Ricoh SA has launched its Ricoh Reseller Programme to help partners in its burgeoning channel business better meet the needs of their customers.
The programme segments partners into Approved Partner, Preferred Partner, and Solution Partner, based on certifications and abilities to deliver products and services from the Ricoh portfolio.
“The names make it easy for customer to identify the level of service and expertise they can expect from our channel partners,” says Jacques van Wyk, executive GM of indirect operations at Ricoh SA. “It also helps them to market
and promote themselves, differentiating themselves distinctly from their competitors.”
Ricoh SA’s channel operation has grown significantly through 2013 with the appointment of Rectron and Incredible Solution as distributors. These augment the robust network of Ricoh Dealers and helped Ricoh SA claim top spot
amongst its Ricoh EMEA peers for quantities sold, hardware revenue, consumable revenue, profit, growth and strategic channel development.
“Our partners know the markets well and they too have dedicated and focused people who took us, as a new vendor after launching in July 2013, into the market with care and guidance,” says Van Wyk. “The partners have been
actively involved in bringing about this success, which is as much theirs as it is ours. The relationship between Ricoh SA and the partners is also fully transparent and builds on the core strengths of each partner in their respective
markets.”
All partners gain access to hands-on sales tools, marketing campaigns, fresh strategic thinking and on-call expertise to help them improve their profiles and win more business opportunities. All partners also gain access to the entire
range of Ricoh SME print products and accessories, qualify for sales support in the form of any promotions or incentives offered throughout the year, access to the reseller portal for all the latest market information, product collateral
and image downloads.
Solutions Partners can additionally offer Ricoh’s cloud-connected Interactive Whiteboard for unified and streamlined data sharing, and Ricoh projectors.
Preferred Partners additionally gain access to Ricoh’s Unified Communications System, which incorporates video, audio, documents and other media for realtime, interactive communications across multiple locations via the Internet.
They can also offer Ricoh’s software solutions for improving productivity, workflows, controlling costs, mobility and security throughout the document lifecycle. All of the solutions can be financed.
“There are a wealth of tools at our partners’ disposal to help them achieve their business goals and help their customers to meet theirs in turn,” says Van Wyk. “We have all the business and technically proficient people to support
those and we have made them available in a comprehensive, mutually supportive programme that uses the most efficient means of delivery available today.”