Sales agency with ongoing strategic support
Sales agency with ongoing strategic support
Building on Success
Keen to pursue its agenda for the Printless offering in the UK, our client extended its pilot agreement with us in order to maintain continuity and exploit market potential with current and potential partners, among enterprise clients, and also in the public sector.
Managing the Cost of Sale
Employing a below-the-line strategy to avoid the need for large investment in building market presence, Acert built the initial sales pipeline from its own network and contacts database, with additional strategic research and targeted activity in certain category areas in order to widen the net. This has created a regular flow of sales engagements, system demonstrations and opportunity development actvities, with examples covering up to multi-million annual page counts in areas such as global logistics, NHS Mental Health Trusts and outsourced IT services.
Value to the Client
For a fraction of the cost of operating a fully-fledged UK subsidiary, our client has been able to project a virtual presence and demonstrate ongoing market continuity, for more than 2 years. Acert resources are on hand to seek and close business, negotiate the contracts, project manage transitions and support ongoing continuous service improvement.
Channel management support
Channel management support
Tactical Engagement
In building a partner network in the UK associated with its Printless service, our French client knew they would need a simple but comprehensive contract structure and content: a partnering Master Services Agreement with individual Customer Engagement Schedules, and back-to-back terms to enable partners to contract the service with their clients as well as a preliminary agreement of partnering ‘intent’, or Heads of Agreement.
We were engaged to create and document the necessary terms across each document type.
Rapid Turnaround
Following workshop sessions and early agreements on content outline, the materials were developed quickly and efficiently. There have been few modifications required so far, and none that justify a major new release as yet.
Project Management methodology and training
Project Management methodology and training
The Challenge for the Client
Operational maturity challenges are common with growing businesses, as they pass the point where process ownership by individual is good enough and find the need for wider process management and disciplines. Our client was at that stage and recognised their need for a common implementations project control, seeking our help with training and materials to resolve the problem.
Our Approach
Acert’s project methodology (based on Prince2) was thought to be an ideal approach and a 3-session training programme was developed to guide the knowledge transfer process.
With sessions at fortnightly intervals, the programme was delivered in just over 4 weeks to the client operations team and to key sales resources.
Enduring Business Benefit
Internal cooperation received a significant boost and the course was well-received, demonstrating management’s commitment to staff training, overall process improvement and customer satisfaction.
Service development consulting in EMEA for a global printer and managed solutions provider OEM
Service development consulting in EMEA for a global printer and managed solutions provider OEM
The Challenge for the Client
Well-known in the middle market for business printers, our client was gearing up to move into managed document solutions, with a wider range of multi-function devices, software and an associated go-to-market strategy. Project lead Javier Lopez needed external assistance with research in order to benchmark country capability across the in-scope markets and with sales operational materials, including Service Catalogue and collateral, partner and customer agreements.
Specialist Workstream Support
Acert was invited to make proposals and bid for the scope of work. On successful award we began work on three distinct workstreams:
Firstly we developed a capabilities matrix, conducting pan-EMEA telephone interviews with country manager-led teams and providing a metrics-based report and capabilities evaluation;
Next we authored a full Service Catalogue interacting with client marketing, operations and software resources. This covered three service lines – entry-level page-based services; managed print services; managed document services. We developed all of the associated operational document materials including forms, fleet data capture workbook, checklists, questionnaires, FAQs, UAT, project control and satisfaction survey;
Finally we created partner and customer agreement templates, used to support three-way contracting between the OEM, partner and end -customer
Enduring Business Benefit
Our client’s managed document solutions have now become firmly established in the market with numerous major flagship customers, a growing network of competent partners and a continuous programme of innovation.
Launching a new managed print service in the UK
Launching a new managed print service in the UK
The Client
A leading French provider in the world of managed print, our client’s software platform has more than 250,000 devices under management, serving countless end-users in banks, hospitals and major retail organisations. Printless is a service based on this platform, allowing UK businesses to acquire the solution at no cost and deploy in a multi-vendor fleet, saving 30% or more on current costs.
Our Appointment
Speaking at an international Managed Print event in Prague, Acert directors met the client’s executive team. Proposals were then discussed in London and in France, following which we were engaged to conduct strategic market exploration, leading to significant relationship development. Based on this success a sales development contract was agreed, with lead generation, creation of a sales funnel and pipeline all in scope.
The client’s go-to-market strategy is indirect, with a significant channel in Europe. Based on demonstration of our capability, Acert was awarded further assignments to develop all of the operational process documentation, the Master Service partner agreement, Customer/Partner agreement templates and partner Heads of Agreement.
Business Impact
Now with multiple partner agreements in place, the project has established both the sales pipeline and the associated collateral for a successful line of business for Printless in the UK.
Managed Print for a London hospitals group
Managed Print for a London hospitals group
Building on Success
Acert’s initial work on spend analysis with this London-based private hospitals client had revealed a significant expenditure category in printing and copying. Further investigation established that current agreements for copiers and printers were over-extended and under-performing. The large number of individual printers in place also indicated large benefit potential from a device consolidation and managed print solution initiative.
We proposed a formal discovery process to scope the opportunity, outline the solution approach, identify the available savings and provide detailed costings for market entry, contracting and transition support.
Phased Approach
Each stage was successfully executed, winning client’s approval for the next phase. We employed a comprehensive supplier selection, tendering and award process to drive highly competitive offers from the market. We provided advice and guidance to the client who selected a preferred and reserve vendor. Retained to manage the contracting phase, we developed and negotiated the service and rental contracts, securing greatly improved commercial terms for the client. Our engagement was then further extended to project management of the service implementation the following months.
Tangible Savings
Each phase of the engagement ran according to its expected time and outputs. The resulting long-term partnership between the client and supplier successfully delivered the expected benefits from a fully managed, secure, ‘print-anywhere’ environment. As a result of our project, the client made substantial savings from reduced print costs, which easily exceeded the £1m (like-for-like) savings target.
Driving managed print savings for a national hospitals group
Driving managed print savings for a national hospitals group
The Challenge for the Client
This private hospitals group provides secure mental health services at its facilities throughout the UK. With a long-term copier/printer agreement expiring soon the Finance Director and Head of IT were keen to seek savings and capture the benefits of a managed print solution.
Building on Success
Acert had previously saved this client a significant sum on their Telecoms and WAN provision, and at the time were engaged on similar managed print agendas with other hospital groups. After carrying out some preliminary analysis to assess the scale of the project, we were able to demonstrate a healthy return on investment in our services and lay out the benefits of the proposed commercial and technical solution.
Formal Methodology
We reviewed the market for suitable candidate suppliers and engaged via our standard multi-stage methodology:
- Request for Information – to explain the opportunity and allow us to qualify the candidate list, followed by an evaluation and initial shortlisting
- Request for Proposal – to allow the suppliers to set out their solutions and approaches, and to allow us to distil our requirements and then shape the final short list
- Request for Quotation – to enable final negotiation on a level playing field
- Bid Summit – to allow the suppliers to present their solutions in a series of presentations leading to the client’s decision to award
Contract Development and Negotiation
With the preferred supplier selected, we then took charge of contract development and negotiation alongside the supplier’s own due diligence process, to establish the final scope and commercials. Upon signature of the agreement we were then retained to programme manage the implementation.
Value to the Client
Through all stages of the project our deliverables were on time and in line or ahead of the client’s expectations. Projected savings were achieved and the client has gone on to successfully extend their relationship with the supplier, to further benefit the hospitals team and the front-line users.
Managed print project management and procurement for a global enterprise client
Managed print project management and procurement for a global enterprise client
Rapid Growth
Having grown massively both organically and by acquisition, this large media conglomerate recognised the opportunity for business improvement and savings to be realised from a shared services approach. A substantial IT innovation project had been established right across the scope of technology for the business. In-house and office (managed) print was one of eight categories targeted.
Immediate action
An audit was commissioned to develop a meaningful understanding of the scale of the opportunity. The project required collection and analysis of data from many tens of companies and locations in the UK, US and Germany, as well as detail-gathering on the underlying contractual and commercial position across hundreds of individual local agreements.
Tangible results
The assessment phase was delivered to budget on an aggressive timeline, revealing a $1m+ annual savings opportunity. We went on to commission and manage an expanded assessment, covering sites in a further fifteen US cities. As a result of the success of the initial phases, we were retained to project manage the supplier selection process in the US, UK and Germany, together with subsequent contract negotiations.
Solution Strengths
Acert was engaged because of our relevant competencies including:
- Deep knowledge of the managed print market, solutions and delivery models;
- Global supply-chain co-ordination and solutions architecture experience
- Multi-faceted project management across the technical, information-gathering, solution architecture and market entry elements of the programme
- Rapid engagement and project onboarding capability
Ability to bring in additional associates and resources for short-term requirements
Business Impact
The assessment phase covering c.30,000 staff and c.140m pages per annum was completed in under five months. Market entry and supplier shortlisting for the three territories followed quickly, with new contract development and negotiation over the following five months.