The scale of human error is impressive. Whether it’s spending 20 minutes looking for a lost set of keys (they were in your pants pocket from yesterday) or setting off a fireworks show in 15 seconds instead of 15 minutes, we people make a lot of mistakes. In the business world, this costs a lot of money. Managed print services and document management companies are trying to limit that error by taking it off your company’s hands.
Printing, copying, and filing costs are staggering in the United States. Printer and copiers are often the 3rd largest portion of an office’s expense after payroll and rent. That means the average company spends more on printers, copiers, and paper than it does on desks, computers, and office supplies. Estimates suggest that an average employee uses up to 10,000 pieces of paper every year, meaning a cost of several hundred dollars depending on the types of paper used. While the trend is to “go paperless” or “go green,” over 80% of documents in the average office are still on paper.
Managed print or print management software companies are working to reduce all of these numbers. Electronic document management allows companies to seamlessly, quickly, and safely store countless documents digitally in a place where there’s no second guessing at a time of need. These companies offer simple storage, which is typically searchable for the needed document, and save (literally) tons of paper for your company. According to the Gartner Group — a technology research group — about 15% of paper documents are lost and about half of those are never found.
Permanently losing 7.5% of paper documents is a phenomenal waste. Thousands upon thousands of pounds of paper are simply being lost, meaning thousands upon thousands of trees are being cut down just to be misplaced as paper. This is the niche that managed printing services are trying to fill. It’s an environmental initiative, but it’s also a tremendous service that will help clean your office of its paper-based chaos.
Rather than filling a filing cabinet, think of how much less clutter there would be to simply have somebody else manage your documents. Whether physically or digitally, taking yourself out of the equation means less fuss, less time, and more reliability. That is why document management systems are making a surge in the business world.