Integrated resource centers

On-site printing centers and in-plants are transforming into business-critical and highly relevant necessities, despite evidence of living in a digital-first world. According to IDC research, 63.8% of knowledge workers surveyed say that printing is “very important” or “important” to their organizations.¹

The organizations that are focused on print optimization and print innovation — including mailrooms, digital media and signage — are the ones with the ability to scale for growth. These organizations are taking a new approach to business transformation and are becoming revenue generators instead of remaining in the red. They are implementing extensive and integrated ways to modernize and automate their technology, processes, equipment and services.

This growth mindset looks at a combination of innovative, fully integrated software, hardware and services to find the most cost-effective, productive and customer-friendly way of doing business. At Ricoh, we call this evolution “integrated resource centers,” or IRC, supporting both on-site — at the customer site or a Ricoh site — and cloud-based solutions and services.

An IRC finds the best fit of people, processes, performance, and technology for any print and mail operations. Specifically, working with Ricoh as an expert industry consultant or managed services, we evaluate and strive to transform every IRC into a source of generating revenue and reducing spend by:

• Developing a business plan for efficient operations throughout your document ecosystem

• Improving order intake processes

• Integrating existing systems to capture, connect and secure data

• Transforming manual tasks into automated workflows

• Configuring production area for efficient job flow and economic utilization of space for equipment and inventory

• Optimizing postal processing, rates, security and compliance

• Evaluating equipment training, sales and marketing best practices, administrative overhead, and production expenses

1. Gives facilities leaders the ability to scale and offer new services that enhance and transform value to the organization

2. 25-35% cost-savings on average with an IRC

3. Significant revenue growth

4. Improves operational efficiency via automation, which leads to cost containment and optimization

5. Leverages new AI technology, integration and predictive analytics to improve workflows, reporting, insights, and tracking

6. Enables information governance

7. Improves security and privacy compliance

8. Promotes environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets

9. Offsets labor issues with services

10. Builds trust and confidence in fast, high-quality print projects

Navigating best practices with a strategic approach can be daunting for many organizations with heavy print and mail volumes. Challenges such as reduced mail usage, rising postage rates, return mail, labor, application sprawl, and hybrid work are common struggles for in-plants, leading to lost revenue.

What’s often commonly overlooked — but should not be — are the resources to provide print and mail automation services. Many challenges faced by organizations need trained people to provide best-in-class services for internal and external customers. Managed services with highly trained professionals can often be the key to unlocking new levels of workplace excellence. Knowledgeable, hands-on expertise can lead to faster production times, scalability and deeper insights.

IDC predicts that “by 2027, 40% of companies will adopt a new sourcing model for print technologies and services to better support their shift to an increasingly digital business operation.”² The ability to keep up with constant change, compliance, security, technology and operations are why many organizations are turning to a full-service IRC approach.

Furthermore, IDC also predicts that “by 2026, 60% of enterprises will have print-related carbon offsetting goals” and “by 2027, 10% of global enterprises will seek to shift their fleet acquisitions to remanufactured or refurbished devices,” as a response to sustainability efforts.³ Analysts also predict that AI and GenAI will augment print services, which requires organizations to continually modernize and refine their processes, technology and devices.

The key to growing your in-plant or mail departments requires transforming existing operations into data-driven services, analytics and output that enhance value and provide a competitive edge. It’s about understanding what’s available, what your existing resources can do and applying the right strategy to accelerate growth. Once inbound and outbound projects, documents, mail, and communications are evaluated, organizations can create benchmarks and future growth goals.