Five Really Cool Features on the New Ricoh IM 7000 & IM 8000 MFPs
I can't remember the last time I wrote one of these, it to be TBC (time before Covid). I think at this point in time we all need to be realize that we'll probably be placing less and less of these devices in the field. The longer larger businesses stay out of the office could ultimately spell the demise of our largest office style MFP's. In fact I could see a future of where they are made to order and the waiting time could be as much as a few months.
But for now there are still opportunities out their with existing clients who still have a paper based and or heavy scanning work flow. Hoping in the next few months we'll be at TAC (time after Covid) and we'll all have a better understanding of how our clients have or have not changed.
Always Current Technology
If you're not talking about ACT then your competition will be. It amazes me how quick the competition can roll out their version of the same feature set and bring it to market. What that tells you is that clients and manufacturers are seeing the value of consistently having their devices up to date for added functionality, features, and security. If you're not having that security talk with your client then your competition is.
Ricoh Intelligent Support
Another winner in my book! There was a time when any issue with a clients device required putting a tech on site. In some cases the response time was less that 4 hours and in some cases more than four hours. In addition there were many times when the copier went down that it stopped a client from processing orders, and printing invoices. I am one who can tell you that having that talk with a client that needs a tech asap is not the most pleasurable conversation. All of that has now changed with RIS. With RIS, help desk technicians now have the ability to remote into the MFP and make corrective measures. The result is a better client experience and another arrow in your quiver to help our clients.
Ricoh Smart Integration
I was a big fan or Ricoh ICE (Integrated Cloud Environment) and sold quite a few to my clients. Think of RSI as the new enhanced version of ICE because there are now additional opportunities for clients to add dedicated workflows for scanning. Those workflows can keep an account "sitcky" for when the time comes to upgrade that device. In addition basics of OCR, scan2word, scan2exel and mobile print is a no brainer for $10 per month.
Copy Tray
You may not think this is a big deal, however there are many clients that are jammed for space. The thought of attaching an additional finisher/stapler to the device just to hold prints is not an attractive offering to a client that does not need to staple. In addition some of my competitors can only offer a stapler/finisher. Win, win for the client and me.
Smart Integration Advanced Workflows
Where the heck is John when I need him? I'll be the first one to admit that the advanced worklfows is something that I'm still learning. I understand the concept and the technology but still trying to grasp the talk track to uncover a clients need for the advanced part. While I can't you much more about the advanced workflows. I can only tell you what I've read. Advanced workflows are used for scanning, in addition rules (just calling them that) can be set up to automatically classify document types and route them to appropriate destinations in the cloud, local folder or a watch folder (syncs with a data base).
In addition if you have or find existing clients that are using Sharepoint the advanced workflow can be configured to work like a document management system. It's really cool and really exciting!
I know I didn't tell you much on that one, but my point is the average sales person will still be talking speeds and feeds and you'll be two steps ahead.
-=Good Selling=-
