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Founded in 1954 and representing Nova Scotia’s eight school boards
that serve more than 500 schools and 156,000 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 Co-ordinator.
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.”
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