Kodak i5650v Color Scanner

The scanner is an indispensable office equipment in today’s times. Our office already has a scanner but upgrading to a new model will improve efficiency several times. The present scanner in our office is a monochromatic scanner and cannot produce colored scanned documents. Also, the present scanner cannot at a time scan a large batch of documents. In comparison to the existing scanner the proposed Kodak i5650 V color scanner includes features of multiple batches scanning, intelligent imprinting and simple patch counting. The proposed product will significantly improve efficiency as employees will spend less time in document adjustments and would also reduce the need to redo the scans.

Vendor Selection

The procurement team has received quotations from five vendors. The vendors are among the authorized vendor list and our company has transacted with them in the past. The vendors hold good credentials and certifications.

The following vendors have been shortlisted

1. Jet.com

2. Copyfaxes

3. ScanTastik

4. NextWareHouse

5. TigerDirect

Vendor Proposal

Jet.com: Jet.com proposes to supply the product at a cost of $ 43332.8. The product carries manufacturer’s warranty on parts of 90 days. Jet.com has asked for a delivery time of within one week. The vendor has not provided any details regarding maintenance services plan for the scanner.

Copyfaxes: Copyfaxes proposes to supply the product at a price of $ 43125. The product carries the standard warranty of 90 days on parts. Copyfaxes has asked for a delivery time period of within one week. The vendor has provided details regarding its service plan offer. The vendor has proposed one year, two year and three year onsite service plan for the product and quotations for the same are $5165, $9950 and $14,465 respectively. The service plan includes product support and extended warranties for the product by one, two or three years depending upon the duration of service plan chosen.

ScanTastik: Scan Tastik has asked a price of $ 38129 for the scanner. The scanner comes along with a parts warranty of 90 days. Scan Tastik has mentioned its delivery time as within ten working days. The vendor proposal includes details of its service plan. The vendor has proposed a one year, two year and three year service plan for the scanner and quotations for the service plans are $5120, $9800 and $14,300 respectively.  If service plan is opted for then the extended warranty for the scanner will be assumed by the vendor for the tenure of service plan adopted.

Next Warehouse: The price quoted by the vendor for the scanner $ 41702.82. The scanner comes through the vendor with accompanied limited warranty of ninety days. The vendor has asked for a delivery time of seven days after receiving the order. The vendor has also provided details of service plan for the scanner. Next Warehouse has proposed a three year comprehensive service plan including three years extended product warranty priced at $14,399. The vendor also offers a two year and one year service plan and extended warranties of same durations priced at $9700 and $ 5200 respectively.

Tiger Direct: Price asked for the Kodak scanner by Tiger Direct is $47321.03. The Kodak scanner comes from Tiger Direct with warranty as provided by Kodak (manufacturer’s warranty). In its proposal Tiger Direct has stated delivery time next day after getting the order. Tiger Direct has proposed to provide 3 months onsite support and response time the next day. The proposal of Tiger Direct also proposes extended warranty for the scanner for one, two and three years under service plans for one two and three years. Service plans include extended warranty over the service plan tenure and onsite product support. The price quoted for three year, two year and one year service plans by Tiger Direct are $ 14, 277, $ 9899 and $ 5344 respectively.

Vendor Comparison Sheet for Product Kodak i5650V Scanner

VENDOR

PRICE ($)

PRODUCT WARRANTY

DELIVERY SCHEDULE

SERVICE PLAN

Jet.com

43332.8

Manufacturer warranty-: parts:90days

within 1 week

n/a

Copyfaxes

43125

standard warranty is 90 days parts

within 1 week

yes

ScanTastik

38129

standard warranty is 90 days parts

within 10 working days

Yes

NextWareHouse

41702.82

Limited Warranty- 90days

within 7 working days

yes

TigerDirect

47321.03

Manufacturer Warranty

next day

Yes

Vendor Service Plan Details

Vendor

Three year Service Plan charges ($)

Two Year Service Plan Charges ($)

One Year Service Plan Charges ($)

Jet.com

NA

Copyfaxes

14465

9950

5165

ScanTastik

14300

9800

5120

NextWareHouse

14399

9700

5200

TigerDirect

14277

9899

5344

Vendor Selection Criteria

Purchase and Service Plan: At this stage combining the issue of scanner purchase and scanner service plan can be complex. It is hence forth advised that the company conducts the purchase of scanner first without considering the details of the service plan at this stage. However it is recommended to select that vendor who has capabilities and staff to deliver services under service plan. A sole trader without service facilities should be avoided as if the scanner is sourced from such a vendor, getting an adequate service plan from other vendors can prove to be a difficulty later. The vendors have to be informed that the company has a separate policy for product purchase and product service and at present quotations only need to mention the terms and conditions for product purchase. However it should be hinted to the vendors that should the vendor provide better quotes and the product is sourced from that particular vendor then the chance of that vendor winning the service contract would be high provided all relevant criteria related to service contracts are suitably addressed by that vendor.

Right from the date of ownership of the scanner by the company the manufacturer warranty will begin to apply. In this case the manufacturer is Kodak and Kodak is offering a three month warranty on parts for the Kodak i5650 V scanner. This implies that till three months if the scanner somehow malfunctions or reports below standard performance from as mentioned in the product catalogue then the responsibility of problem resolution or replacing parts or the entire product will be that of the manufacturer that is Kodak and the customer will not be levied any charges for the same.

The scanner will have to carry the standard manufacturer warranty (in this case of 90 days with parts) irrespective from the vendor from which the product is sourced.

Scanner Service Plan Decision: The decision for putting the scanner under an adequate service plan cannot be much deferred though. As soon as the warranty period of 90 days gets over, the company will be under the risk of bearing the entire cost should the scanner happen to fail after the warranty period. Hence it is advisable for the company to finalize a service contract for the scanner before the scanner comes out of warranty.

Price Criteria: For purchasing the scanner, the price factor should hold the priority, if other factors (delivery schedule) are more or less the same. Why should anyone pay more for the same product? It is important though that upon delivery the product is matched with the specifications and it should be ensured that original manufacturer product of the stated specifications has been supplied by the vendor. Manufacturer products have specific identification numbers, the same should be ascertained while accepting the delivery. Should there be any shortfall or deviations regarding the product, the product would have to be returned immediately and vendor should be subjected to penalties as governed by the terms and conditions of the purchase contract.

While deciding the service contract price may play a secondary role as factors like vendor customer problem resolution system, vendor team, vendor capabilities, vendor response time, service contract comprehensiveness and other criteria acquire precedence.