You can make your own photo ID badges, access cards, smart cards or key fobs on premise, or you can outsource the production and buy ready-to-use credentials as a service. “Opting for cards as a service is often the best choice. There are 8 great benefits to this approach,” says Gustaf Broman, product manager at identity and security company Nexus Group.
1. You can focus on your core business.
Outsourcing your card, tag and key fob production means that you just order the physical credentials when you need them and get them delivered. No need to worry about processes, competences, equipment and maintenance; producing cards, tags and key fobs can be a complicated task, involving everything from making sure that the ribbon of the printer is operational to being in control of the data parameters for each physical credential.
2. It is cost-efficient.
It often costs significantly less to outsource your card and key fob production than to manage it yourself, since production of physical credentials requires skilled people, equipment and materials. Moreover, when you buy cards and key fobs as a service, you only pay for what you get. If you produce your own cards, you will have to throw away 10–20 percent of all cards, due to complications such as printer ribbon breakages and unclean cards.
3. You get flexibility in capacity.
Read blog post 24 reasons for ordering cards as a service from Nexus
An external vendor can often manage very large volumes, often without any upper limit. This means that you could easily rebadge an entire staff if you were to change company logotype or acquire a company.
4. You get continuous high quality.
A good vendor of cards, tag and key fobs as a service has a process that is highly digitalized and has very skilled personnel handling the manual parts. If, for example, your receptionist is asked to manage the card production, you run an increased risk of human errors.
5. You are less dependent on people.
With cards and key fobs as a service, you are less vulnerable to staff falling ill or leaving the organization, and you do not have to worry about keeping the competence up to date.
Read blog post Checklist: How to choose the right card holders
6. The vendor makes sure the card gets to the right place.
Managing the logistics of sending cards and key fobs to the right office, factory or school can be a headache if you have several locations. When you outsource the production, you also outsource the task of getting the card or key fob to the right location.
7. You do not need to keep stock.
Making sure that you always have enough card and key fob materials, consumables for the printers, and card holders is a task that requires time, money and space.
8. You do not have to keep up with developments in the card industry.
It is the vendor’s responsibility to follow market trends and keep security features, technologies, processes and equipment up to date.
Read more on Nexus GO Cards as a service