Malvern, PA, August 5, 2014 - It’s a game of muscle, sweat and titanic collisions, but pro football is ultimately built on information, from statistical minutiae to X’s and O’s in the playbook to the business data that drives the front office.
The Kansas City Chiefs, entering their third season working with Ricoh Americas Corporation as the team’s document services provider, epitomize the powerful use of information for performance both on and off the field. Together, the pair is achieving high information mobility, meaning information is easily accessible to the right people in the right form at the right time to help the team compete with its NFL rivals.
“With Ricoh, rather than just selling us printers, their team serves as a strategic information asset,” said Bob Stirton, Director of IT for the Chiefs. “They sit down with us quarterly, review metrics and discuss ideas to help us improve performance in many ways. They also show up several hours early on game day to provide support for some very busy machines sprinkled throughout Arrowhead Stadium.”
Ricoh plays a variety of roles for the Chiefs, supporting the coaching staff with weekly full-color copies of playbooks to supplement digital iPad playbooks, supporting the national media in the press box with printed copies of play-by-play stats after each quarter, and supporting other departments with printed copies of food orders, receipts, ticket summaries, reports, etc. To fulfill these roles, the company cost-effectively manages a fleet of more than 150 office printers, multifunction products and production printers.
Ricoh has also helped the Chiefs dramatically improve their internal collaboration through an intranet upgrade based on the newest version of Microsoft SharePoint. A dynamic home page synthesizes vital information from around the organization and the NFL for easy access.
Future phases of the relationship will involve a new automated travel-and-expense workflow system to streamline submissions and approvals, reducing a 35-day process to a 24-hour turnaround. Also in the plans is an accounts payable workflow that will save time and money and improve cash flow. Ricoh provides the Chiefs with frequent usage analytics to continuously improve information workflows.
“The new world of work definitely extends to professional football,” said Tim Vellek, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Ricoh Americas Corporation. “As with any business, information mobility – the ability to access the right information in the right form at the right time – is increasingly crucial to outstanding performance. We’re thrilled to work with the Chiefs organization, helping them perform at their best in every way conceivable.”
For details on Ricoh’s full line of products, services and solutions, please visit www.ricoh-usa.com.
| About Ricoh |
Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in about 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2014, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,236 billion yen (approx. 21.7 billion USD).
The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and sustainability initiatives.
Under its corporate tagline, imagine. change. Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and harness the collective imagination of their employees.
For further information, please visit www.ricoh.com/about/.
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© 2014 Ricoh Americas Corporation. All rights reserved. All referenced product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.
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