What's the difference between "cost" and "waste"?
(Not that this question would be part of any DOTC MPS Professional Certification)
Cost - "An amount paid or required in payment for a purchase; a price..."
Waste - "To use, consume, spend, or expend thoughtlessly or carelessly..."
Cost is the 'acceptable' amount of money you will pay for the water bill each month; waste is the act of leaving the water hose on over the weekend.
Do you see the difference?
Let's continue.
Consider: did all this 30-40% savings simply show up with the advent of MPS?
Weren't there closets full of toner cartridges, back in 2006?
Weren't companies leasing machines with 11x17 capacity, and never using 11x17, back in 2005?
How long has scanning been available? How about ECM and EDM? Or fax servers?
Waste vs. Cost.
The difference may be nuance to some, but I contend, if you can get your head around this issue, you go into each MPS opportunity a bit differently then, let's say, the typical copier sales rep.
The next time you are interviewing an CFO, ask him to point out any department, any area in his company, where he might cut 30% costs...20% costs...or even 10%.
Then ask, where he thinks he might be able to cut 30% waste...20% waste...or even 10 waste%
Go ahead. I dare you.
Next, ask what he thinks needs to be done to avoid the exact same thing from happening again.
Do you think he needs to find a cheaper vendor or a better process?
What does this have to do with utilizing MPS to land more gear?
Absolutely nothing.
This illuminates the painfully obvious.
It's been here all along right in front of us - MPS is not about hardware, toner, cost per image, remote monitoring, the cheapest price, free assessments, lease payments, or 1:1 fleet refresh.
It, MPS, is about "Process".
It'll never stick, but, the "P" in MPS could stand for "Process".
"Managed Process Services" - I can hear marketing heads popping from Tokyo to Boise to Norwalk. You see, OEM's are NOT PART OF THE PROCESS, because hardware is not part of THE process.
'Cost' is necessary.
'Waste' is avoidable and typically a result of faulty or an un-optimized process.
Specifically for MPS, the faulty is the decision processes of the past - hardware centric.
So, when you target WASTE instead of COST, you address the process, all processes within a business. This elevates your discussion to the C-Level and beyond Purchasing.
Do you get it? Just a silly notion of mine...that's all.
Kings of Leon - "Notion"
It's November 2010. I wonder how long before "Waste vs. Cost" starts showing up in MPS Classes and Webinar slide shows...
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