Jacques van Wyk has been appointed Ricoh SA’s new COO to drive the expanded strategy that will enable the business to become a services-led organisation and see its expansion into the rest of Africa.
Ricoh has globally committed to becoming a services-led organisation following commoditisation of the imaging device industry, with managed document services (MDS) taking the lead in the new strategy.
‘Ricoh managed document services is at the top of our new strategy to become a services-based business,’ said Van Wyk, who was formerly executive GM of direct and indirect channel operations. ‘We have been actively transforming our operations globally to drive customer engagement with MDS as our lead methodology. Commoditisation of the imaging product market has led us to this juncture and, while imaging still forms an integral part of our business, we must look to MDS-based services for the lion’s share of our future growth.’
Several changes will occur at Ricoh SA as a result of the new strategy. These include consolidation of the company’s pre and post-sales consulting and technical services and project management infrastructure to support MDS and managed print services (MPS). All of Ricoh SA’s remaining divisions will receive minor adjustments to ensure strategic alignment with the new business objectives. Training will continue in specific areas and expertise will be acquired as appropriate.
The organisation will make a number of new appointments in the next few months, including appointing new executive GMs for both the direct and indirect channel operations to replace Van Wyk. Morgan Crosby has been appointed as customer services director while Esti Kilian remains head of marketing and communications.
Ricoh MDS, which leads the new services drive, optimises all document processes in organisations, from capturing to archiving, processes, security and environmental impact. It streamlines business document processes, helps organisations to cut costs, meet regulatory requirements such as those for the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, gives organisations visibility into their processes and helps businesses in specific verticals to deal with their industry challenges.
While MDS focuses on document information processes as opposed to product, Ricoh SA will still rely on the technical expertise of its engineers and product specialists to support MDS solutions as appropriate.
The African expansion will gather pace in the next few months.
‘The emerging markets in the rest of Africa are integral to the future growth of our business and we anticipate our new services-led strategy will be well received because the needs of the emerging markets are as sophisticated as those in the developed markets,’ said Van Wyk.
