significantly shortens technician deployments at the customer's premises. Kofax SafeCom is used as a globally standardized authentication solution. Thanks to the so-called Follow-MePrinting software, every MFP in the company functions like a personal printer. Users send their print jobs and authenticate themselves at any device in the network to collect their printouts. However, these are not sent directly to the printer, but first end up in a virtual print queue. They remain encrypted until the user authenticates themselves at the device using their employee ID card (end-to-end encryption). This not only increases security, but also reduces the number of uncollected, mixed-up or lost print jobs and therefore material consumption and printing costs. The HP Workpath apps installed on the MFPs also enable the devices to communicate directly with the cloud. After authentication on the device, employees can access both Microsoft OneDrive for Business and SharePoint.

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