1. MPSConnect Interview with Ricoh’s Mark Boelhouwer and Dan Waldinger

    Managed Print Services Connect (Oct 29 2010) Blogs , Finance , Outsourcing , Workflow

    1. MPSConnect Interview with Ricoh’s Mark Boelhouwer and Dan Waldinger

      Recently MPSConnect had the opportunity to sit down with Mark Boelhouwer, Vice President, Strategic Marketing for Ricoh U.S., and Dan Waldinger, Director, Strategic Marketing for Ricoh U.S., to discuss Ricoh’s MPS/MDS business strategy. 

       

       

      MPSCONNECT: How would you define MPS?

      A: With so many definitions of MPS in the marketplace it’s no wonder that customers are confused. Some vendors claim that the automatic shipment of supplies to customers is basic MPS. Others define it as the provision of hardware, supplies, and break-fix services along with remote monitoring.

       

      The truth is MPS goes much deeper than this. In simple terms it is the pro-active governance of a client’s complete document management environment and the rationalization of related output devices.

       

      MPSConnect: What else does MPS include?

      A: It also includes streamlining the client’s document-based (paper and electronic) business processes. Services can range from assessments, to vendor-agnostic service and repair, on- and off-site support, pro-active supplies replenishment, monitoring, reporting, custom billing, end-user training, lifecycle management, device utilization and fleet performance, service level agreements, project management, managing 3rd party vendors, and helpdesk services.

       

      When you take a look at the infrastructure that a vendor needs to have in place to support and deliver all of these elements seamlessly to the customer, you start to appreciate what an enormous undertaking delivering true MPS really is.

       

      MPSConnect: Ricoh speaks of MDS. What is MDS?

      A: Ricoh’s Managed Document Services (MDS) is a suite of services focused on effectively governing all aspects of a client’s document-related environment. Services involve analyzing, consolidating, monitoring, controlling and optimizing the output and imaging infrastructure, and can extend beyond the print realm, addressing the entire document lifecycle.

       

      MPSConnect: How are these delivered?

      A: Ricoh provides Managed Document Services through a four phased, iterative process, beginning with a thorough assessment of a client’s current output and imaging environment, followed by the design, implementation, and management of a new, more efficient and cost effective one.

       

      The four-phase process is:

      ·         Assess,

      ·         Design,

      ·         Implement, and

      ·         Manage

      This four-phased process forms a continuous improvement loop, as effective management entails a continuous assessment of the state of the environment, helping to uncover additional areas for improvement on an on-going basis. Each of the four phases has a corresponding set of service offerings, which are broken down into 25 individual service modules. These 25 service modules are available for Basic Print Services and Managed Document Services and can be scaled based on the size of the organization (SMB to Enterprise).

       

      MPSConnect: How is MDS different from MPS?

      A: Simply put, Managed Document Services (MDS) goes beyond MPS. Ricoh’s Managed Document Services also offers a full suite of services and solutions that extend beyond the print realm, addressing the entire document lifecycle: 

      ·         Hardware and supplies (Ricoh and 3rd party)

      ·         Service and maintenance (Ricoh and 3rd party)

      ·         Software and tools (diagnostic and management)

      ·         Software (document management solutions)

      ·         Management services – document and fleet (see service modules)

      ·         Consultancy around document management (TCO, security and compliance, environment and process improvement)

      ·         IT services and solutions

      ·         Continuous improvement strategy (single-source implementation, robust Change Management)

       

      MPSConnect: Are there any additional differentiators between MPS and MDS?

      A: Additional differentiators include the following:

      ·         Outservicing

      Ricoh provides Managed Document Services (MDS) that impact key customer needs beyond the realm of print. This program is comprised of a highly customizable and scalable suite of services designed to streamline printing and document processes and empower customers to concentrate their efforts on their most critical priorities. Our unique ‘Outservicing’ approach gives customers a competitive edge by enabling them to operate as greener corporate citizens with engaged employees, optimized processes and greater profitability. Best of all, Ricoh has the infrastructure and processes in place to constantly review and refine workflows and best practices allowing continuous improvement for our customers.

       

      ·         Managing the people-side of change

      With MPS engagements, organizations can experience a significant amount of change. At the very least, customers can expect to see new technologies, streamlined processes, reduced costs, vastly improved services, and on-site/off-site support mechanisms. All of these elements can fundamentally change and improve the way an organization shares and manages information.

       

      However, many companies fail to communicate the impacts of these changes to their employees and getting their buy-in is often overlooked. This is a serious oversight; unless employees understand the benefits of the changes, why they are being made, and given the knowledge and ability to adopt the changes, implementation may be met with resistance and ultimately fail. As any CFO will tell you, this can be a costly mistake.

       

      MPSConnect: How does Ricoh plan on helping their customers manage this change?

      A: Ricoh recognizes that helping our customers effectively manage a cultural shift within their organization is critical to success and this is a big differentiator for Ricoh. Members of our MDS teams apply Prosci’s Change Management methodology. Prosci has become the leading provider of change management tools and benchmarking reports, working with more than 2,000 companies from 65 countries on research projects in change management. Prosci’s popular ADKAR® model is used worldwide.

       

      Using this process we can make sure employees are informed of the need for change, and how it will make their jobs easier and more effective. Proactive communication, training, feedback, and positive reinforcement ensure everyone is working together to accomplish the organization’s goals. By addressing the emotional and human-side of change we can reduce the risk of implementation, increase the speed of adoption, and decrease the overall project cost; helping our customers to realize increased profitability, productivity, and continuous improvement.

       

      MPSConnect: Can you bring us up to date on the status of Ricoh’s acquisition of IKON?

      A: In April we announced an integrated senior leadership team for both Ricoh Americas and Ricoh U.S. with responsibility for both Ricoh and IKON. 

       

      Ricoh and IKON’s strengths complement each other, providing customers with a broad range of industry-leading technology and a robust portfolio of document and fleet management services and solutions through our teams of experienced professionals in technical support, professional services and managed services.

       

      The combined resources of Ricoh Business Solutions and IKON as direct sales channels, along with Ricoh’s industry leading dealer network, allow us to provide consistent quality in products and services that can meet the needs of regional, national and global customers.

       

      As always, we will continue to broaden our portfolio of products and solutions based on market requirements, and leverage our combined strengths to deliver industry-leading solutions, including Managed Document Services, IT Services and outsourcing support.

       

      MPSConnect: How about InfoPrint?

      A: The InfoPrint acquisition was completed this past year and InfoPrint will continue to deliver a  unique Value Proposition focused on the production and data center printing market. MDS is an umbrella strategy that is deployed in the production space as well.

       

      MPSConnect: Will the Ricoh Business Solutions and IKON field offices merge?

      A: In the U.S., we go to market in direct sales with two distinct channels – Ricoh Business Solutions and IKON Office Solutions.  We have an integrated field leadership structure responsible for our direct sales channels, and having a single leader drive our direct business allows us to fully leverage our collective strengths and resources to bring our customers the broadest portfolio of services in the industry, including Managed Document Services (MDS), IT Services and expertise in key verticals like legal, healthcare and print production.

       

      MPSConnect: What about the Ricoh and IKON Brands?

      A: We will still go to market as two distinct direct channels – Ricoh Business Solutions and IKON Office Solutions with Ricoh and IKON branding.

       

      MPSConnect: What future MDS specific plans can you share with us?

      A: We have made significant investments in aligning our MDS Global delivery capabilities and were pleased to see that earlier this year, analyst firm IDC recognized the strengths of Ricoh's Managed Document Services (MDS) offering and announced Ricoh as a leader in the dynamic Managed Print Services (MPS) marketplace.

      Following suit, Gartner has just published their 2010 MPS Magic Quadrant Worldwide report, which places Ricoh MDS in the leadership quadrant. The results of both reports are a testament to Ricoh's vision, global reach, alignment and delivery capabilities.

      According to Gartner, “Leaders provide MPS to a wide range of customers, including the largest and most geographically dispersed, so they must demonstrate a truly global reach. They must demonstrate not only the skills to deliver today’s MPS, but also the understanding, initiative and resources to prepare for tomorrow’s MPS. Leaders characteristically augment the full scope of MPS with a wide range of added-value services. As a result, they are frequently shortlisted by large and midsize customers.”

       

      MPSConnect: Any last comments?

      A: This recent momentum in the marketplace will become more visible to our customers, as we are in the process of updating our Technology Portal Showrooms across the United States with our MDS messaging to show customers the benefits of teaming with Ricoh for their document management needs. Early next year we will be conducting a multi-city tour with customer events focused on educating clients and customers about Managed Document Services. Stay tuned.

      MPSConnect: Mark and Dan, thanks for sharing your time and thoughts with our readers. We look forward to future conversations.

       

      Bob Meyer

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