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Multifunctional Device Buying Guide
Buying or leasing multifunctional devices can be a tough task, what equipment should you buy and which supplier should you choose?
This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and leave you in a better position to make the right decision.
At the end of this guide there is a check-list which you can use to assess which supplier measures up to meet your requirements best.
The Multifunctional Device industry is a very competitive place with many suppliers competing for your business it can be difficult making the best decision.
The tips included in this guide should help you identify the best multifunctional device providers for your organisation.
Multifunctional Devices does not sell or lease business equipment. The purpose of this website is to provide useful information to prospective customers of multifunctional devices and to help customers who need assistance before making a decision.
Buy with confidence when you see the MFD Certified Supplier logo you can be sure the dealership follows and measures up to our guidelines.
Visit www.multifunctionaldevices.co.uk for more information on becoming a certified supplier
Authorised Dealerships
Many of the suppliers that you may find on the Internet will not be an authorised dealer for the brand of equipment that they supply. Making sure that you are talking to an authorised dealer is the first step in the right direction. If a supplier is authorised by the manufacturer to supply and support their range of equipment they will normally have some degree of suitable infrastructure in place to support you.
There has been a number of companies spring up in the past few years that take advantage of being able to set up a presentable website quickly and start trading. Be aware! Just because their web site looks professional it may be that they don't have the necessary credentials to look after you properly.
If possible arrange a visit to the suppliers premises, this will give you real visibility of the operation and enable you to better judge the quality of support you are likely to receive. If the supplier is reluctant to allow a visit or tries to persuade you to see the equipment at a customers offices you may have cause for concern.
Does the dealership that you are considering have strong financial foundations? If unsure why not download a copy of their latest accounts from companies' house? This only costs a few pounds and gives you an instant insight into the company's financial strength.
Dealing with an authorised dealer will give you a number of reassurances with regard to the after sales support of the product however even authorised dealerships determine their own standards so your experience could still vary significantly from one to another.
If you are looking to buy or lease a Canon photocopier for example, give Canon head office a call to check that the supplier is in fact authorised, they will be happy to help. Logos or emblems that suggest that the provider is authorised may not be a sufficient guarantee.
If you are unsure as to whether your prospective supplier is in fact an authorised dealer we will be happy to provide you with the head office details of the manufacturer so that you can easily check.
Just complete our easy Dealer Check form: -
http://www.multifunctionaldevices.co.uk/Authorised-Dealer-Check.htmlGetting Good Advice
When communicating with your prospective supplier you will inevitably be dealing with a salesperson representing the dealership. Most salespeople that you will encounter will be commission paid, this doesn't mean they won't be capable of providing you with exactly what you want but if you find a non commission paid salesperson you will probably find they will be more objective in making sure that your requirements are fully met.
The more information that you can provide the salesperson with the better and you will no doubt get a feel for whether the person that you are talking to have a good grasp of their product and company knowledge.
A good salesperson will listen to what you have to say and make recommendations based upon that. Some companies will insist that a meeting is necessary to discuss your requirements whilst others will be happy to talk on the phone or communicate by email; you decide which you feel more comfortable with.
If you are unsure about the recommendations made by a prospective supplier, speak to another authorised dealer as this will often reinforce your initial thoughts.
If you have any questions about the advice that you have been given please ask our advisers a question by completing our Contact Us form.
http://www.multifunctionaldevices.co.uk/contact-us/multifunctional-devices.htmlWhich Brand Should You Consider?
This is really up to you, but we wish to make it clear that there are significant differences in the multifunctional device brands that you may be considering. If your primary consideration is price for example, then there are many manufacturers that offer equipment at the cheaper end of the marketplace. This will give you a slight cost benefit initially over a Xerox or Canon photocopier but be aware that the machine may not last as long as the premium brand. Independent dealerships will have the ability to provide you with competitive quotations so it is worth considering the premium products as well as the others.
Whatever brand you choose, make a copy, scan, print or fax when you have the machine delivered and file it in the multifunction devices file. This will enable you to make periodic checks that the quality of the equipment does not degrade over a period of time. The equipment engineers should be able to ensure that the quality remains consistent.
Multi-Brand or Single Brand Dealerships
Multi-Brand Dealerships:
Some dealers are authorised by and supply more than one brand of equipment. By dealing with a supplier of more than one brand you could consider that you have more choice and a greater likelihood of fully meeting your multifunctional device requirements.
Single Brand Dealerships:
With single brand dealerships engineers only have to retain knowledge on one brand. This makes them more focussed and potentially better able to resolve issues quickly.
The stock of parts that the engineers carry in their vehicles can be dedicated to the one brand giving a greater car stock level (more parts mean a greater chance of the issue being resolved on the first visit and without the need to order in parts).
What Exactly Are You Being Offered?
Some of the tips listed below may make you feel you are swimming in Shark infested waters, this is not the intention as there are many authorised dealers that are customer focussed and provide excellent value for money and support. The tips below highlight the areas that you ideally need to cover in order that you are not potentially caught out by something later.
In order to know which supplier is offering you the best deal on your new equipment you need to be comparing like for like. Multifunctional devices can come in so many different permutations these days, so make sure when you have the specification that you are satisfied with, to use that exact specification when approaching other companies, this way you will be in a position to make a fair comparison.
Some questions to consider when making comparisons between two dealerships:
- Is the equipment quoted as a current machine or has it been discontinued/super ceded?
- Is the multifunctional device being offered as a new machine or second hand (often called refurbished or possibly a showroom model).
- If the device has a meter is it showing 0 (zero)? (or no more than 100 which allows for testing in the pre-delivery inspection)
- If you are considering leasing a device ask the supplier for the exact profile of the lease agreement. A five year lease would normally be made up of 20 equal quarterly payments. Some suppliers might ask you to sign a lease agreement made up of 21 payments or an additional up front payment equivalent to 2 quarters in advance.
- If upgrading a lease agreement for your current equipment; has the new supplier properly taken account of any lease/service settlements that may be required under the existing agreement? It is imperative that you check that this has been calculated comprehensively as otherwise you could well be left with an invoice for thousands of pounds that you didn't anticipate.
- Is the dealership geographically placed to support you without the need to sub contract the service and support to a third party provider? A third party provider may not consider excellent customer service is necessary for sub contract customers.
- Make sure that everything that you are being offered is in writing and that the final proposal is initialled by a director of the prospective supplier, if this is not done it could be possible for the provider to 'wriggle out' of their commitments stating that the proposal was not made by an authorised representative of the company.
- Too good to be true? If you receive an offer from a prospective supplier that seems too good to be true it most probably is. If the offer is significantly better than the others that you have had it is probable that the offer is not like-for-like.
If you would like some free advice regarding your proposal, or are unsure about the proposal you have received, then please Contact Us and we will do our best to review your proposal and offer the best advice.
Sales and Service Agreements
Although most authorised dealerships will have straightforward sales and service agreements it is recommended that you read the small print on the agreements before making a commitment to proceed.
Check that the service agreement being offered is exactly what you expect. Most suppliers of multifunctional devices will offer an all inclusive agreement where all the support that you require is covered.
Are there other charges that you need to be aware of? If a multifunctional device is being provided that has printing and scanning included there is likely to be a charge for supporting the hardware required for this functionality.
Does the agreement include all parts and toner for the duration of the agreement or is there a clause enabling the dealership to charge for items normally included in the agreement. If the dealership is not making a commitment to including all the required parts, toner and support for the duration of the agreement you may want to re evaluate whether the proposal measures up to others. If a dealership has the ability to charge for items normally included you can expect that they will do so when the opportunity arises.
Minimum Billing Charges
Some dealerships will apply minimum billing charges to your agreement. This may be the norm for smaller, low volume customers but if you have moderate copy/print volumes you would be well advised to check that no minimum billing applies. There could be potential excess charging if your new agreement is subject to minimum billing.
Termination of Sales and Service Agreements
Check the implications of terminating the agreement early, in an ideal world you will only be liable for a service settlement of 6 months service charges based upon an average volume over the past 6 months. Lease agreement settlements will be calculated by taking the number of outstanding rentals due, sometimes an early settlement discount may be applied.
After Sales Support
When each and every provider you speak with tells you that their support is the very best that you can get, how do you tell who really can support you best?
Customer Testimonials
Getting references from existing customers can be a great way of assessing the capabilities of a prospective supplier but we would recommend that you follow a specific process in order to gain meaningful information.
Most suppliers have some customers that they can always use as references so ask for a list of customers (a 100 or so with names only) that you can randomly select customers and ask for their contact details so that you may phone them.
When contacting existing customers, try to ask specific questions so that you get a more realistic feel for the support being provided.
Here are some questions that you may want to ask:
- How long have you used this supplier?
- How quickly do their technicians arrive when you make a support call?
- What percentage of occasions do the technicians resolve the issue on the first visit?
- What would you consider to be the biggest weakness of the supplier?
- How would you rate the advice from the supplier when required?
- How quickly are the telephones answered when a call is made to the supplier?
- How would you rate the competence and friendliness of the staff when you call?
- Have you ever had reason to complain about the services provided?
- Are there any areas that you feel the company could improve the services that they provide?
- Were there any unexpected charges or changes to what you were offered in the original proposal?
Some dealerships will send their customers questionnaires periodically to ask specific questions about the service that is provided. This is a sign of a company that wants to improve the levels of customer satisfaction.
Ask the dealership for examples of where things have not gone to plan with a new installation. I would suggest that you should have cause for concern if they state that they never have anything go wrong as we all make mistakes from time to time.
Often you only get to properly assess the commitment and customer service of your supplier when a problem happens; you get to see how the company responds and what actions are taken in order that you remain a satisfied customer. You may wish to ask to speak to a couple of customers where things went wrong? Ask if they were impressed with the way the matter was handled.
How many manufacturer trained technicians does the company employ? You could expect that the supplier employs at least 1 technician per 120 customers, if the number exceeds 150 then be aware that support cover may be thin on the ground.
Multifunctional Devices Health Check
If you would like one of our experts to help you in your procurement process we are happy to provide assistance from the initial enquiry level through to the purchase order being raised.
Our charge to provide the healthcheck service is £125 plus vat for telephone assistance for the purchase or lease of up to 5 devices.
For assistance in purchasing or leasing between 5 and 20 devices the charge is £495.
If you are looking to purchase more than 20 machines, then please Contact Us for a price.
To request a health check visit our Health Check form
http://www.multifunctionaldevices.co.uk/health-check.htmlPricing excludes VAT.
Health Check Services are only available to UK based clients.
Multifunctional Device Buyers Checklist
Check that you can tick most of the boxes below to be sure you are well on the way to making the right decision:
- The supplier is an authorised dealer
- The supplier has a strong financial base
- Confidence in salespersons ability to give advice and listen
- Selection of the right brand to meet your requirements
- Like for like quotations for true comparison purposes
- Checked customer testimonials
- Checked financial profile of offer
- Scrutinised sales and service agreements
- Comfortable with after sales support levels
Optional:
- Requested health check from multifunctional Devices
Visit the Health Check form to request a health check
http://www.multifunctionaldevices.co.uk/health-check.htmlAdd this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
