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RICOH CORPORATION ENTERS AGREEMENT WITH D&H

AP Art Post (Guest)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ricoh Web Site: http://www.ricoh-usa.com

Contact:
Russell Marchetta Laura Bower
Ricoh Corporation Peppercom
973-882-2075 212-931-6127
russell.marchetta@ricoh-usa.com lbower@peppercom.com



RICOH CORPORATION ENTERS AGREEMENT WITH D&H DISTRIBUTING TO OFFER RICOH PRODUCTS

West Caldwell, NJ, October 11, 2005 – Ricoh Corporation, the leading provider of digital office equipment, today announced that it has entered an agreement with D&H Distributing, the national computer products and consumer electronics distributor, to distribute Ricoh’s extensive line of small- to medium-sized business (SMB) and commercial color laser printers, monochrome laser printers, multifunction units and departmental scanners. The agreement extends to MFP upgrade items, consumables and associated accessories.

Ricoh's line of advanced digital printers includes the new series of Aficio color laser printers, the CL7200 and CL7300, launched in July of this year. These devices offer users a low total cost of ownership, by utilizing fewer resources and high-volume options normally available only on higher-cost products. The series features aggressive printing speeds of up to 35 pages per minute (ppm) in color and 35 ppm in black and white for the CL7300 that are maintained in duplex mode, as well as secure printing via IPP data encryption.

“Ricoh’s extensive line of solutions is created with the end-user in mind, allowing for more affordability with flexible printing options, and maximum productivity with fewer resources,” said Ann Moser, vice president, Printing Solutions Division at Ricoh Corporation. “By authorizing D&H to offer Ricoh’s extensive line of business solutions, we are strengthening our position in the VAR channel and expanding our reach to SMB and commercial customers.”

With SMB and mid-market businesses continuously seeking more sophisticated technologies that can help them vie for projects against larger competitors, the addition of Ricoh’s advanced solutions to D&H’s distribution channel gives the company’s VARs a renowned, feature-rich selection of printers, scanners and multifunction devices that will add value to any turn-key SMB business system.

“D&H pursues partners who can help VARs address the market’s needs at all times, and in SMB, that means technologies that deliver greater capabilities with efficiency, like Ricoh’s exceptional speeds and multifunction units,” said Dan Schwab, vice president of marketing at D&H. “As small businesses mature, they want solutions that offer complexity and quality combined with value and increased productivity. That combination presents a genuine opportunity for resellers.”

About D&H Distributing
D&H Distributing is one of America's oldest and largest wholesale distributors of computer and consumer electronics products, with an impressive 85-year history serving the reseller channel. D&H distributed the first-ever home computer, the first color television, and even the first gaming system. No other distributor has a greater depth of experience as a one-stop resource for IT and consumer electronics solutions than D&H.

The company's multi-market expertise, dedicated account reps, sterling service and ongoing educational programs reflect its continuing commitment to its customer base.
This level of all-around support enables D&H resellers and dealers to become pioneers of the newly-converging technological landscape, encompassing opportunities in the IT, enterprise, SMB and home networking arenas.

D&H ranked first place for performance among broadline distributors in CRN's 2005 Preferred Sourcing Study, winning a total of seven of the study's criteria, including top marks for loyalty for the second year in a row. The distributor was also named Vendor of the Year by Computer Renaissance in 2004 and 2005, and Best Distributor in the First Annual RAM Awards in 2004.

D&H ships out of five separate locations, including its Harrisburg headquarters, plus warehouses in Jacksonville, Chicago, Dallas and Visalia, CA. Call D&H toll-free at (800) 340-1001 or visit http://www.dandh.com.
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J JayDocusultant P4P'er
I’ll play devils advocate here.

Ricoh printers are already available online from many places.

If Ricoh ever wants to get significant market share in printers they will have to open distribution. The RFG dealer network will not get the market share needed.

But in the long run I think this will help us. How you ask????

The current Ricoh printer line is very strong. Superior to other products in many places. But we are still “selling printers”. To us that typically means long sales cycle for little return. How many of us have sold a Ricoh printer more for the Aficio points than GP?

We need to get to the point where our customers are calling us to” buy” a Ricoh printer. Or at least aware they exist. HP is like Kleenex. Sure they may have other online options and find people willing to give it away but many of our customers still willing to pay more for that warm fuzzy feeling of dealing with somebody they trust. And dealing with a reputable person and company. And when they call us to “buy” a printer the worm has turned and we can start to makes some GP again.

Random thoughts:

If all they want is lowest price is that a customer we can even afford to have?

We are losing deals everyday we don’t even know about to HP, Lex, oki, Dell….

Personally I would rather a customer buy a Ricoh printer online then a HP or a Dell. To me that becomes an opportunity to let them know just how good the Ricoh’s are.

Our dealership is consistently ranked high in our region ( and nationwide) for Ricoh printers sold and I am dismayed at how few we sell.

Just my $0.02
AP Art Post (Guest)
Jay:

Good points especially about not knowing what or how many placements are happening in the field that we are not aware of. Please keep in mind that the press release also stated MFP's will be resold through D & H (our bread and butter).

However, if a VAR (value added reseller) sold the printer or printers to the end user and the system performed well, then the customer will most likely go back to the VAR for the additional units and not to the dealer (I would love to see them come to the dealer side).

Plus the fact that Ricoh, Canon, Sharp, Kyo and Toshiba are all releasing their printers into the VAR channel.

For those who don't know VAR's are solution sellers whether they combine software and pc's, or software, PC's and printers . Most of these VAR's have the inside connection with IT.

As dealers we are trying to sell solutions based on hardware and software, most of the software is document imaging. In some of the latest publications in VAR trade magazines there have been articles about the transition of MFP's that will be document highways of the office. The articles then insist that VAR's must capture some of this market to retain thier solution part of the pie.

What I do not need is one of my biggest accounts that has printers and MFP's from me now pricing hardware from D & H. I understand the sales and selling solutions and yes we do not want the customers that do this, however if you already have them and then lose them......well.

I think service departments can benefit from the expansion of the systems that will be sold to VAR's who do not have a service department and I also believe that Ricoh Direct (RBS) will may even have a greater impact for service.

All in all, maybe th Ricoh name can become the Klenex of the printer industy instead of HP, you never know.

Art
DB David BurkillSenior P4P'er
As such this is not great news for us here in the UK, as there have already been rumblings that something similar will happen here.

I have to agree, however, that the range is good (almost excellent), and if Ricoh can capture a much greater market share it will encourage them to expand the range even further and so we will hopefully get to the self-perpetuating roller coaster that HP have been on for so long.

I have just lost a 38 machine MFP tender because the client was not sure enough about what Ricoh did and how it stacked up in the marketplace, and they were not prepared to take what they saw as a risk.

The Ricoh name needs to be made far more visible - at least over here - and moves like this can only help that goal.

The bottom line is of course that we try to sell solutions rather than printers, and that has got to remain the focus of our work. It will become a little easier if customers know the product line - and know they can trust and respect it.
S ShajaDocusultant P4P'er
When we were OKI dealers, we got burned by clients price-shopping us on the Internet. So, we learned the hard way from that experience.

When Ricoh started making their printers available through the consumer-level channels (OKI all over again), we didn't take it lying down. We designed a proposal/ marketing/ educational brochure that promotes our "Dealership/Ricoh Advantage, a professional sales and service partnership with the world's leading manufacturer of digital imaging systems and the world-class local office solution provider you know and trust."

We challenge buyers to think about whether buying online will really save them any money. We want to make potential online buyers think about the hidden costs and problems of buying online or from mass retailers, such as
-- What components aren't included in the e-retailer's purchase price (cords and cables are biggies);
-- How much of the client's time away from their business will it take to set it up and configure the network?
--How much of the client's time away from their business will it take to teach themselves how to use it or how much will it cost to buy a training package?
-- Who can the client call with user or troubleshooting problems? Will reaching a help desk take hours?
-- Who can the client call for service? Will service be local or from a distant central location? How many days will a service response take? Will the repair person actually be trained by Ricoh?

We then answer all those questions from our perspective, emphasizing our "partnership" as a Ricoh dealer and mentioning our service OAC awards.

Then we include a side-by-side comparison form for costs, set-up, delivery and service (including toner). We actually tell them to go to their favorite online shopping site and fill in the blanks and see how their online purchase stacks up against us. That's how confident we are that we are a better, more business-responsible choice for their printer purchase.

At the very least, we've raised some hard questions that are going to nag in the back of their minds - and they ought to be thinking about these issues if they truly are running a professional business.

(Sorry I don't have clearance to release this piece, but I think this description will give you enough information if you want to create your own).
S ShajaDocusultant P4P'er
Printer sales are a component in our strategy of controlling our market. The payoff may not be a high profit margin immediately, but there are many other good reasons for placing a printer.

We sell printers 1) for the future toner sales and 2) more importantly, to position ourselves as the client's supplier of ALL their office equipment.

If it's a new client, it helps us get in their door and build our relationship with them for future equipment sales. If it's a current client, it helps us strengthen our relationship and position them for an upgrade into an MFP.

Also, as others have said above, a printer placement helps educate the client about the quality of the Ricoh line in general.
NealNealDocusultant Elite P4P'er
Shaja...great point...and it's exactly that difference that will put you lightyears ahead of the competition. If you are providing a total solution for your customer then you are just the same ole box salesman that so many have been over the years and that simply won't get it in today's marketplace.

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