PC
In association with
Case study:
Burger King
THIS NATIONWIDE BUSINESS CUT COSTS BY INSTALLING AN ALL-IN-ONE INKJET
IN EACH OF ITS 61 RESTAURANTS AND MANAGING THEM ALL FROM HEAD OFFICE
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Each restaurant
needs to print
forms related to
food costs, stock
control, sales and
cash control
I
nkjet printers are often the most cost-effective solution for a small business,
thanks to their low power consumption, maintenance and running costs,
and their high output quality and first-page print speed. These factors all
combined to persuade one of the UK’s largest Burger King franchisees to
replace its scattered infrastructure with a fleet of modern inkjets.
The problem
With 61 restaurants and 2,500 employees across the UK, Karali is a hugely
successful Burger King franchisee, and the nature of the franchise model means
its resources are scattered around the country. Every restaurant must have a
printer to print forms related to food costs, stock control, sales and cash control,
and a scanner to send these forms – along with any local post that arrives – on to
Karali’s head office in London.
Until recently, the IT team had its work cut out keeping track of the many
different printers and scanners that needed support. At one point Karali was
using 13 different models of printer from four different manufacturers, and
keeping them all running was proving to be a significant drain on resources.
Buying for business: Case study: Burger King
“Ordering and arranging deliveries and collections of the right [consumable]
product for the printer for each restaurant was a logistical challenge in itself, not
to mention the associated overheads,” says Andrew Musetti, Karali’s head of IT
and business analysis. To make the situation more manageable, the company
needed to choose a single device to install in every one of its restaurants, then
find an efficient way to support and supply those devices from head office.
“So we set out to find new multifunction printers that could also manage
scanning,” says Musetti. “Our main goal was simple: cut costs.”
This is just one
of the 61 Burger
King restaurants
run by Karali
The solution
Just as the team began searching for new printers, two sales calls came in – one
from Epson and one from another major printer manufacturer. Keen to see what
they had to offer, Musetti spoke to both companies at length and agreed to take
a test printer from each to try out in the Karali head office.
To assess the comparative total cost of ownership (TCO) over a three-year life
cycle, the IT team prepared an analysis of three key cost elements: ink usage, the
costs of replacement cartridges, and the purchase
price of each printer. The printers were also
assessed for ease of use, which is vital when rolling
out to users with varying IT skills, along with the
quality of output, the simplicity and speed of
document scanning, and the ease of installation.
In addition, the team looked at how the printers
and their supply of consumables could be better
managed centrally.
When the results from the two printers came in,
the Epson WorkForce Pro was the clear winner – a
device that hadn’t previously been on Karali’s
radar, as Musetti explains. “Epson recommended
Printers were
assessed for TCO
over a three-year
lifecycle
Buying for business: Case study: Burger King
we test an inkjet printer against the laser model provided by the other
manufacturer. We hadn’t thought about an inkjet option, but the technology
has really advanced and the Epson is an excellent product.”
Indeed, Epson’s WorkForce Pro devices offer quick printouts, high-yield
ink cartridges and a very low cost per page, making them ideal for Karali’s 61
restaurants. And with the rival manufacturer recommending a solution whereby
Karali would merely rent the printers, complete with penalties for exceeding print
quotas, the team’s concerns over potentially rising costs cemented the decision.
“We decided to install the Epson WP-4525 DNF model with a document
feeder,” says Musetti. “This allows users to load multiple pages for scanning,
so people don’t have to wait by the printer while the job is in progress.” A short
installation guide was prepared for the staff in each restaurant to follow, and
soon Karali had 61 space-saving all-in-one devices up and running in Burger
King restaurants across the country.
In order to manage them all centrally, the IT team installed Epson’s
management software on a head office PC. This software provides remote
control and problem diagnosis of each printer via a simple web interface, and
also monitors the real-time ink levels of each device. If levels fall below a certain
threshold, the system automatically generates an order for replacement ink,
which Epson then sends directly to the restaurant.
The response
The primary requirement of Karali’s new print fleet was that it cut costs, and
these 61 Epson WP-4525 DNF devices have certainly done that. “The key
benefit of the printers is that TCO is 70% lower per year compared to the
previous solution,” explains Musetti. “For instance, the document management
aspect saves time and money on postage, as we can quickly scan documents to
digitise them, send them to head office and easily store the information.”
But Musetti says that it isn’t only the day-to-day tasks that run more
efficiently, it’s the whole company IT infrastructure. “We also get more time
and cost savings, as Epson manages the ink supplies on our behalf and we have
more control over the printers: the management software shows if a restaurant’s
printer has an issue so we can advise how to resolve it, and by analysing print
usage we can flag concerns if a site is printing more than expected. All round,
it’s a much smarter solution.”
Karali has a three-year service contract in place with Epson. For a predictable
cost, this provides the peace of mind of a next-day swap-out if a printer develops
a fault, and the service level Karali has received from Epson has met Musetti’s
high expectations.
“We expected that working with Epson would be a good experience, and
we’ve been very pleased,” says Musetti. “Any minor teething problems were
resolved by Epson quickly and efficiently. For instance, we wanted a change
made to each printer’s firmware. When some of the sites had a problem doing
this, Epson sent an engineer to our head office to update the printers remotely.
The service all round was great and we’re looking forward to getting maximum
value from the printers over the next three years.”
Karali’s experience shows that, for many businesses, a
modern inkjet can make more financial and operational
sense than a laser. It’s all about assessing the individual
requirements before making a decision. Given Karali’s
distributed infrastructure and specific usage needs, the Epson
WorkForce Pro business inkjet turned out to be the perfect fit.
Epson’s highyield cartridges
provide up to
3,400 pages from
each tank