Inkjet & Digital Printing

Xerox to Provide Technology and Services for Two Higher Ed Consortia

Thursday 18. September 2008 - Midwestern Higher Education Compact and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education members to benefit from three-year Xerox contract

In an effort to offer the latest technology at an affordable price, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact has signed a new three-year contract, including four possible one-year renewals, with Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) for printing equipment and document management services. MHEC will also extend this agreement to its sister organization, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
MHEC and WICHE are statutorily created consortia that span more than 1,700 colleges and universities located across 25 states. MHEC is charged with promoting interstate cooperation and resource sharing for these institutions. Members benefit from MHEC’s negotiated group contracts that are specifically tailored to higher education needs.

“We first began working with Xerox in 2003, and our members have benefitted greatly through cost savings and improved efficiencies in their print environments,” said Grant Crawford, chief information officer for MHEC. “As a consortium, we were able to negotiate a contract with Xerox where our members will continue to save by taking advantage of the power of cooperative purchasing.”

Under the contract, MHEC and WICHE members can turn to Xerox for their office printing needs, such as multifunction devices, laser printers, copiers and fax machines. The contract also includes any production-level printing needs members may have.

The full portfolio of Xerox Global Services’ offerings will also be available, including Xerox Office Productivity Assessments that will examine copy, print and fax volumes across an entire organization and identify opportunities to save money by consolidating equipment. Members can also utilize Xerox’s Document Advisor Services to help manage the information overload of student records and administrative documents schools continually face.

For example, the Milwaukee Area Technical College, an MHEC member, signed on with Xerox last year to overhaul the school’s document management systems. The college anticipated savings of approximately $3.5 million over the length of its five-year commitment with Xerox using the MHEC agreements.

“Xerox worked with us to develop and implement a plan to upgrade our equipment, achieve overall efficiency, provide on-site technical support, and realize significant savings in capital and operating expenses,” said Dr. Darnell E. Cole, president, Milwaukee Area Technical College. “Based on the strength of the results driven from our initial investment, we look forward to expanding our partnership to achieve additional efficiencies.”