Consumables Management

Reduce inventory expenses. Never run out of supplies.

Managing consumables is even more complex than managing output assets. Long after your devices are in place, they continue to use toner and other supplies - a hidden cost that may already be out of control.

Most companies simply negotiate with supply vendors, establishing a unit cost for each item, allowing individual departments handle their own ordering. It’s a simple and costly system.

Skilled knowledge workers log on to websites to order supplies, and they spend up to 20 minutes on each visit. Individual orders tend to be small, which means frequent transactions and higher shipping costs, even higher when end users are let to choose the fastest (and most expensive) delivery option. Meanwhile, your inventory could be clogged with things you won’t need for weeks or even months. Many companies can have substantial resources tied up in printing supplies inventory - a serious waste of space and earning power.

You can eliminate every one of these concerns and reduce your spending with Consumables Management. This proactive service combines constant monitoring of your supply levels with timely ordering and delivery. You can cut your inventory dramatically, but you’ll never run out of the things you need.

What You Need, When You Need It

With Distributed Fleet Management, your output devices are constantly monitored. Information from your fleet goes to the Lexmark Data Collection Manager (LDCM) at your site and sent to Lexmark’s data warehouse (ARMS). The system validates your need for supplies before they’re ordered: for example, we’ll compare actual usage with expected usage. When supplies do run low, we’ll order them for you and ship them to the address you specify.

To make sure your get exactly what you need, we'll leverage our existing partnerships with reliable, flexible and global suppliers. This unique ordering process gives you maximum control with minimum effort, and it protects you against waste and errors. Or if you prefer, you can leverage your Lexmark Services Web Portal to order the supplies yourself.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Validation of all orders for part number, contract terms, and agreement compliance.
• Protection against unnecessary shipping charges.
• Defense against fraudulent or excessive orders.
• Acknowledgements of received requests.
• Reductions in inventory, shrinkage, and obsolescence.

Consumables Management is a proactive way for you to take control of output supplies.

"...we were not only able to reduce our consumables costs by a fairly significant amount, but we were able to avoid a large capital outlay, which made the partnership very happy."

Tim Armstrong
Chief Information Officer
Vinson & Elkins