16th February – Livingston – A study by the Centre for Economic Business Research (CEBR) reported that more than £1 billion is wasted every year through inefficient business printing, and with the education and public administration sectors identified as the worst offenders, one of the largest suppliers of IT business equipment Danwood Scotland, is urging Scotland’s public sector to take a more practicable approach its printing requirements.
CEBR’s economists state that this waste hampers business growth, reduces productivity and damages the economy, nonetheless Gary Elms, Managing Director of Danwood Scotland, says that a simple review of the numbers and efficiencies of various printers and photocopiers can save money. “Technological advances, proper asset management and published output policies can bring about huge cost savings for Scotland’s public sector bodies,” comments Elms.
“Organisations need to realize how much more can be achieved from technology in the working environment. Replacing old desk top printers and photocopiers with fewer Multi-Functional Devices (MFDs) and by integrating them into IT systems, we can bring about significant savings.”
For example, in summer 2006 Danwood was asked to review the requirements of Lancashire County Council which had been prepared to spend £12.7m over three years on its existing general office and printing contracts. Following Danwood’s appraisal, the company was able to demonstrate a saving of £4.8 million over the same period reducing the Council’s overall spend to just £7.9 million. Danwood’s contract with the Council was ratified on (date).
Elms says that employees can assist too. “There are a number of very simple changes to working practices - wider use of mono printing, printing on both sides of paper and choosing to use electronic rather than printed copies - that can save public sector organisations thousands of pounds a year, cost-savings that can be ploughed back into public services.”
As part of its Efficient Government programme the Scottish Executive has set and published targets for public sector procurement expenditure and according to the recent McClelland review of Public Procurement in Scotland, savings for 2006/07 set at £140 million can only be met if urgent attention is given to the structured implementation of procurement processes. The author of the report, John McClelland will be the keynote speaker at the Society of Procurement Officers in Local Government (SOPO) Conference entitled “Procurement: A key driver of Reform in Scottish Public Services” at the EICC, Edinburgh on Thursday 8th March. Danwood Scotland is exhibiting at the Conference.
©2008 The Danwood Group