Ricoh 1998 Annual Report Download - page 11

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 11 of the 1998 Ricoh annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 56

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56

9
K
EEPING
P
EOPLE
H
APPY
We don’t claim to be perfect. But we do ensure the best possible experiences in office
equipment through built-in reliability. We also maintain an extensive global customer
support network that keeps machines in the field running optimally through readily
available consumables, regular maintenance, and lightning-fast repairs. Just as impor-
tant, we are there to provide timely advice.
Our domestic Customer Support System (CSS) for copiers exemplifies our desire
to keep people happy. Linked by telephone lines with more than 260,000 machines in
the field, this diagnostic system responds to pre- and post-breakdown warnings and re-
pair requests and provides supplies automatically in line with usage levels. An optional
service is available to help businesses administer machine access by individuals and de-
partments. This system should serve an additional 140,000 users by March 1999. The
CSS is just one of dozens of similar operations around the world that we are readying
for the next stage in our support efforts.
I
NTERNAL
I
NITIATIVE
One of the most interesting Ricoh initiatives is set to take customer satisfaction to stel-
lar heights into the next century. We have linked everyone in the Ricoh Group—from
development and design to top management—with a global Lotus Notes network.
Quality control personnel use Notes to access our Global Field Problems Report
database to monitor a growing mass of technical, service, and customer feedback infor-
mation. Our service operations are the bedrock of this database. The beauty of this
system is that its documentation empowers our people to please by reducing the need
to reinvent the wheel. It also arms everybody with a common tool to address problems
and identify new product and service opportunities at the click of a mouse.
M
AKING THE
C
USTOMER
N
O
. 1 “Our Customer Support System
centers serve hundreds of thousands
of Ricoh machines around Japan. A
lot of customers sign up for this
service because it gives them
minimal downtime and maximum
productivity.”
—Yutaka Sakakibara,
Leader, Customer Support System,
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
C u s t o m e r S u p p o r t S y s t e m
Ricoh’s Customer Support System is linked by
telephone line to more than 260,000 machines
fitted with special adapters. The adapters send
problems automatically to a base workstation,
which then analyzes the data and fixes minor
difficulties.
Satisfaction Fact: A worldwide survey of Aficio 401
users found that 77% of them chose this model for its PC-
connectivity.
Ricoh Europe B.V. of the Nether-
lands extensively uses the Global
Field Problems Report system to
handle information covering tech-
nical and service issues with Ricoh
operations around the world.