Innovation key to business sustainability

MEDIA RELEASE

21 November 2012

Innovation key to business sustainability

Ricoh New Zealand releases Sustainability Report 2012

Innovation has become the key ingredient for business sustainability according to Ricoh New Zealand’s newly released 2012 Sustainability Report:

The company is part of the Ricoh Group, which is recognised as being at the forefront of sustainability and consistently ranks as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.

Ricoh New Zealand Managing Director Mike Pollok says the company’s latest sustainability report (covering the 2011/12 financial year) reflects the tough economic conditions where businesses have had to re-invent themselves, becoming fitter, tighter and leaner.

“This requirement emphasises the true meaning of business sustainability,” he says.

“Ricoh has taken the approach that New Zealand business is not going to return to the heady days we enjoyed before the global economic crisis. The operating environment has changed forever. This is the ‘new normal’.”

“Organisations that can innovate and adapt to change will survive. Bluntly, those that are inefficient and can’t deal with the technology revolution will fade or die.”

Ricoh New Zealand’s 2012 Sustainability Report illustrates the company’s success in changing and innovating to counter the economic environment and make 2012 a year of record profits, for the second year in a row.

“Our culture of innovation and continuous improvement has delivered operating costs which are significantly lower as a percentage of sales compared to our competitors.” Mike Pollok says. “That’s what we are helping our customers achieve as well.”

Other successes highlighted in the 2012 Sustainability Report include:

• World-class innovation - The National Service Division developed RIFLE (Ricoh’s Intelligent Fault Logging Engine), a unique locally developed online system which has improved service efficiency for both Ricoh New Zealand and its clients. This innovation has received praise and interest globally from within the Ricoh Group.

• Ricoh IT Services - A key new division was formed within Ricoh Consulting, reflecting the ongoing expansion of Ricoh New Zealand’s consultancy services to include expert IT support and procurement for small to medium enterprises.

• Product stewardship - Ricoh New Zealand collected and recycled more than 59,600 used toner cartridges from customers which diverted 13,345kg of waste from landfill.

Mike Pollok says the unprecedented and increasingly rapid rate of change in the technology industry, and a flattening market for multi-functional devices and page prints, have been the catalyst for Ricoh’s recent evolution.

“We have moved form our traditional business of supplying machines to a provider of value-adding business solutions. We will continue to add value for our customers by understanding their businesses, helping them imagine future possibilities and transform through innovation in document and IT solutions.”

Ends

Ricoh New Zealand’s Sustainability Report 2012 can be viewed at http://www.ricoh.co.nz/about/pdf/Ricoh-Sustainability-2012.pdf.

About Ricoh Ricoh is a global technology company specialising in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services.

Ricoh New Zealand Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd, Japan. The company’s New Zealand head office is located in Auckland, with six branch offices and a national network of 14 dealers providing sales, service and support in all areas of the country. Under its corporate tagline, ‘imagine. change.’ Ricoh helps companies to transform the way they work by harnessing the collective knowledge and ideas of their employees.

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