How a Leader in Global Construction Materials Eliminated End User Headaches and ERP Print Disruptions with Vasion Print and Vasion Output

 

Facing an aging print infrastructure, a crippling level of print-related helpdesk tickets, and costly disruptions to essential backend label printers, this enterprise leader in construction materials united the power of Vasion Print and Vasion Output to seamlessly upgrade their printer estate, unburden IT staff by empowering end users with print self-installation, and automate solutions to any issues with business-critical label printers.

 

This Vasion customer is a global leader in advanced insulation and building envelope solutions for the construction market, operating out of 212+ manufacturing sites in more than 80 countries worldwide.

 

If the wrong driver was installed on an end user’s computer, their prints would fail and an IT Team member would need to hold a time-consuming remote session to properly update the driver. As this scenario played out again and again, the team was hopelessly mired in helpdesk tickets for print failures, leaving no time for them to focus on more strategic projects to improve the business.

 

The  IT Infrastructure Team knew this situation would continue unless they could somehow fix and simplify printing for the end user.

 

The team also struggled to mitigate the issues brought on by outdated infrastructure, as well as the constant task of consolidating physical devices into a more efficient print environment.

 

“Whether we were routing a new driver, or just trying to feed, water, and maintain our servers, the management was incredibly time-consuming,” recalls one team lead.

 

The team experienced additional strain as they tried to accommodate the company’s specialized label printers. Any time these printers failed to properly print the large transport labels containing critical customer information and barcodes, shipping came to a halt, preventing timely deliveries and significantly impacting the customer experience.

 

“If label printing was broken or experiencing problems—for example, if labels wouldn’t print properly because they were not lined up on the paper—the consequences were considerable,” says one engineer. “We couldn’t ship the product, and we couldn’t get paid.”

 

The company’s IT Infrastructure Team knew they needed a print management solution that could meet three specific criteria:

 

1. Simplify end user printing for the front office to reduce helpdesk tickets and free up the IT Team for more strategic projects
2. Replace their outdated print servers with a single platform from which to control their entire print system
3. Minimize disruptions to business-critical ERP print operations

 

Their search led them to a serverless solution that was surprisingly simple to implement and use—one that effectively neutralized their printing challenges.

 

“I reached out to a former co-worker, and he recommended Vasion,” says one Infrastructure Team member. “So we started the conversation with them, saw a lot of potential in their direct IP approach, and decided to try it out. From there, the implementation was refreshingly straightforward and easy.”

 

They implemented Vasion Print to replace the printer estate, which stabilized their multifunctional devices (MFDs) and dramatically reduced outages for the end user. Since label printing is integral to keeping the business operational, the team also implemented Vasion Output. Vasion Output has an Output Automation Console, which allows team members to keep track of print jobs. They discovered that with the Console, they could easily create automations that reroute malfunctioning jobs to alternate working label printers, seamlessly preventing costly delays.

 

“It’s so easy,” says the Infrastructure Team member, speaking to Vasion Output features. “Suddenly, we don’t need to worry about the printers. [Vasion’s Output Automation Console] communicates when things need addressing and provides one single place to manage everything. From there, I can see printer problems when they arise and alert someone locally to put paper or toner in. It allows us to be proactive instead of reactive. Best of all, importing a printer is hassle-free compared to how we had to do it previously.”

He continues, “If there’s an issue with a printer, Vasion makes it easy to identify what the issue is and fix it. If there is a driver issue or user deployment issue, anyone at the service desk can just enter the printer name, where the printer is, enter the IP and driver, and fix the problem without my help.”

 

“Vasion Print automates the deployment and updating of printer drivers,” explains one of the company’s Cloud Team leaders. “This eliminates many of the most common printer issues before they even happen.”
In addition, Vasion Print made it simple for end users to find and use a printer to fit their needs. “For example, if they travel to a different site, the user can just go to the Self-Service Installation Portal, see the available printers based on location, and select a printer themselves, instead of having to submit a service desk ticket,” he says. “Vasion Print empowers end users to fix their own problems.”

 

 

These capabilities drastically reduced helpdesk ticket volume and freed up the team to improve the rest of the print environment and advance other strategic projects.

 

With front-end servers removed, tickets reduced, infrastructure trimmed down, and the user experience improved, the Infrastructure Team moved onto the backend, removing the remaining print server, and improving the resilience of critical printing, including their SAP printing services.

 

“Since our SAP printing and other printers had grown organically over time, with naming conventions being used unevenly across different sites, often depending on who created a given printer, this gave IT an opportunity to clean up printer names and standardize naming conventions,” says the company’s Cloud Team leader. “This made the system much easier to support.” His team is so happy with their initial trial results, they have decided to route all of their SAP printing through Vasion Output.

 

Since implementing Vasion Print and Vasion Output, the IT Infrastructure Team has witnessed a marked reduction in printer issue incidents and helpdesk tickets—and significantly fewer escalations.

“It’s definitely lessened the burden on me,” says the Infrastructure engineer. “Our end users are happier since they encounter far fewer deployment and update issues and just trust that things will work. Our team is happier because they are free from ticket overload and can act proactively to make our print system better and more reliable.”

 

And in rare instances the Infrastructure Team needed help, they noted how quick and easy it was to get on a call with Vasion’s award-winning support team.

 

“To be honest, support has been top notch—no matter if it’s a critical issue or not,” the engineer says.