MDS or MPS, Which is right for you? Managed Document Services (MDS) and Managed Print Services (MPS) are two acronyms that are getting a lot of press these days and, at times, it can get confusing as they are often used interchangeably. Even when the terms are used properly, there are many different definitions of each floating around out there. Dealers need to understand the differences between the two in order to decide which program name is best for them to use with their customers. Keep in mind that the programs are not mutually exclusive. You can use either one depending on the customer requirement and how deep you are in the account. The Definitions Managed Document Services (MDS) is a holistic approach to managing documents in the office. It concentrates on the processes and workflows organizations use to produce and exchange electronic and paper documents. This program starts with simple fleet and service automation for total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction and moves to providing advanced services for more complex document workflow and value-added solutions such as security, and CRD integration. It involves a long sales cycle and involves many decision makers. MDS is typically sold to the enterprise level accounts, large national and global corporations by the direct OEM’s like HP, Xerox, Ricoh and Canon. Managed print services (MPS) is defined by many as the active management and optimization of document output devices. It is a services-led offering that helps companies address pain points with managing their fleet in a distribution and print environment. MPS can help to cut ownership costs of equipment, enhance productivity and reduce energy consumption. It typically involves putting printer aftermarket (toner cartridges) and service on a CPP (cost per page) contract in small and mid-size businesses. There are fewer decision makers and a shorter sales cycle than MDS. Most manufacturers, cartridge resellers and remote monitoring software companies offer dealers MPS support programs. Expanding MPS with Quarterly Reviews Another way to look at this is to look at your existing customer base and determine how wide and deep you are in the account. Are you the MFD vendor only? Do you have the printers on contract? If the answer is that you are the MFD vendor and do not have the printers on contract, then step one is to get those printers on contract – MPS. After this initial step, you can expand wider and deeper through quarterly account reviews. Next you look at optimizing the fleet through redeployment, retirement of older and more expensive devices and rationalization of the remaining units. From MPS to MDS After device rationalization, the next step is to transform the customer’s fleet of devices into a platform for business efficiency. Typically, a professional services specialist or consultant will take a close look at the customer’s current business processes, applications, and workflows then design, plan and implement improvements that minimizes manual tasks, eliminates redundancy, and reduces operational costs. Optimizing the business processes and workflows can improve workforce efficiency and reduce cycle times — seizing opportunities to enhance regulatory compliance, environmental sustainability, and operational costs along the way. The key point here is that MDS entails analyzing workflows then changes or optimizes the way in which your customer does business. You become a true business partner as you transform your business relationship to a truly consultative one. Crawl, Walk, Run As you decide which program is right for you to implement at your dealership for your customers and prospects, you need to evaluate realistically where you are currently. If you have yet to implement an MPS initiative you are at the crawl stage. Stick with an MPS approach to your existing base of small to medium sized customers and get some help in launching your program. If you have already started an MPS initiative and have had some success in selling MPS contracts you can consider yourself at the “walk” stage. In this stage you will have all the MFD’s and printers on contract. It is in those accounts that you are ready to “run”. Run here means you are ready to propose an MDS solution, getting wider and deeper by doing workflow analysis and optimization. Leverage the Manufacturers Many of the manufacturers have MPS and MDS specialists available to assist you. They have people that can help you do simple print assessments to create the value proposition and proposals. They also offer professional services personnel to help you with the business process and workflow analysis. These resources are typically made available to you upon request and at no charge. I would encourage you to take advantage of this valuable resource. The Gartner Group estimates that by 2012, 70% of companies with 250 or more employees will acquire their office output devices through some type of MPS or MDS agreement. This suggests that you’ll need to be accelerating your pace of crawl, walk and run. If you need help, the consultants at Strategy Development (SD) have a track record of success with dealers in MPS that is second to none. In fact, SD was recognized as the leader in training and education in MPS by the MPSA. So which program is right for you? Marc Theaman is the Vice President of Business Development for Strategy Development, having a 20-year tenure at Ricoh, with responsibilities in training & development of channels, national accounts & staff. As Regional VP of Ricoh’s IKON Division, Theaman led a dealer sell-thru strategy stimulating demand for Ricoh products from end users. As Director of Sales & Marketing for the National Account Division, he developed and implemented Ricoh’s RMAP and DMAP program.