There are many ways of measuring how successful a business is, but perhaps the most impressive is when another company deems it promising enough to be a valuable acquisition target. That’s been the case with Simplify, a Norway-based print dealer that offers a wide range of print services. Earlier this year, it was acquired by business support company ECIT, as part of its strategy to expand its presence in the Nordics, and rebranded ECIT Simplify.
Of course, it wasn’t just Simplify’s geographical location that made it attractive to ECIT. With roots going back to 1996, it has become a trusted ally to many small to medium businesses – as well as offshore oil rigs and ships – earning it an enviable reputation over two decades for excellent customer service and dependable support.
Keeping print in check
Despite the breadth of its customer base, ECIT Simplify’s clients typically print routine Microsoft Office documents. Each print, however, needs to be counted and accurately billed for. In line with this requirement, one of the print services offered by the 20-strong company, includes print device monitoring. “As part of the print service we provide to our customers, we need to manage the monthly invoicing of the page pack service contracts our customers have, billing them according to how much they print and the cost per page,” stated John Alfred Hustvedt, ECIT Simplify’s sales director.
Previously, conducting this task for approximately 300 customers was arduous and tedious. It required the team to alternate between Excel spreadsheets in a process that John Alfred described as ‘gruesome’.
Automating time consuming tasks is made easy with MPS Monitor
Such inefficiency wasn’t sustainable. “We had to find a better way to manage the meter reading and monthly invoicing,” John Alfred added. Underpinning that service today is MPS Monitor, from the developer and distributor of the leading platform for the remote monitoring and management of printers and multifunctional devices.
Discussing what struck him about MPS Monitor over competitor offerings, John Alfred stated: “It was the innovation and pioneering spirit of MPS Monitor that appealed to us.” It was this innovation and desire to meet ECIT Simplify’s needs that resulted in MPS Monitor developing a connector for a successful integration with PowerOffice, the company’s ERP system. “Previously, print volume information came from MPS Monitor, while click per page pricing and monthly pricing information was stored in the ERP system, meaning that we had to maintain two databases. Thanks to the new connector MPS Monitor created, we have now automated the invoice creation process, with all customer data – printing, contract information and page pricing – now residing on MPS Monitor.”
Now, ECIT Simplify is using MPS Monitor as a one stop shop for printing information and print volumes. “I think that because of this, we’re saving about 30% of an administrator’s time that can be put to better, more productive, use.” John Alfred also added: “We really like the BI portal, and how it enables us to use all of the data points as a decision making tool. This helps us keep abreast of our customers’ needs. Furthermore, the data that we get from the reporting module that MPS Monitor helped us create, enables us to prove to our customers that we are honouring our Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which helps build more trust between us and our clients.”
A product’s technical capabilities alone aren’t enough to make ECIT Simplify chose one solution over another, as he explained. “I am very keen to have a partnership with companies like MPS Monitor. As a business with evolving needs, a one-off customer-supplier relationship wouldn’t suit ECIT Simplify long term. It is imperative that our suppliers really can work as a partner to our business. MPS Monitor has proved that it can scale, and that it can tailor solutions to meet our needs. Unlike many smaller IT service providers, I’m impressed not just that it has a vision for its future, but I’m impressed by its vision and roadmap for the future. To that end, we now involve MPS Monitor in our business development projects. By working in conjunction with one another, MPS Monitor’s offering evolves to meet our needs.”
Partnering with MPS Monitor for a better future together
The fact both companies can work in parallel with each other is set to bode well for the future, especially when Simplify’s merger with ECIT is completed year end Q4 2021. “When that happens,” John Alfred explains, “we’ll be using MPS Monitor to monitor up to 3,500 multi-brand devices.”
John Alfred is confident that MPS Monitor will be more than capable of supporting that increase. “I know from experience that it can provide us with the flexibility, customer support and service we need. The team has proved to be very quick to step up and provide help when we need help. MPS Monitor has an excellent product today and a sustainable business which means that I am more than satisfied that it has the right solution to take with us when we start to monitor ECIT’s customers’ devices.”
While ECIT Simplify is not currently fully exploiting all of the features or functions in MPS Monitor, this is set to change when the merger completes. “The huge number of connectors will help drive further efficiency gains when activated,” John Alfred stated.
When asked whether he would recommend MPS Monitor, John Alfred didn’t hesitate to say an emphatic “yes”, to which he added: “We see MPS Monitor as a partner for the long term and one that’s gaining traction though innovation and excellent customer service.” Those are qualities set to help both businesses on a solid path to success.
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