Case Study: BDP International

Ricoh transports logistics giant to a new era of information management.

About BDP International

BDP International is one of the world’s largest air, ocean and ground logistics and transportation providers with locations in more than 240 cities across the globe. The privately-held company solves complex global logistics problems for its more than 4,000 customers in a variety of industries including chemical, oil and gas, healthcare, retail and consumer products.

“Ricoh wants to be our partner and solve our problems. This company;is a straight shooter that has vastly improved our organization’s information management.”
Jason Bullock
Executive Director of Global IT Infrastructure and Support
BDP International, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Challenge

BDP International hit an information roadblock when they could no longer ignore the problems caused by their disjointed fleet of printers and copiers throughout their North American offices:

Devices frequently broke down. Replacement devices — whatever cost the least at the time — were brought in without regard to output or workflow needs.
Wait times for repairs were unpredictable from the national office supply chain that provided fleet and managed print services.
BDP had no visibility into their fleet, so they could not track usage by device.
A fragmented fleet meant no print controls such as automatic duplex and black-and-white printing to reduce costs and advance sustainability goals. There were also no unified security protocols.
There was no universal print driver that would allow BDP to push out software to all of its different devices and offices in a single sweep.

Solution

We proposed a multi-faceted approach, which included a complete fleet refresh, advanced software tools for document management and workflow improvement, professional services to roll out and install new multifunction printers (MFP), and managed services for ongoing support of the entire fleet.

After analyzing the devices installed by the previous vendor, we determined that BDP could downsize their fleet from about 300 devices to 115 of our MFPs while improving output capabilities.

Next came implementation of several software platforms aimed at dramatically improving document management, workflow processes, fleet visibility and security.

AutoStore provides analytics for the fleet, giving BDP visibility into the use of their fleet by device and specific users.
Nuance Output Manager creates a universal print driver that pushes out software to all of the different devices and offices from BDP's global data centers.
Nuance's Follow-You Printing enables employees to simply swipe their ID badges to securely print and retrieve documents at any MFP.
We wrote custom workflow software to make scanning into BDP’s existing EMC ApplicationXtender content management technology more efficient. The previous six- to eight-step intake process has been cut down to one or two simplified steps.

To ensure a smooth transition, we also provided change management services.

On the support side, BDP now has one trusted source for service calls and automatic toner and supplies replenishment with Ricoh's Managed Services. Service technicians show up quickly when issues do arise — no more waiting days or even weeks to get equipment back up and running.

Crane lift up container box loading to cargo caontainer depot use for logistics import export.

Result

With a successful fleet refresh and software implementation, costs are transparent. The solutions work. And there are no headaches working with us.

The organization expects to see a $200,000 annual savings from the total program.
More secured authentication at the devices has brought both peace of mind and paper savings.
Sensitive documents are held in check until the user is ready to print and then retrieve that document.
BDP's printing fleet is now just the right size, and they have the tools in place to continue to analyze and rightsize as business needs change.

BDP International’s workforce is now making information work like never before, at a fraction of the time it used to take. Processes that previously impeded productivity are no longer barriers and employees have freed-up time to focus on the things that really matter in their workday.

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