Why would Ricoh get into consulting ?

Ricoh, the company known for big centralised multi-function printing devices (MFDs) is taking a fascinating path in the face of flat or declining requirements for printing from customers.

Before you read on, read our story about the state of the printing market here.

With times tough and the trajectory starting to flatten, two years ago Ricoh spun out it’s document management solutions business into a separate entity known as Ricoh Consulting.

To clarify the Ricoh Consulting business we’re talking about here is different from a separate business unit started in October last year focused on IT Services. The IT Services division is focused on networks and security. Read our story about that business unit here.

Since being spun out the consulting business has expanded from the predictable offerings surrounding the purchase of an MFD, to things we hadn’t imagined. When meeting with the general manager of consulting Cameron Mount, we expected to hear about managed printing, new accountability features and other print software. What we found was a business selling sophisticated document workflow solutions to some of New Zealand’s biggest corporations. A recent example of which has been with Turners & Growers.

Naturally the first customers to sell these clever enterprise software solutions to would be to Ricoh’s traditional copier clients, but that’s where the link ends. Ricoh Consulting is based in separate offices from the mothership, has its own customer base, sales team, engineering resource and basic business approach. It’s a consulting, auditing and integrator focused on business processes and document management. They’re even selling non Ricoh branded solutions from specialist software and hardware vendors overseas.

So to answer our original question, Ricoh is in the consulting business because most documents are born digital and they’re betting that in the years to come we’ll need more workflow software than printers & paper.