U.S. workplaces continue to plow through paper
This entry is the second in a series on innovations in the climate and energy world.
Weren’t we supposed to be working in paperless offices by now? U.S. workplaces continue to run through a startling amount of paper each year, with consumption barely down from its peak around 2000 and now standing at some 27 pounds per worker per year. This compares to less than 10 pounds per worker in 1985.
Reducing the use of paper, ink, and printers saves money and is environmentally friendly, yet little progress has been made. Perhaps the most successful strategy for cutting back on printing in recent years comes from an unlikely source: printer companies.
On the other end of the innovation spectrum from the barely believable Chinese straddling bus, we find the mundane world of Managed Print Services (MPS).
Companies are increasingly outsourcing management of their office document needs. Basically, companies are paying someone, usually their supplier of copiers and printers, to take over all aspects of office document generation. They pay less than their current costs—savings of up to 30 percent are typical—and MPS providers increase efficiency and decrease consumption enough to make the contract profitable for themselves.
MPS providers boost their efficiency through various strategies. These include replacing inefficient old devices with new ones, reducing the number of devices in an office, enacting more-efficient printing policies such as double-sided printing, educating employees on how to use less paper, conducting regular maintenance to keep equipment running longer, and monitoring device usage to identify particularly inefficient employees (that one guy in every office who prints all his emails, perhaps, or the woman who never remembers to print in black and white). MPS also helps clients make cost-saving choices. MPS providers can determine automatically, for example, whether printing a long and color-heavy document would be better done internally or through an outside service.
Does it pass the laugh test?
Clearly.
There is nothing at all humorous about print services.
Does it have that WOW factor?
In a word, no.
There is nothing glamorous about print services, either. But energy efficiency and savings are hardly ever as glamorous as renewable energy, and often far more effective at satisfying the criteria of a triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and social considerations.
What does it bring to the table?
Incentive alignment.
All of the changes made as part of MPS really just add up to incentive alignment for efficiency. Being paid a flat rate for all document services gives operators the incentive to keep costs (and therefore paper, ink, and energy use) as low as possible to maximize their own profits. Of course, any organization always has these incentives; but without staff focused on the issue, it’s easy for this to fall through the cracks, as the savings that can be made with MPS shows. Most companies have no idea how much they really spend on document services and spend little time trying to improve employee behavior or optimize device usage. Proctor & Gamble recently hired Xerox as its MPS provider and estimates that it will cut its related energy needs by 40 percent.
How close is it to commercialization?
Already there.
With sales of printers and other devices down sharply, print services companies—led by Xerox and Hewlett-Packard—are investing heavily in their MPS operations as a way of assuring long-term revenue generation. With the obvious benefits for consumers, it is no surprise that the industry is large and growing quickly. In 2009, the worldwide MPS market was over $20 billion, largely in Europe. It is a big enough industry to have its own market-research firm, the Photizo Group, which is as sure a sign of having arrived in the business world as any I can come up with.
How scalable is it?
Very, but with limits.
There is no reason why MPS can’t be utilized by any company with substantial paper usage. Considering the importance of MPS to the future of print services companies, which have seen a drop in the market for their equipment and are counting on MPS to provide a steady source of revenue, they will no doubt do their best to seek out every possible customer. Clients must be large enough to merit the administrative costs incurred in managing their account, however, and therefore the market currently is limited to medium-sized and large companies. But as MPS providers streamline their operations, the threshold for profitability may fall.
What is the biggest obstacle to success?
The Internet.
The only thing that could hold back MPS is decreased demand for office documents. So far, the rise of the Internet and email has not led to significantly reduced paper use in offices. But if this trend changes, MPS will provide less value for customers, eating into providers’ profit margins.
The decline in paper consumption over the past decade has been slight, but it is still a stark reversal from almost 6 percent annual growth in the 15 years previous. One could argue that this trend may become more pronounced as older, less technologically savvy workers retire and as automation continues to expand. Many uses for paper will endure indefinitely, but perhaps the dream of the paperless office, now more of a cautionary tale than anything else, may one day be approximated. From an energy perspective, such an outcome would be even better than the growth of MPS. So maybe it’s not so much an obstacle as an aspiration.
The final word(s):
Don’t sleep on MPS.
Still awake? MPS may not be exciting, and its proponents may not focus on climate or energy issues, but cutting our use of energy, paper, and ink can have significant environmental implications. If you work in an office that you think could take advantage of MPS, explore the idea. Even if you don’t, try to reduce your printing and copying needs on your own. MPS isn’t wizardry, after all; it’s just paying someone else to pay attention.
