Renowned car dealership Harwoods will save more than £30,000 in back office costs this year, after print specialists SOS Systems introduced new software across its 17 sites in the South East.
The new secure print management software installed across Harwoods’ 250 printers, means every member of the 1,000-strong workforce has a personal card to authorise print runs at the machine instead of from their desks, eliminating printing mistakes and significantly improving security as sensitive paperwork can no longer be left on printers.
Using remote reporting, SOS Systems can now record and share details of how many copies have been printed at each dealership – a number that has significantly reduced in the three months since the software was introduced.
Figures to date show total annual savings could easily reach £30,000, with some dealerships having already reduced the number of print jobs by half.
Paul Smith, Group IT Supervisor, Harwoods Group, says: “In any business working with tight margins, it is important to reduce business costs, but I don’t think any of us realised quite how much difference could be made with printing.
“We have completely stopped anything being printed by mistake and we are all just a lot more thoughtful about how much we print, which is making a real difference from a cost perspective and also for the environment.”
He added: “The SOS Systems team advised us how we could reduce costs, proactively managed the installation and hardware upgrades and the roll-out was the best project I have been involved with from a management perspective in nearly 20 years at Harwoods. The savings we’re making speak for themselves.”
In addition to reducing the number of copies printed, the new software has made life easier for Harwoods staff who travel to different locations as they can print on any machine using their authorised card.
And because SOS Systems remotely monitor all machines, their technicians replace toners before they run out and replace parts before they break, preventing machine downtime.
SOS Systems Director, Chris Sills, said: “The majority of businesses could make substantial savings when it comes to print, and when you have an operation the size and scale of Harwoods the difference really adds up.
“And it’s not just costs that are being saved. Having secure print software is a huge part of GDPR compliance for businesses that deal with sensitive data, which is why it is more in demand now than ever.”
Harwoods specialises in Audi, Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar/Land Rover alongside its newly acquired McLaren franchises.
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