Sunrise Senior Living Case Study

THE CHALLENGE

Sunrise Senior Living and Gracewell Healthcare faced a very typical problem for multi-site organisations. Managing over 60 sites across the country, the business had an array of print and copy devices procured over many years, with little or no visibility of their print operations and the costs they were incurring. Over recent years, healthcare like many industry sectors has seen pressure on costs, and print was identified as an area for potential savings, increased security, and data compliance.

There was no uniformity to purchasing. Devices were bought ad-hoc as required, with an array of desktop and photocopier brands including Samsung, Canon, HP, Dell and Ricoh. The current setup was proving to be extremely expensive and hard to administer.

Desktop printers were often purchased without a service contract and were extremely expensive to run.  Consumables for print devices were often purchased through a mix of local and national supply chains and were not always linked into a managed print contract. Again, this was a costlier route to purchase, with different types of toner and ink required for the various manufacturers and models.

From a support perspective, office printing across the business proved to be a real headache for the internal IT team, having to deal with machines being down, running out of toner and going offline, all put further strain on an already stretched helpdesk service.

There was a desire to consolidate not just the number of devices, but also the types of equipment being used so that it was consistent across the entire fleet. The current print infrastructure was extremely expensive to run, and the new solution needed to reduce the total cost of ownership, so that these savings could be reinvested back into the organisation.

With a large number of devices purchased from different suppliers, across different agreements, and with varying end dates, the fleet was cumbersome to manage. Taking a more strategic approach and working with one central print and document solutions partner, would be added value to the business and provide a sustainable long-term solution which would drive efficiencies across the organisation.

THE SOLUTION

After reviewing their options, Sunrise Senior Living (SSL) and Gracewell Healthcare were introduced to IT Document Solutions by a procurement consultant. They were looking for a traditional business model and wanted a straightforward, transparent approach to managing their future print operation and the approach provided by IT Document Solutions complemented this perfectly.

Jermaine Weeden, Director at IT Document Solutions, commented:

“As a technology partner, we can provide IT and professional services far beyond that of a conventional copier company.”

The process started with a detailed review of the print infrastructure in place across the business, identifying the types and number of devices across each site, how much was being printed, and the length of contracts to ascertain where savings and efficiencies could be made.

The business required uniformity across the fleet and so a decision was made to implement a range of Toshiba devices. Toshiba’s new e-bridge next generation of devices comes with a large LCD touch screen which is intuitive to use. Not only did this provide consistency, but should staff print across sites, they would be familiar with the technology.

Due to the size of the fleet and the fact that some devices were still fit for purpose, IT Document Solutions recommended a staged implementation across the 60 sites, as new devices were needed and contracts ended. Toshiba multi-functional devices alongside strategically deployed Toshiba desktops, provided fresh hardware, integrated with remote diagnostic software, ITDS Lifecycle Manager, which helped to enhance print performance and report on device utilisation.

All the new devices across the network are managed using a print management solution ‘ITDS Global Print 360’, which enables secure printing from shared workgroup devices, removing the need for individual desktop printers. Prints can be securely retrieved via a proximity card. These are set up and managed by the ITDS professional services team on behalf of SSL’s Internal IT team. The resource provided by IT Document Solutions has enabled the SSL IT Support team to continue with the day-to-day running of the IT estate.

The care homes had previously been struggling with high print volumes and high costs. However, through the ITDS Continuous Improvement Programme, both of these elements have been significantly reduced and are assisting with transformation processes to improve the way documents are handled across the business.

Overall, the solution took a partnership approach. From the ITDS helpdesk through to senior management, there is a clear escalation process in place to deliver best practices for Sunrise and Gracewell. ITDS is a service provider that offers a tremendous amount of value, with regular service reviews to ensure delivery against KPIs and tracking of SLAs on performance.

THE BENEFITS

Through the technology and solutions provided the care homes now benefit from an end-to-end managed print solution.