Toshiba and Imagine Technology Group Slash Expenses and Streamline Service for DriveTime
DriveTime operates 165 dealerships throughout the United States—from the mid-Atlantic to the Southwest. It finances and services car loans for 99 percent of its customers, which is part of the company’s distinctive market focus on serving customers who may have poor credit or no credit at all.
DriveTime’s 25-year market focus is paying off. The company has sold more than 500,000 cars, issued more than $4 billion in loans, and currently services 145,000 customer loan accounts.
Nationwide Printer Support Alleviates Internal Strain
With so many offices, came many different imaging devices requiring maintenance and service at varying intervals. In fact, the company had approximately 1,000 printers at one time. DriveTime’s six regional technicians were responsible for maintaining not only the company’s computer and phone systems, but their copiers and printers as well, and each covered a territory of 15 or more dealerships.
“Dealerships would submit a service request to our internal Help Desk in Phoenix. The ticket would get assigned to a regional support technician. The tech would contact the store, and try to troubleshoot the issue remotely. If they couldn’t troubleshoot over the phone they would arrange a visit to the dealership,” said Bobbi Polk, MIS coordinator for DriveTime.
This is where the system began to break down. Sometimes the technician would be hundreds of miles away from the dealership and unable to resolve the printer problem for several days. The technician in Tampa, for example, also covers Orlando and Jacksonville and has 20 dealerships and approximately 80 networked printers in the territory to support at any given time.
Toshiba office equipment reseller, Imagine Technology Group concluded that DriveTime was spending about $28,000-$30,000 per month on toner alone. In addition to toner and other consumables, regional technicians incurred the expense of time, travel, and parts to return a printer to service. Too often replacement printers were purchased to sustain business operations.
At peak DriveTime managed 1,000 printers with limited onsite support and lengthy SLAs. The $28,000 dollars in toner only covered orders processed through a national supply vendor. They also had dealers who ordered from their local office supply stores. A true total cost of ownership was difficult to measure, but there was little doubt that printer related expenses required immediate attention.
Imagine Technology Group introduced DriveTime to Toshiba’s PageSmart solution which could support a nationwide fleet of printers, offer a flat-rate cost-per-page, guarantee profitability and recognize revenue – while reducing DriveTime’s cost of printing.
Toshiba’s PageSmart enables authorized dealers to purchase an end-to-end managed print services system including nationwide on-site service, toner, parts, ecommerce, automated meter collection and help desk services on a cost-per-page basis.
By utilizing PageSmart, Imagine Technology Group was able to extend its current capabilities and service coverage allowing DriveTime to achieve significant savings. As the economy struggled, most businesses were looking to cut operational expenses. Imagine Technology Group signed DriveTime up for a base contract of one million pages per month resulting in an immediate monthly savings of $8,000 – $10,000.
Recycling Made Easy
Toshiba and Imagine Technology Group also introduced automated supply replenishment to increase operational efficiencies and reduce administrative burdens. Continuous device monitoring facilitates proactive supply shipments only when needed, reducing DriveTime’s cost and eliminating labor involvement in toner purchases.
“Toshiba also has a wonderful recycling program where recycling containers are shipped directly to us with prepaid shipping labels. All we have to do is drop in the used toner cartridges and send them off without worrying about the shipping expenses,” said Polk.
But toner is only one part of the savings that DriveTime enjoys with Toshiba. As part of the contract, Toshiba dealers across the country now service DriveTime’s printers. Today, when a printer goes down, the DriveTime dealer either calls the Help Desk, or logs the service request online, and the local Toshiba dealer takes it from there.
“That’s why Toshiba was an ideal partner – they have servicing dealers in each region,” added Art Anderson, IT Manager for DriveTime. “Toshiba can be at each dealership to resolve the issue, instead of remote troubleshooting that often delayed repair times.”
As a result, DriveTime technicians are now free to focus on client, computer, and server issues, which are more easily addressed remotely.”
Optimizing Workflow Uncovers Other Cost Savings
As DriveTime’s business expands into new markets, print volume has gone up, too. Upon completing a review of the PageSmart program, DriveTime discovered significant and ongoing savings have been realized in the cost of toner, consumables, premature equipment replacement and servicing expenses.
To optimize DriveTime’s workflow and reduce expenses, Toshiba integrated document management software to help the car seller operate more efficiently by seamlessly storing and retrieving vital documents. This solution is saving DriveTime more than $100,000 annually.
In partnership with DriveTime, Imagine Technology Group and Toshiba continue to monitor and adjust the PageSmart solution for more cost savings. In addition, DriveTime annually reviews and refreshes their aging MFPs with Toshiba e-STUDIO™ MFPs to maintain their copier fleet in support of business operations and initiatives.
Having saved more than $100,000 annually with Imagine Technology Group and Toshiba, DriveTime is engaging the team for its next generation online used car seller, Carvana. The DriveTime-backed company founded in 2013 is expanding rapidly with locations nationwide. Imagine Technology Group and Toshiba are an integral part of their growth strategy.
