Ricoh Launches Tailored Partner Programme to Foster Strategic Partnerships

Ricoh Launches Tailored Partner Programme to Foster Strategic Partnerships

London, 05 September 2011 - Ricoh is to roll out a dedicated partner programme tailored to nurture long-term relationships with SME print resellers and VARs. Under the programme, resellers will be assigned as Approved, Preferred or Solutions partners, following a full assessment and discussion of their fleet and managed service requirements.

“We wanted to extend our channel programme to offer the best possible deal for our resellers whilst ensuring the model was a best fit for their organisation,” said Steven Hastings, IT Channel Distribution Manager at Ricoh. “Our model is designed to reflect the needs and aspirations of each particular organisation as not every reseller or VAR is the same. Different partners have different plans for growth and business development so our offering spans financial and marketing initiatives that will help us tailor support for these different requirements to best meet their needs without taking a hierarchical approach.”

Ricoh is putting in place the Solutions Partners programme for resellers who are aiming to provide a full solution and additional services package for their customers over and above the core distribution channel. This package will include Ricoh’s comprehensive managed print services package, the opportunity to offer a balanced deployment of printers and access to other areas of the Ricoh business such as software solutions. 

The Preferred Partner programme is for resellers that are focusing their business on selling lower value boxes in higher volumes. This will be enabled by building up fleets and maximising their customers’ printer business. It will also include maintaining a focus on transaction sales rather than managed services and accessing Ricoh’s alternative incentives and solutions.

The Approved Partners programme will focus on resellers with whom Ricoh has limited interaction to date, but who wish to explore opportunities for developing a strategic relationship with Ricoh. Further to discussions on the reseller’s requirement needs and prospective areas for mutual growth, this programme offers the potential for them to become a Preferred or Solutions partner. Approved partner status gives resellers access to a dedicated portal through which they can download images and specifications to meet their particular requirements.

In addition, Ricoh has developed a Managed Print Services (MPS) solution under the banner of Ricoh Click.
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Click is a very straightforward yet profitable offering which gives end-users the security of a contract period of up to five years via the reseller. End users simply choose the type of contract, type of call out and duration of contract, which is supported by 1,000 technicians throughout the UK. Resellers then receive a rebate over the full term of that end-user contract.

Later in the year, Ricoh will launch Click Lite which differs in that it is based on a fixed two-year contract. Rather than receiving a rebate on a quarterly basis throughout the contract term, resellers offering this service receive an upfront payment at the offset.

Follow @RicohPrinters (on Twitter) for further information