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Brother highlights the 'paper-lite' opportunity
Firm has charted an increase in scanning as SMEs look to try to reduce the amount of paper they are printing
Dreams of offices becoming paperless might have failed to have come to fruition but firms are taking steps to reduce the amount of printed material they are producing.
Brother is keen to nudge the channel over the opportunity the firm believes is out there for those that can talk to customers about moving to a 'paper-lite' office.
The firm has undertaken research to discover just what is happening out there in the corporate environment and found that although 61% of businesses are trying to reduce paper consumption, 63% of managers admit they could not function without it and 41% of SMEs are printing more now than they did two years ago.
The research also found that only half of managers have a firm grip on the amount they spend on printing and not far off the same percentage had seen costs increase in the last couple of years.
Resellers that can provide integrated print and scan systems seem to be the best positioned because of the ability to help control costs and increase efficiency.
Staff appear to be using scanners more regularly and are increasingly happier scanning documents because it can help reduce desk clutter and make it easier to share documents with colleagues in other locations.
“Our latest research shows that paper, ink and toner are still essential to the running of offices. So while the dream of a completely paperless office might be out of reach, adopting a ‘paper-lite’ approach is a realistic aspiration that most managers are striving to achieve," said Aaron Hopkinson, product and solutions manager at Brother UK.
“This means businesses want to be smarter about how they print and reduce the amount of paper they use, and also see the value in digitising paper documents with support from scan solutions," he added.
