In my private life I tend to not agree with conspiracy theories and with all due respect to Art (and there is a tremendous amount due) I don't adhere to this one either. We all know that those in the ivory tower at Ricoh (and ALL other manufacturers for that matter) want to maximize distributiuon. Those of us in the dealer community disagree with the definition of maximize and feel they have gone beyond but that is still the nuts and bolts of the situation.
At the street level, there are salesreps and managers with numbers to hit without regard to how they do it...pretty much just as it is with us.
One of the differences between RBS and independent reps is that the RBS reps probably have direct access to all of the promotions and programs that Ricoh offers where pretty much everyone on P4P only has access to those things passed down by their ownership. I guarantee that many here would not even know about DMAP6 cost for non-profits and local govt's because of US Communities if it weren't for P4P. What about the Chamber of Commerce program? What about the print-for-pay program? The medical program? What about the HPG, Broadlane and Triad Hospital contracts? Then there is the contracts with Remax, the National Church Purchasing Contract (NCPG), etc.
How many independent reps know that Ricoh has offered free GelSprinters with every MFP? It takes some commitments from the Dealer that my dealership isn't willing to do so we aren't participating but RBS probably is running with it as we speak.
There are so many programs that I don't even pass many of them down to the rep because there are so many of them and so much potential for screw-ups that the dealership would end up having to foot the bill for.
I am also sure that RBS has set up some programs for themselves that we don't have the privilage of doing as well but that is to be expected.
Don't get me wrong...I don't doubt that they are getting special pricing and that is not right. I'm just saying that they probably also do a better job of utilizing the programs that Ricoh offers to all of us.