Over the last two decades Ricoh has been transforming itself from a provider of print and imaging solutions into a digital transformation specialist with the addition of new technologies and a growing portfolio of integrated digital services including IT management and support.
Alongside its direct sales organisation, Ricoh has a smaller partner channel business. This has traditionally been very focused on print and is still responsible for 50% of Ricoh’s unit sales across Europe.
As Ricoh UK’s New Business Partner Sales Director, Daniel Murphy has two main aims: to recruit more print partners and grow Ricoh print sales through the channel; and to expand the breadth of Ricoh technologies and services offered by channel partners, which might involve onboarding more partners with an IT background.
Two technologies that he believes will be of great interest to IT resellers and MSPs are the company’s DocuWare document management software, which facilitates business transformation through the automation of processes and workflows, and Ricoh Smart Locker Solutions that function as secure return, collection and distribution points in offices, retail outlets, the education sector, warehouses and logistics centres.
“Smart lockers play well in that IT asset management space,” explains Murphy. “Big IT VARs are rolling out laptops and expensive IT assets all day long. How are they getting them out to their managed IT customers’ sites? Ricoh Smart Locker Solutions are in their wheelhouse.
I know, because we use them ourselves.” One of the strengths of Ricoh’s offering, Murphy suggests, is the support provided by the company’s 400-plus engineers, who also install, manage, service and maintain third party lockers provided by Amazon, InPost and Royal Mail. He adds that in this respect, Ricoh lockers will be a familiar proposition to partners.
“You’ve got a nice bit of hardware, a cloud asset management solution that goes with that and the service wrap. It’s quite like print actually – a bit of hardware, a bit of software and a bit of service around that – so that’s resonating with existing partners.” In support of its channel expansion strategy, Ricoh has just launched a new partner programme.
The Ricoh Unity Partner Programme has four tiers (bronze, silver, gold, platinum), with additional benefits, incentives and support at each level and, for the first time, three specialisms (specialist, expert and elite) reflecting each partner’s technical proficiency, certifications and brand loyalty. To help new partners get maximum benefit from their relationship with Ricoh, the programme includes a Partner Capability Assessment that will determine the best entry point and future development pathway.
Here, Daniel Murphy gives his view from the channel.
Technology Reseller (TR): How’s business? Better or worse than 12 months ago? And how confident are you about the future?
Daniel Murphy (DM): Business is good. Our financial year runs until the end of March, but the first half was really, really strong. I’ve just seen some data from IDC, which shows Ricoh still holding that number one spot in the A3 colour space, with a market share just north of 22%, touching 23%. That’s just our office print portfolio. Our graphics and professional print portfolio is also in the number one spot, with a market share in the high 30s.
In print, we’re outgrowing the market, and we’re also going from strength to strength with some of our emerging technologies. We acquired DocuWare a number of years ago and its workflow automation capability has really resonated with partners that already have the end product, the printed page, and want to capture their customers’ workflows as well. That’s generated phenomenal growth for us and for our partner channel.
TR: In what areas are you experiencing strongest demand?
DM: Number one, I’d say, is sustainability. Ricoh has been championing responsible business since its foundation 90 years ago and today ESG is a board-level priority. All organisations need to be accountable. We’ve really doubled down on our sustainability messaging this year. We’ve just launched the CE range, the circular economy range of A3 devices.
These are remanufactured back to a high standard using 86% recycled components to the extent that they can be sold and financed as brand-new pieces of kit. On top of that, we’ve got an optional carbon balancing programme for any partner or customer that wants to write off the carbon associated with the devices.
Our devices already have the lowest TEC (typical energy consumption) values in the market, and we’re doing some side-by-side comparisons against the competition to show how much money and how much carbon customers can save by using Ricoh products. The other massive push right now is cloud-based print. Long gone are the days of on-site print servers. Today, people want true cloud printing and the ability to print and retrieve jobs anywhere, with Zero Trust authentication of users from start to finish.
Our own CloudStream product which we launched in 2024 adds in device management as well. The other big growth area is around Process Automation. We’re all under pressure to streamline operations and eliminate manual processes, which is where DocuWare’s strengths lie. Last year we acquired an AI business, Natif AI, that takes DocuWare to the next level by recognising the type of document scanned and automatically routing it to the right person. I don’t think we’re going to see a paperless office. I think it’ll become the less-paper office, with smart workflows and automation.
TR: What recent wins are you most proud of? Are there any that really stand out?
DM: There’s lots of wins every day. As New Business Partner Director, it’s great seeing new partners that we’ve onboarded as startups suddenly become successful businesses. One new partner we recently onboarded in Scotland, a really small partner, went out on its own and won a massive DocuWare deal with a well-known global hotel brand. That just shows how a small startup business, supported by us, can win a deal by bringing a new technology, a new solution to a global customer.
That really stood out for me. If you look at that partner, on its own it’s quite small. Do we need another small partner doing a tiny bit of print here and there? Probably not. But the people involved were aware of how powerful DocuWare is and the level of expertise and support we can provide – and also how few people in their area have process automation conversations with their customers. That’s what swung it for me.
TR: Where is business proving most difficult?
DM: Device consolidation. Year-on-year there’s been a significant drop in the amount of print devices going out and the associated print volumes. Things have levelled off a bit, but they’re never going back to pre-Covid levels. Hybrid working means people have smaller offices and don’t need lots of multi-functions around their workspace. That’s been really, really tricky and reinforces why we have pivoted towards digital transformation and digital solutions.
TR: How have you changed or are you changing your business operations to exploit new opportunities?
DM: By offering new digital solutions for our partner channel – we know they work, we know they’re suitable for a partner channel, we know there’s good margin and an ongoing digital revenue stream for partners – and by boosting our pre-sales and professional services team to support partners in selling those solutions. That’s a cost to us, but we know it produces results and we’ve already seen growth from that investment.
On top of that, we’re drinking our own champagne. We’re a massive global business with some really tricky workflows, and I’m seeing more and more of these being digitised and optimised with DocuWare. We’ve also installed smart lockers in our offices around the country, which is very convenient when you need to collect a new laptop or a new phone for example. We’re investing in these technologies because we believe they will increase productivity and enable everyone to work smarter.
TR: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing channel businesses today?
DM: The big challenge for traditional print businesses is the same one we had – the decline in unit sales and print volumes. That is a big, big challenge for them, along with the tough economic climate. It can also be a challenge finding the right areas to diversify into. Print partners typically go down the telecoms route first, then try a bit of managed IT, but you can’t do these things half-heartedly. They need to invest in the right people to sell those products, articulate the benefits and support them, because customers today are asking for a clear ROI before they commit to anything and want to know that that partner can help them transform their business. Finding those individuals is a challenge.
TR: Could vendors and distributors do more to help overcome these challenges?
DM: For me, one of the greatest strengths of Ricoh’s Partner Channel business is its pre- and post-sales support. On DocuWare alone, we’ve got three individuals helping and supporting partners, day in, day out. They can help partners with customer conversations, with demos, with proofs of concept. The only thing we want a partner to talk to the customer about is pounds and pence and any extra wraparound they do. With every new technology solution we bring out, we make sure we’ve got pre- and post-sales teams in place to help partners on their journey.
TR: Are your customers becoming more demanding, and if so, in what ways?
DM: They’re not demanding in a negative sense. I think they’ve become more informed than they’ve probably ever been, and more strategic and futurefocused. They’ve done their homework. They know a lot about the products that are already out there and want their technology solution providers to bring them innovation, challenge the status quo and push boundaries. How are you going to help me and my business? What fresh ideas are you going to bring? Or are you going to be one more person selling a bit of technology who will disappear until it needs refreshing in a couple of years?
TR: If you could change one aspect of your job, what would it be and why?
DM: Fewer Teams calls. Often a simple email would suffice, instead of having to jump on a 10-minute call, which then becomes a 20-minute call and then a 30-minute call. My team works in sales. We want to be in front of partners, building relationships. There’s nothing better than doing this face-to-face and shaking someone’s hand. Online, it’s too easy for people to look at their emails or pay attention to whatever else is going on in the background.
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