Kelley Solutions

When the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston (VNAB) became dissatisfied with its print supplier, they realized it was time for a 21st century solution for managing the more than 300 printed forms and records so crucial to its operation. In 2006 alone, its 650 employees provided more than 250,000 home care visits to over 14,000 patients.

The VNAB had come to know Kelley Solutions for its professionalism and its patience and chose them for their progressive thinking and 35-year history of delivering innovative, cost-cutting e-Business print solutions.

Assessment:

As always, Kelley Solution's first step was to collect and analyze situational data gathered during initial client conferences and evaluate VNAB's written responses to its detailed customer profile. Kelley then assigned a dedicated account team to service the account. For many years, VNAB fulfilled its myriad of manual forms and paper products through a traditional offset printer. They printed large quantities that were inventoried and accessed through requisition forms. Many products became obsolete (or required updates) long before the inventory ran out, resulting in thousands of dollars of spent on obsolete products.

Implementation:

Kelley saw that the VNAB needed to look at the big picture, at the specific uses of each product and what kind of system and workflow would make ordering more efficient and eliminate wasteful printing. Kelley Solutions helped VNAB engineer a solution that met both challenges: an online ordering system that actively manages all of VNAB's printing requirements.

Kelley's solution had two main components: converting hard copy documents to electronic forms, and analyzing which documents changed frequently or did not have large usage.

Management:

First, the VNAB adopted a new method for handling the majority of forms that its nurses use in the field. Approximately 150 traditional hard copy documents were converted to electronic forms that nurses could access on their laptop computers. This eliminated the need to pre-print forms that would be stored in inventory. It was crucial, however, that the manual forms be available if the VNAB's computer systems was down for any period of time. Phase one of the implementation involved creating an online environment where personnel could access copies of the electronic forms via PDF should access to the electronic versions be interrupted. Employees also had the option of ordering small quantities of specific forms for on-demand drop shipment.

Phase two involved identifying what products either changed frequently or did not have wide usage. Once identified, these items would be printed on-demand, eliminating the waste when obsolete products had to be discarded. Because large inventories would no longer be kept, print turnaround time was critical. Kelley committed to 48-72 hour turnaround on these products.

End Results:

The conversion saved the VNAB thousands of dollars annually in printing costs and eliminated the waste caused when print products became obsolete and had to be discarded. The Kelley approach made inventories smaller and easier to manage, increased cash flow, and created a process for the timely delivery of updated products.

Products that still had to be printed in bulk and inventoried were evaluated carefully based on up-front printing costs and associated discounts as well as predicted frequency of changes. Appropriate order quantities were identified for each item.

The Kelley solution ultimately provided tremendous improvements in operational efficiency, customer service levels (internal and external), print turnaround times, and delivery of products. Overall expenditures have been significantly reduced with a new system that enhances each aspect of print management.