Ricoh USA Inc. has unveiled its RICOH Capture & Conversion Services, an advanced AI-powered solution that intelligently captures, digitizes and stores information, making it securely and efficiently accessible, searchable and useable to workers from anywhere, at any time. This latest integrated service, built within Ricoh's Digital Services Center, gives teams access to actionable analytics that will enhance end-user experiences — both for workers and customers. With it, they can more accurately act on information that will empower the acceleration of the digitization process most effectively.

According to recent findings from 451 Research, two out of three organizations have stated they are making remote work policies long-term or permanent. While the pandemic accelerated this shift, the "work-from-anywhere" concept is not new. Yet, Accenture has found that only 7% of companies are "fully future-ready" which, among other characteristics, involves leveraging advanced technologies that drive smarter decisions, more efficient operations and better business results. The advanced technologies in RICOH Capture & Conversion Services enable organizations to overcome the obstacles unstructured data presents by converting that data into useful, accessible and searchable information.

"The challenges presented by unstructured data multiplied exponentially in 2020 accelerating a company's digitization timeline by seven years, according to McKinsey," said Bob Lamendola, senior vice president of technology and head of the Digital Services Center, Ricoh North America. "Now that more organizations are embracing dispersed workforces, they're seeking services and expertise that will improve experiences with information, ultimately driving better business outcomes. Digitization has gone from a forward-thinking strategy to a foundational must, and RICOH Capture & Conversion Services help ensure that foundation is not only trusted, but continuously getting smarter to deliver optimal results."

The development of RICOH Capture & Conversion Services is a part of the company's North American business strategy and it is already helping deliver business outcomes for customers. Recently, the human resources department within a school district was burdened with nearly 1,000 boxes of unorganized personnel files. Ricoh converted all files, 3.3 million pages, into a secured, indexable digital records system, that increased HR productivity related to document retrieval by 100%, regardless of where the work was taking place.

RICOH Capture & Conversion Services is the latest service built on RICOH's Intelligent Business Platform, a workflow and process automation ecosystem that enables business insights through a single consumer-grade digital experience. Along with enabling collaboration and access to information from anywhere, this service accelerates business workflows, creates a centralized data repository, protects business continuity, and increases productivity and cost-efficiency with its combination of AI and human-in-the-loop processes. It also integrates Computer Vision, an AI-powered approach to replicating what and how human eyes process information, to rapidly ingest and recognize documents. As the AI gets smarter, the RICOH Capture & Conversion Services can pull in additional relevant data (e.g., recognizing customer data on a document and then matching and enriching that data with an external customer databases), delivering added efficiencies.

In other news, Ricoh USA Inc. and 6 River Systems LLC have announced a new initiative to support warehouse efficiencies. RICOH Service Advantage will complement 6 River Systems' existing service team for its collaborative robots — called "Chucks" — and expand its geographical reach to provide technical support to customers more quickly.

6 River Systems' software solutions and Chuck robots empower warehouse associates to work faster and more efficiently. RICOH Service Advantage provides an extensive technical and customer support infrastructure. With the scalability and flexibility required to fulfill service needs directly to customer sites that employ Chucks across the country, Ricoh will provide a high level of experience and expertise that enables 6 River Systems to continue to scale up and expand quickly as automated fulfillment needs continue to surge.

According to Statista, the global warehouse automation market is predicted to increase from $15 billion in 2019 to $30 billion by 2026, with more and more retailers looking for solutions to quicken the pace of fulfillment.

RICOH Service Advantage will support 6 River Systems in the company's mission to further meet customer demand for uptime and efficiency in its retail and warehouse operations. Ricoh's certified technicians work alongside 6 River Systems' engineers to support Chucks, from calibration and floor mapping, to routine maintenance, preventative maintenance and retrofits. Ricoh also provides end-user operator training for Chucks, including use of the device charging dock and facility remapping procedure, helping to ensure optimal Chuck usage.

"The demand for our automated retail solution is significant, especially with retailers continually looking for ways to get their products into consumers' hands faster via seamless experiences," said Eran Frenkel, vice president of technical operations, 6 River Systems. "By partnering with Ricoh, we're able to focus on making our solutions more widely available, which ultimately helps our customers quickly and efficiently meet their fulfillment goals."

"Our collaboration with 6 River Systems is a prime example of how our stable and trusted infrastructure — coupled with a team of more than 10,000 service delivery professionals supporting and maintaining more than 1 million devices across the U.S. — helps solve our customers' problems," said Jim Kirby, vice president of service advantage, Ricoh USA Inc. "Together, we are addressing some of the biggest challenges and opportunities in retail today, including supply chain operational efficiency such as retail and warehouse automation. By expertly assisting with service and support for companies like 6 River Systems, we are helping them maintain focus on what matters most — innovation that solves supply chain hurdles and moves business forward."