Outsourcing & Managed Solutions
In certain very large copy environments (such as large law firms that currently maintain their own mailroom and copying department), outsourcing is the most viable answer to your company’s copying and printing requirements. Outsourcing simply means that you hire an outside company to handle specific tasks, and when companies outsource their copying, they often bundle in mailroom operations as well as part of a facilities management agreement.
The benefit of outsourcing is that it takes all the responsibility for the running of your copiers and MFPs off your shoulders. The company you hire will make equipment purchase or lease decisions, handle all servicing and maintenance issues, and will also take on the burden of employing the right number of full-time employees for the location (including handling all the payroll, benefits, sick time coverage, etc., that would normally be associated with those employees).
In this case, outsourcing doesn’t even have to change where your central reprographics department is located, since a contracted company can send its employees to your work site as part of the agreement. In fact, if you are concerned about a particular copy room employee of yours being replaced, you can even negotiate into your outsourcing contract that the contracting company will hire your employee and guarantee his employment for a set amount of time (usually a year). The contract can also stipulate the amount of time that employee will remain at your office before the facilities management company can transfer him, allowing a smooth transition between your previous workflow and the new one.