Do you know what % of your Firms Revenue is spent on Document Output / Production?
Gartner estimate that up to 3% of revenue is spent on Document Output / Production – so upto £30,000 per annum, per £1million of turnover! Do you know where your firm is at and whether you are operating as efficiently as you should be?
If not, 2014 should be the year you find out.
We have seen this calculation quoted by Gartner on a number of occasions across our industry – it is used as it was part of a very extensive review carried out by Gartner and it is also quick and easy to estimate what YOUR spend would be – the reality is that it is normally more than Clients would expect it to be and it should be an area of spend you optimise.
“We do a lot of work with clients to help them analyse and understand their document production / output costs. We look at how they can be more efficient and it is ALWAYS interesting to see how much spend is going through the business which is not really understood / captured and just “DRIPS” out of the business on a daily basis”.
This area of spend is most important in organisations / industries which use large amounts of documentation and the Legal Sector is definitely one of these industries. This is naturally a part of life in a law firms, and this is why it should be high on the agenda to review and manage to ensure you are operating as efficiently as possible.
DO YOU KNOW…?
– Volumes / Output per department: Do you know what volumes of copy / print / scan are being produced in each department across your Firm? Do you have a floor plan with the volumes & devices highlighted so you can see what each department is doing / how much it is costing and whether you have the right solution in place for them to be operating as efficiently as possible? This is important to know so that you can work to ensure you have the the most cost effective and productive devices in place to ensure maximum up time, lowest operating costs and highest levels of productivity. There can be lots of bottle-necks in firms where the right solutions aren’t in place and if you can remove these you’ll be more efficient, staff will be happier, more productive and also you’ll be operating at a lower cost.
– Output costs per device (including all Laser Printers): Law Firms tend to have lots of separate printers and you need to understand the true operating costs and what volumes are going through these devices. There are lots of opportunities for cost savings and efficiencies in these areas. This doesn’t mean getting rid of all your printers and just putting volumes through large Multifunctional Devices (MFDs) – there are lots of options available these days to have the optimal balance of printers and MFDs in a firm, but you need to ensure you have a handle on costs and this doesn’t mean just checking you are getting the lowest price for toner from your Office Supplies provider. Managed Print Services is something new to the market which provides printers on a cost per page basis and gives options to reduce running costs by a further 30% over and above the “lowest toner price” model – so this NEEDS to be considered by every law firm.
There are other areas you need to know and I’ll be publishing another 2 tips / areas next month so keep an eye out for these. Document Output / Office Equipment is a whole area of specialisation in itself and not something which can be done without the right partner and advice. Ensure you engage with the right supplier / partner to do this – take a look at my other posts to ensure you are trying to get the right advice and are aware of some of the issues which can arise when dealing with salespeople.
Revenue is hard enough to generate – make sure you’re optimising how much of this is spent on Document Output / Production.
If you don’t feel like you have a handle on these areas I think it is something you should consider reviewing this year. It’s a large part of any Law Firm and you should be able to see volumes / devices / spend and also be able to anaylse if departments experiencing “bottle-necks” and actively work to remove them.
Understanding these areas will enable you to see what is going on in your business and ensure you have the right solution in place for your business. Your suppliers should be working with you to produce this detailed level of information and analyse this with industry expertise and provide REAL ADVICE so you are moving in the right direction and being as productive and profitable as possible…. Make sure you take any sales advice with a pinch of salt as there are obvious conflicts of interest between your goals and those of a salesperson who is paid to sell particular products – and paid commission to do so – ALWAYS keep this in the back of your mind.
Author:
Alex Hutchinson is lead consultant at Efficient Law Firm.
www.EfficientLawFirm.co.uk work with Small and Medium sized Law Firms, who do not have the luxury (or requirement) for a full-time technology / IT Director. If you are looking to make improvements within this area of your firm, but do not have the fixed internal resource to manage this project and deliver results, then let’s talk.
If you want to increase your long-term profitability but don’t want to risk paying high day rate consultants for external advice… then let’s talk. Efficient Law Firm only generate a margin on results being delivered, ensuring a LOW RISK engagement for Clients.
Alex Hutchinson
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