Pub Chain in need of rock-solid print solution turns to Annodata
About the company
With nearly 1,000 pubs, bars and hotels spread throughout the UK, this leading pub chain is one of the largest in the country. Open 365 days a year, its award-winning pubs are renowned for offering high quality food and drink to its customers at affordable prices.
The company is extremely focused on delivering consistent value-for-money to its customers and therefore expects all of its suppliers to provide high quality, best value services to support the company’s operations. With a print estate encompassing every location (including its own head office) and representing a considerable annual expenditure, the company turned its attention to its cost and service delivery model relating to the services provided by its print suppliers.
The Challenge
Paper remains critical to the business; many of the company’s daily processes are paperbased, from cashing up at the end of the day to submitting sales figures to its central operation. In addition to its own head office printing environment, the company must have a working printer available at each of their outlets to ensure this process continues to function successfully. However, maintaining this print fleet, controlling costs and receiving consistent high levels of service posed a number of practical and logistical challenges.
A spokesperson for the company explained: “We rely on our printer’s day in, day out, so it’s critical that there’s a working machine at each of our venues every single day of the year. But as we’ve found, achieving this isn’t straightforward. “At the end of the day, we run pubs, so the printers can often be in for a bit of rough treatment.
As a result they have a tendency to break down more frequently than they would in a traditional office environment. We also identified that our existing “break fix” model, delivered by multiple suppliers, with multiple manufacturer devices was impractical, expensive and failed to adequately support the company in achieving its objectives. “As a result, we undertook an extensive tender selection process and in doing so, reviewed multiple print management solutions in the pursuit of a rock-solid printer estate from a reliable and trusted partner that would not let us down.”
“Our existing solution drained significant IT resources and had to change. We reviewed direct manufacturer options but found that this limited us in our choice of device. The tender process quickly helped us realise that the pub estate is very different to hotel and head office requirements. We also found that the traditional support models weren’t robust or fast enough to keep up with the demands of our business.”
From the moment that we engaged with Annodata it was clear that they wanted to work with us and would do everything necessary to meet our requirements.
IT Manager
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The solution
The company turned to Annodata who, during the tender process, took the time to understand the organisation’s needs and pain points. As a result, Annodata were able to devise a unique solution that would satisfy their specific usage, costs and support requirements. Annodata subsequently won the tender and set about implementing the solution.
In the first instance, Annodata installed an initial batch of devices before scaling up to roll out a fleet of around 1,000 desktop MFDs & MFPs into each pub site. Each of the devices, which can be used for printing, copying and scanning documents, were fitted out with software to monitor and manage their output as well as provide detailed costs and usage analysis back to the company so for the first time, they can cross charge within the organisation and control their print output and subsequent costs.
The hotels within the group needed a slightly different solution. Although the majority of bookings are conducted on their websites or in person, the requirement for fax confirmation is still utilised at the reception desk. Using a traditional fax machine posed a number of security issues, particularly with regards to credit card details. To overcome this, Annodata installed a specific device that stores the documents securely within the device itself until an authorised member of staff is ready to access and release them by inputting a secure PIN code.
As part of the service delivery model, Annodata monitors all pub and hotel devices remotely so that they can distribute toner as required to ensure optimal use for the users and reduce down time. In addition, rather than a standard “break fix” service model, Annodata has developed a remote diagnostics and “machine swap” solution. As and when a fault in a device occurs, our telephone based remote diagnostics team rectify in excess of 70% of all calls received over the phone ensuring maximum uptime of the devices for the users. Where it is not possible to resolve the fault, Annodata initiates a ‘hot swap’ model: a 24-hour repair or replace guarantee. The replacement device is despatched overnight from its device pool, meaning the pub or hotel chain never goes for more than 24-hours without a working machine.
The Annodata Benefit
Annodata has designed an entirely bespoke solution to meet the company’s exacting requirements. Leveraging its vendor independence, Annodata has been able to draw on a wide range of manufacturers to select the best device for each job. Importantly, Annodata was able to deliver the solution at very competitive rates, significantly reducing the client’s operating costs, increasing uptime and user satisfaction and importantly, providing detailed management information to help inform future decision making regarding the pub and hotel estate.
While the selection of the right equipment was no doubt important, Annodata’s commitment to service, support and management sets them apart from other managed print suppliers. The spokesperson explained: “From the moment that we engaged with Annodata it was clear that they wanted to work with us and would do everything necessary to meet our requirements. They consulted, listened and made recommendations which we hadn’t even thought of. The ‘hot swap’ service we have with them is unique and although logistically it must be a challenge, the system has worked perfectly since inception. We are particularly delighted with the level of fixes achieved though the remote diagnostics help desk.”
“And the relationship didn’t stop once the solution had been sold! We have detailed monthly meetings with Annodata to review the solution, look at how each device is performing, and are impressed with the way Annodata continually look for new ways to drive efficiencies in the estate. Experience with a number of previous suppliers meant we were unable to receive the level of detail and communication that we now enjoy. Ultimately, Annodata have developed into a strategic supplier to our business and one that we know we can rely on.” he concluded.
