The first dilemna: Maintenance or backup contract ?
On a regular basis, our customers are wondering why subscribe to a maintenance contract. They first mention the cost as well as the need for such a service. In a volume production printing environment (industrial, labels, security …), one can always decide not to subscribe to a maintenance contract. But then, one must ensure to have an internal or external back-up solution.
Because your own customers do not wait! It’s not just about the delay. A back-up system must also provide the same quality, the same confidentiality … and the space to accommodate this back-up. A backup is only effective if it is already connected, active and ready to go. But at our customers we often see backups that are no longer unavailable and unusable. It turns out that their capacity to absorb additional production on time is not assured in practice.
The other solution is to subscribe a maintenance contract. And what is a maintenance contract : parts (verified and available), labour (close and qualified) and of course a support available by phone. Knowing that the maintenance contracts are annual, one can always subscribe for one year and then decide to stop this contract and choose an ther provider. On the other hand, a back-up solution, once set up, can hardly be moved or deleted.
If one decides to subscribe a maintenance contract with the manufacturer, contracts will pile up and become expensive or you ll find yourself tied with one brand. In fact, this is a way to push you to standardize your fleet, which ultimately may be limiting on the technological flexibility to meet your own customers requirements. In addition, manufacturers limit access to parts, lock access to their printers with specific coding, and often offer training only to maintenance companies that do not compete with them in terms of equipment sales.
These criteria limit competition of course and therefore your price competitiveness.
Multi-brand maintenance : Is it possible ?
For our part, we believe that multi-brand maintenance is possible as soon as we have access to alternative sources of supply, a test laboratory and technicians trained, skilled and well distributed over the territory.
With regard to the locking of the « service » codes of the printers: the customer is entitled to request the code correspondence to the manufacturer. Finally, the customer is also entitled to obtain a stock of original parts from the manufacturer. More simply, having the right stock, the right logistical flows, as well as the technical skills are the basis of good maintenance so 2J could be your partner for that.
In fact, multi-brand maintenance requires expert technicians in the diagnosis and resolution of mechanical problems, the bridge between technologies and the understanding of the implications between the different elements (paper, printheads, drums, electronic cards, etc.) .
An expert multi-brand technician has serious and multiple skills and qualities. Here are some of them: – Have a degree in electro-technical or industrial maintenance (BTS level)
– Have a logical method of finding the fault. Among others, to observe, analyze and be able to make a good synthesis before intervening on the material
– To be able to use the sharp tools necessary for the maintenance (pyramid of troubleshooting, technical documentation, …)
– To master the English language because many technical documentations are in English.
– Know how to work in a team if necessary
– Have a great availability
– Manage stressful situations and learn to step back when necessary – Be attentive to the needs of the client.
Why 2J is a partner of choices for multi-brand maintenance ?
The company 2J was founded in 1994 and will celebrate 25 years in 2019.
2J has a long experience in the maintenance of production printing equipment. From the beginning, the brands distributed and maintained were digital and laser presses. We have evolved with the market and we also maintain inkjet equipment. Our technicians were brought to train and intervene on Nipson, Riso, Tecnau, Kern brand materials that we distribute but also on brands such as Ricoh, Screen or Xérox … To date, 2J has more than 15 technicians throughout France, led by a technical director dedicated to 100% to this task. We also offer centralized telephone support, intervention and parts tracking software, optimized logistics flows and a 600m2 warehouse with a test laboratory in Mérignac. We are very pleased to have a very low turnover rate among our technicians. They are regularly trained. They are mobile, autonomous and have great experience. Above all, our technicians have an excellent knowledge of their customers and their needs.
The best proof of the quality of our after-sales service: we generate more than 80% of our turnover in multi-brand maintenance and the renewal rate of our maintenance contracts is over 95%.
Willy Peltier, Operations and Service Director