Posts Tagged ‘Ricoh’

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The Next Chapter – Everything I Look For In an Event!

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Jim Lichtenberg, founder of Lightspeed, LLC, sheds light on the upcoming book publishing event and his excitement to ‘turn the next page’

Jim Lichtenberg, founder of Lightspeed, LLC


There is a lot of excitement surrounding the next generation of publishing and I’m thrilled to consider myself a part of it. Between industry demands shifting to an on-demand model and customer needs expanding to support new devices, the publishing market has entered a time of sustained evolutio n.  So when Ricoh invited me to speak at “The Next Chapter” event, it’s first-ever, books-driven event, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. This gathering aims to bridge the gap between publishers and book manufacturers by addressing the challenging business issues facing the market – I knew this was right up my alley.

Perhaps only a few years ago, there was still debate about the anticipated transformation of the entire publishing industry – especially around its speed, direction, and extent. But today, that debate is over. Well, the transformation is here and it’s radical. Yet, we’re still finalizing the details, especially about how, where and when we will reach a new plateau of stability – establishing a new standard different from the 250 year old structure.   Clarity about this is a long ways off.

What we do know is that publishing continues to grow in popularity as digital product.  There’s a collapse of retail for physical product, and there’s a trend toward shorter runs and less to zero inventory. Print on demand and, the equally important, new digital print engines have also garnered tremendous movement and development.

This development and resurgence of technology isn’t the only issue. Rather, companies have to consider the transformation of the business model and the pressures facing the entire supply chain. Printers included, the new business model requires adjustments to allow businesses processes to accelerate to meet new forms of customer demand.

One of the most important ways to address these new demands is through automation. Automation it is the key to creating a sustainable business in this new environment.  Even more importantly, the key to automation is understanding and evolving the workflow, ideally from author to reader, but at least and at first across the printing industry.

During my presentation at the Next Chapter I will highlight how transformation in workflow is now mission-critical, or addressing how a change in business model puts industries in peril. This event will undoubtedly explore the challenges and possible solutions in print, e-delivery and workflow.

All in all, I am very excited for the opportunity to discuss these issues, with a range of players in publishing, because it is only through dialogue across the supply chain that sustainable and sustaining solutions can be found.

What do you think?  Are you joining us to hear more about The Next Chapter?

Best,

Jim

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Posted in Commercial print, book printing, e-delivery, print on demand | No Comments »

Who Should Assess? YOU Should Assess!

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

This blog post is contributed from our colleague, Paul Abdool, an international thought leader in the production print space.  He is the National Practice Manager for the Production Print and Mail Practice Group within the Enterprise Solutions division of Ricoh. 

Paul Abdool, National Practice Manager, Ricoh

Don’t “Just Do It”

Nike™ and Wieden+Kennedy, Nike’s primary ad agency, coined the now-famous slogan “Just Do It” for a 1988 Nike ad campaign.  This statement encouraged us to get moving and get fit.  It inspired us to stop procrastinating with our fitness and make a spontaneous-like decision to improve ourselves. 

Although I am a big fan of spontaneity, fitness and focus, there are a few things in this world that need to be thought out to “do it” just right. 

The Patio Builder

A few years ago, I was in the market for a new deck, or at least I thought I was.  I wanted a stable, flat surface for my barbeque, a place to put a patio set to eat dinner at in the summer and a place to catch some rays.  So being a “due diligence” kind of guy, I thought I would call a few companies to get some quotes.  The approaches by the companies were very different.  Wood deck builders wanted to know where I lived and the size of the deck I wanted.  The concrete patio guys said, “We would like to schedule an appointment to check out your backyard and discuss your needs prior to providing available times and pricing.”  So I received my quote via email from the deck company in the afternoon and the next evening I met with the patio “pre-assessment” fellow.  The gentleman from the patio company inquired about my needs, asked about my time constraints and measured the area.  In about 45 minutes he gave me a description of their process, the staff, provided references and addresses in the area so I could check out their work.  He then provided an estimate and asked if that was around what I was thinking about spending.

What did he really do?

  • He listened to my needs – he did not provide a cookie cutter quote
  • He created credibility – he explained the designs he had done for others with similar wishes
  • He established my budget – he ensured that he was only going to do what I could afford
  • He knew what type of effort it would take so that I knew what to expect
  • He answered all of my questions

Now that I had an idea of the budget, the temporary disruption level and project timing, he sent in his “technical” crew leader to double check the quote, take final measurements, create a project plan and to ensure that he had a full understanding of my needs.  Ultimately, I was satisfied.  Why?  Because they did not “just do it”.

Why do we do assessments?

Like the patio builder, I do “pre-assessments” before digging into a project – pun intended.  The pre-assessments allow me to better understand the project and the potential for improving the current state.  I also conduct assessments or discoveries, as we call them, if the organization wants to optimize their document production operation and processes.

My point is simple.  Professionals from all industries conduct assessments. 

And here’s why:

  • To establish a current state = this is critical for measuring against in the future
  • customers need to know how much the proposed changes will improve their operation
  • To build a Return on Investment model – in these times of shrinking budgets and shortened timelines, a good ROI is critical
  • To create a plan = a well thought out plan is critical to reaching goals and measuring success

 So, why should you budget time and money for professionals to conduct assessments? 

  • To gain access to technical skills -it is impossible to be an expert in all areas, professionals have tools and methodologies to gather information quickly, a specialist will notice things that you may not
  • To experience and benchmark – since the specialist conducting the assessment does it every day, they are able to discuss trends and how you compare to others professionals will continually improve their processes to get better results for the next customer so you benefit from their past
  • Because you don’t know what you don’t know – professionals have to stay abreast of the latest technology and offerings in the market they know the answers to questions you have not even thought of asking yet or how to find answers through their network of expert peers
  • To deliver concise presentations – professionals can summarize goals, issues, data and other facts into a succinct message so all stakeholders involved understand the options and what is in it for them

Ben Franklin was right

In 1736, Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  He was referring to insurance but it certainly applies to anything that you can avoid messing up by doing your due diligence or homework – including print!  Anything that is significant to you or your organization, whether it is building a deck, running a business, or even selecting a new workflow should be thought through thoroughly to truly understand to meaning and value of your ultimate decision.  

What do you think?  Do you share my practice of assessing before making large business decisions?  Please share!

Best,

Paul Abdool

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Posted in ADF, AFP, Commercial print, Precision Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

A Day of Caring: The Ricoh Way

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

A sense of community and union is very important to Ricoh, and that’s why we enjoy taking the time to give back. As Ricoh is part of Boulder’s beautiful community, we really look forward to getting out and volunteering our time and resources whenever and wherever needed. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about – finding fun and productive ways to say “thank you” to the community? That’s what we believe!

Hard at Work!

Hence, at Ricoh, employees are encouraged to volunteer their time and to utilize the workforce to help others who may not have the same opportunities.  Just this past August, 65 Ricoh Boulder employees volunteered at the Foothills United Way’s 18th annual Day of Caring. This was a great opportunity to get together with other local businesses and residences and work on projects that needed tending to. This was just one example of a time when Ricoh put its community first. Volunteer projects included helping paint and landscape the local homeless shelter and helping create a schedule of classes, workshops and events for the Nonprofit Cultivation Center’s 2012 Technology summit. In total, more than 950 community volunteers came together to work on dozens of projects for different local nonprofit organizations.

One Ricoh employee said, “No one was shy about getting their hands dirty, and they were a great help in preparing the Shelter for the winter season. The Homeless Shelter could not provide the services it does without the help of volunteers like the Ricoh family.”

Another praised, “It was refreshing to see so many people from all areas of Ricoh working hard to help others. It made me proud to be a part of RPPS!”

Ready to Help!

All the participating nonprofit agencies were more than grateful for the volunteers’ time and enthusiasm. However, we believe we’re the lucky ones – for having the opportunity to help such devoted and selfless organizations.  Ricoh looks forward to the next Day of Caring!

Happy Holidays -

Michele Bollig

Worldwide Marketing Manager

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Pizza, Lobster and Print…What Do They Have in Common?

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Print is perishable. Like a pizza, printers have to deliver while the job is “fresh.” In our world, “fresh” means according to a sales order, from a menu of choices, and delivered in a timely manner.

Simple, right? And if the printer can’t deliver, the job doesn’t disappear….it simply moves to another shop.

It is hard to imagine any manufacturing business model where the manufacturer never gets the same raw materials to build their product.  Think about any industry – the auto industry, the computer industry, the fragrance industry… heck even the restaurant industry – where all their
work is perishable. Thinking of it this way, print is very similar to most of these industries.

What if you visited your favorite restaurant chain, lets say Red Lobster (since it is the world’s largest chain, who knew!) and you were there expecting to order the Shrimpfest. Except on this visit, Red Lobster only has monkfish, no shrimp. (Sidebar: If you have been around a monkfish, you’ll know it’s virtually impossible to confuse it with a shrimp. I just saw someone on an old TopChef episode try to clean one and prepare it; it officially cured me of eating any fish for about a year, but I digress.)

Back to the Red Lobster example. They may even have another type of fish aside from monkfish – but whatever the case is, it’s not exactly the same dish you had on your previous vist…which made you want to come back.  Maybe their oven has been replaced by a microwave. Maybe they don’t have panko breadcrumbs and have to use crackers this time.  No matter the reason, all the materials are slightly different, but it’s the same order!
This will not meet your expectations and you won’t be happy.  You may even stop visiting Red Lobster. The point is, due to the variation in an order, the restaurant may lose a customer and in the service industry, food or print, customers keep us alive. Consistency is vital to making customers happy.

Like lots of manufacturers, commercial printers bring together an amalgamation of different materials and technologies from different sources, some old and some very new, to fulfill an expectation.  Many times, the printer does not receive the exact same materials each time they manufacture the job.  The printer might have to chase the exact same paper, though the vendors and mills change all the time. Their conventional versus digital print processes work on completely different technologies and standards, often difficult to even get close. And the actual content or digital files they get to build the job probably have the widest variation, and unfortunately this issue is getting worse as customers create files and images from more and more digital devices and channels.

It is not a surprise that the printing industry has so much variation; the advent of new technologies has allowed many exciting new ways to capture the imagination and expectations of the print buyer.  But the industry have done little to lessen the load on the commercial printer to juggle the manufacturing process around the ever shifting sands of supplies, suppliers, people and presses, and those pesky digital file formats.  To help alleviate this issue, commercial printers should seek out true “partners” (not vendors) to aid them in adjusting to this ongoing shift and to embrace these new technologies.  Some say food is the way to one’s soul…but for many its consistent print output!

Til next time,

Joey Print Pants

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Posted in Commercial print, Precision Marketing | No Comments »

Customer Video: Helping Enhance Swiss Efficiency

Friday, November 18th, 2011

Switzerland has a reputation for efficiency. But as we have found out, its expertise extends further than precision watches and perfect chocolate to transaction printing.

With 600 employees, B-Source is Switzerland’s leading company providing business process and IT outsourcing. It aims to help its clients in the banking and financial sector become more efficient, leaner and more secure.

As one of the leading providers of outsourcing services in the field of document output management, B-Source supports its customers as they communicate with their consumers using both print and online tools.

This video interview, in German and with English subtitles, covers B-Source Outline’s decision to examine its workflow, evaluate ADF, and covers why it chose InfoPrint Process Director to help its clients communicate with their customers.

They key factors in decision making were vendor neutrality, the use of standard components including a browser interface and the management system for controlling the production environment.

Watch the video here:  B-Source and Ricoh

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Posted in ADF, Multichannel, Precision Marketing | No Comments »

Graph Expo 2011 – Day Two @ Ricoh Booth 2600

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Another day, another success!  From pro Paula Creamer to our busy Connection Center, ending with our Commercial Print Cocktail Hour, we’re we going strong all day long.

New to the show this year, our booth featured a “connection center” – a place where customers can come to connect with a member of our team to understand our Ricoh solutions.  Three people from RPPS and three people from Ricoh were deemed “connectors.”   The Connectors have the breadth of knowledge (and the great smiles) that made them absolutely perfect to play the unifying role to help our customers and prospects “connect” the dots between our offerings and solutions.

Two of our Connectors smiling for the cameras!

Also this year, PGA superstar Paula Creamer joined us in our booth for a “putt off” with show attendees.  The line of folks looking  to putt with Paula flooded our booth long before she even arrived.  And once they got started, you could hear the cheers from afar.  She played along with and encourage attendees with her skills.  And on top of that, Paula signed pictures taken earlier in the day of her with our customers.  Printed on our equipment in the booth, these images were well-received due to their high graphic arts quality.

Paula Creamer cheers on her fans!

And now onto the cocktail party…

On Monday night,  we held a large customer event at the Field Museum in Chicago which was preceded by a cocktail hour for our friends in the commercial print space.  We talked with them about the value of adding digital solutions to their operations while Liz Miller, vice president of programming and operations at the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council talked about what marketers are thinking about their budge dollars.  The biggest “ah ha” moment of the night was when she pointed to research stating that marketers are spending more now than they have in the past three years – and their biggest spend is no other than PRINT!  Who says print is dead?

This trend of increased digital printing was not just being discussed over a cocktail, but I was involved in many conversations about it at our booth today as well.  In our Business Development area, I couldn’t keep track of the number of attendees who had their own “ah ha” moment when we described how we’ve helped customers from a true solutions perspective (hardware, software, solutions and professional services).  It was really rewarding to see so many folks looking to hear more and more.

Like Caitlin started this post, I’m ending it with another day, another success.  Here’s to Day Three!

Best,

Caitlin McBrair and Joe Caruso

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Making the Switch to Digital

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

At this year’s Graph Expo, Ricoh is cranking up the commercial print energy, and will focus on helping customers expand and enhance their digital printing capabilities!

Joe Caruso, Global Business Development, Commercial Print

Commercial printers sometimes juggle several different solutions that complete an overall workflow; they even get stuck buying workflow software based on specific customer requirements! What a pain!  They have to do the best for their customers with workflow and optimize productivity with all kinds of different solutions– which is a key reason to engage with a proven and professional services and solutions team that can help to connect all the dots (like Ricoh!)

Most commercial printers are fundamentally changing their approach and their offerings to their customer base, where print becomes just one communication channel in their overall portfolio.  Thinking like a marketer will get print companies to utilize data and  drive content, design, and production – ingredients the printer already has access to!

Integration of timely and relevant data is crucial for their customers who are trying to differentiate from their competition.

By the way,  driving these proven communications are in high demand.  Recent surveys show both a double-digit ROI and increased customer retention; so commercial print customers will be excited about working closer with their print partners with these kinds of results!

Ricoh has dominated in enterprise print and transaction segments by driving use of the Automated Document Factory (ADF), Precision Marketing and Data Analytics, as well as our industry-leading inkjet technology. Commercial printers can tap into this incredible experience as they continue expanding their offerings portfolio and changing the way they think about their print customers’ needs.

If you are attending Graph Expo in Chicago on September 11-14, come by our booth #2600 to learn about more and check out some of the solutions first hand!

See you there!
Joe Caruso

Global Business Development, Commercial Print

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Posted in ADF, Events, Precision Marketing, Products | No Comments »

Hunkeler innovationdays Day 3: InfoPrint Solutions and Switzerland: Confidentiality Guaranteed

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

 Guess what InfoPrint Solutions and Switzerland have in common?  Certainly we share an appreciation of beautiful snow-covered mountains and fine chocolate, but our tastes diverge somewhat when it comes to cuckoo clocks! However, when it comes to technology both InfoPrint Solutionsand Switzerland value the importance of security.

Like Switzerland, where the Hunkeler innovationdays event is currently taking place, InfoPrint Solutions has customers in the financial services industries that are obliged to adhere to strict compliance guidelines. For these and other businesses, confidentiality, integrity and availability of all corporate and customer information are paramount.

There is safety in numbers. This is confirmed by the fact that the vast majority of InfoPrint Solutions’ production customers rely on the industry-standard AFP architecture known for its robust data control, security and integrity standards. And many of the customers and prospects who have visited our stand have told us that security is an important consideration in any technology and output environment.

We have built our reputation on helping customers meet security standards. As manual reprinting can leave print operations exposed to errors, we also offer the InfoPrint Mailroom Integrity ADF solution to automate this process and minimize risk.

For organizations issuing checks and other sensitive documents, we also have a number of MICR offerings to address this important issue, including the InfoPrint 5000 MP platform.

Don’t forget: safety doesn’t happen by accident. And don’t forget to check out all of InfoPrint Solutions’ latest news coming out of Hunkeler innovationdays here!

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Twitter Followers Reaches 1,000 (+144!)!

Monday, January 24th, 2011

Recently InfoPrint Solutions hit a social networking milestone – 1,000 Twitter followers! We are thrilled about this achievement.  When the company embarked on this mission less than two years ago, we could only have hoped for such an influential, educated and vibrant group of followers. The dialogue just keeps getting better!

 InfoPrint Solutions uses our tweets to share news, discuss trends and enable more open communications with our valued customers, Solutions Partners, media, analysts and others who share our passion for enabling cost-effective, revenue-generating applications and solutions for our customer base.  Our industry is at an interesting crossroads right now as we look to transition from delivering print service provider offerings to enabling true marketing services.   The use of social media tools, such as Twitter, help us get the word out on this shift — and much more.

Our fans and followers can also find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and our blogs InfoPrint Insights and ADFSavings.com.  We utilize Twitter as an additional forum to discuss industry trends, highlight successes, acknowledge fellow thought leaders and share news about announcements and key events. With Twitter, in particular, we have the ability to quickly, easily and broadly spread positive company news, acknowledge others’ successes and grow awareness of our brand throughout the larger community.  

Among our 1,000 followers, are leading Solutions Partners, influencers and customers such as Consolidated Graphics, Rosetta Technologies, Ricoh PPBG, IKON executive and Xplor International Chairman Paul Abdool and TransPromo thought leader Pat McGrew. Not only are they provided with highlights from InfoPrint Solutions, but we get to read what is on their minds’ too.

Are you using Twitter? We would love to hear ways you utilize the site and all 140 characters! Make sure you follow us here.

Best,

Beth Etherton

Global Communications Manager

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Data Analytics: For Companies Big and Small

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Forbes.com recently posted an article about the trend of big corporations investing millions of dollars in data analytics, also known as data mining. In the article chief scientist at IBM’s Entity Analysts group, Jeff Jonas, spoke with reporter Kym McNicolas about why IBM is investing such a large amount and where the benefit lies.   

Jonas explains that IBM invested more than $12 billion dollars, purchasing 23 analytic companies, in the last five years and is projecting $16 billion in revenue in this sector by 2015. IBM sees this as a growing trend as companies are recognizing the benefits of data mining. There are many ways to optimize this data and companies like IBM and InfoPrint Solutions have thought of just a few major ones to start.

One value that has been seen of strong, inter-connected data mining is enabling companies to understand what is happening within all divisions of their organization to make better decisions faster. Jonas gives the example of retailers hiring individuals who have stolen from the same store previously. They have this information on file – why isn’t it connected to their “potential new hire” database? Companies want to be quickly provided with that information first and foremost before moving further with such people, ultimately attempting to eliminate this occurrence from happening.

A second trend is locating the consumer and using them as vehicles. In the day of Facebook and FourSquare, people are checking in and declaring their location constantly. Companies can utilize the consumer and target them with relevant information aligned with their day to day, such as personalized traffic reports or supplying location based Goggle results, which will come across as less intrusive due to the relevancy.

Many of our customers are not investing billions of dollars, but have seen a significant impact with smaller, minimal investments. InfoPrint Solutions is at the forefront of using data mining to help companies understand their consumers and help “connect the dots” between their silo’ed information and make it useful more useful to their bottom line.

In today’s world where the consumer is more likely to move to the competition if they’re not feeling valued, it is key to have data mining specialists analyze consumer habits and preferences to allow the opportunity to show that you, the marketer, are listening.  Doing so, can result in more loyalty and eventually higher sales. 

Do you see where the benefit lies in data analytics? Have you experienced those benefits yourself? Let us know your thoughts!  

Best,

Mike Bryant

Worldwide Customer Strategy Practice Leader

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