by Jarina D'Auria

How Boeing Used Managed Services to Lower Total Imaging Costs

Feature
Mar 25, 20092 mins
Budgeting

How a managed services solution helped the company save millions.

Boeing, Chicago, Ill.

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Boeing Saves Big By Cutting Imaging Costs

Little Printers, Big Expense: How to Control Imaging Costs

Boeing is the world’s leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jets and military aircrafts with $61 billion in revenue, 160,000 U.S. employees and customers in 90 countries.

How Boeing Saved: By standardizing printing devices and services, the company shaved 27 percent off total imaging costs.

Tools Used: Managed services and products from Dell and Lexmark

Time Frame: Started industry research and internal analysis in 2003; implemented St. Louis pilot in May 2007. All major U.S. locations now completed; smaller sites still undergoing rollout. International implementation due in 2010. Rollout complete by 2011.

Align People and Printers

Boeing once had printers scattered around its offices regardless of user need. Now low, medium and large-job devices are placed near those workers who use them most, for greater efficiency.

Take your time

Beauvais and his team originally wanted to get the entire project up immediately but realized it would have created an operational nightmare. Instead, they planned on a two-year implementation so they could take their time creating and enforcing the printing policies, as well as swapping out the devices. Boeing spent a year and a half researching different vendors, which included the vendors doing printing tests in Boeing’s lab. Beauvais also chose to implement at one site first to prove the project’s value.