Nova Scotia School Boards Association (NSSBA)

Education.

IKON Delivers in Nova Scotia

Founded in 1954 and representing Nova Scotia’s eight school boards that serve more than 460 schools and 139,000 students, the Nova Scotia School Boards Association (NSSBA) is dedicated to excellence in public education. The NSSBA provides a common voice for school boards in presentations to the provincial government and to organizations concerned with education and also provides professional development to its members.

Through the NSSBA central purchasing program, local school boards can participate in the bulk purchase of goods and services. Advantages of this purchasing program include centralized negotiations, standardization of products and significant cost savings.

Last year, the NSSBA put out a call for tender to supply over 600 Multi-Functional Products (MFP’s - copier, fax, printer, scanner) to elementary, junior high and high schools, school boards and to the NSSBA. Schools, boards and the NSSBA all produce documents and newsletters for students, teachers, parents, administrators and the public, so reliable copiers are essential.

“While price was an important part of the tender, to win the contract, the company would have to provide a wide variety of reliable products and demonstrate its ability to service them effectively and efficiently,” said Karen Tavenor, NSSBA Finance and Office Manager.

The tender called for a variety of models because the volume and type of copies produced at schools and boards varies by numbers of students and employees. Service is also an important issue as some schools are located in rural areas while others are in urban centres. The NSSBA wanted to ensure that all schools and boards received equal treatment in terms of service response time no matter where they were located.

In November 2006, the NSSBA awarded the four-year contract, valued at $7 million, to IKON Office Solutions, Inc., the world’s largest independent channel for copiers, printers and multifunction printer technologies. IKON integrates best-in-class systems from leading manufacturers, such as Canon, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, EFI and HP, and document management software from companies like Captaris, Kofax, eCopy and others.

While IKON is a major player in the North American and European markets, its strength – beyond affordable, reliable copiers and related technology – was an impressive local presence.

“Trained, experienced technical staff in every school board district ensured prompt service within the terms of the contract,” said Sean Smith, IKON Office Solutions Inc. Canadian President. “In addition, IKON service staff carry the most commonly used parts on service calls, so equipment can generally be made operational onsite on the first service call, which is critical as many schools only have one photocopier.”

The rollout of copiers and multifunction devices across the schools and boards that belong to the NSSBA is well underway, reports Karen Tavenor, and all is going exceptionally well. “We are looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with IKON.”