Global
External Article
The adoption of generative AI and other emerging technologies is accelerating. Yet faster individual tasks do not necessarily translate into results for the company as a whole. Unless organizations look across their complex, interconnected processes and transform people, processes, data, technology, and workplaces together, the gains remain limited to isolated efficiencies.
In its Mid-Term Strategy ’26, announced in March 2026, Ricoh outlined its vision to become a leading global integrator of workplaces, connecting customers’ work, space, and knowledge to help them strengthen their competitive advantage and differentiation themselves. Why is Ricoh, long known for its printers and multifunction devices, now aiming to become a workplace integrator? We spoke with Kazunori Kobayashi, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Ricoh Company, Ltd., and Head of the Integration Marketing Division, to find out.
Kazunori Kobayashi, Senior Corporate Officer, CMO, and Head of the Integration Marketing Division, Ricoh Company, Ltd.
Generative AI is already changing the way individuals work. Many people now see tasks that once took hours completed in minutes. However, business processes are complex and interconnected. Some tasks are completed within applications, others rely on human judgment, and many span multiple departments. As a result, gains in individual productivity do not automatically translate into results for the organization as a whole.
“On a production line, improving one process does not increase overall productivity if bottlenecks remain elsewhere. Business works the same way. Rather than treating AI adoption as a goal in itself, companies need to look at the business as a whole and focus on where and how to change it, and what outcomes they want to achieve,” says Kobayashi.
He identifies four elements that are essential for turning technology into business results:
Four elements that strengthen corporate competitiveness
“Many companies rush to adopt new technologies, experiment with use cases, and then fail to achieve meaningful results because they lack an overall design. When the next technology appears, they repeat the same cycle. I have seen this happen many times,” he says.
Breaking that cycle requires more than simply selecting products or tools. Organizations need partners that understand their business as a whole and can design and operate solutions all the way until they deliver real results.
For decades, Ricoh has supported people at work through a wide range of products and services extending far beyond multifunction printers. In 2020, the company declared its commitment to becoming a digital services company and has steadily expanded its business domains. Becoming a workplace integrator is the next stage of that transformation. The term “integrator” more clearly expresses both what Ricoh already does and where it is headed.
For Ricoh, integration goes beyond combining products and services. It means connecting technologies, business processes, workplace environments, and expertise to address each customer’s unique challenges and deliver real business results. Ricoh also combines its own technologies and services with those of external partners to create the best solution for each customer.
Ricoh’s approach centers on connecting three essential elements of the workplace: work, space, and knowledge.
Ricoh’s strengths as a workplace integrator
Connecting Work
By linking people, data, and AI with business processes, Ricoh aims to optimize entire workflows rather than simply improving the efficiency of individual tasks.
Connecting Space
Ricoh seamlessly connects offices, frontline workplaces, and remote locations to create environments where people can collaborate naturally and effectively with one another and with AI.
Connecting Knowledge
Ricoh helps organizations transform individual expertise and departmental know-how into shared organizational knowledge through data and AI, enabling continuous value creation.
“Our customers’ work, space, and knowledge do not exist in isolation. We aim to connect these elements and create the optimal workplace for each customer. That is the kind of workplace integrator we aspire to be,” says Kobayashi.
However, connecting these elements once is not the end. As the business environment changes, so does work. Advances in technology reshape where people work and how they work with AI, and the knowledge companies accumulate keeps growing.
“Our customers’ businesses and ways of working keep changing, and so does technology. So we, too, need to stay on top of those changes, reconnecting whatever is needed at each stage and working alongside customers until results are achieved. That is the value Ricoh provides.”
The foundation of Ricoh’s role as a workplace integrator lies in its relationships with approximately 1.4 million customers worldwide. For decades, Ricoh has worked closely with customers in offices and other workplaces around the world, gaining a deep understanding of how work actually happens. Ricoh has also built up a broad range of technologies over the years through its MFP business and other businesses. These include software, printing, optics and image processing, environmental technologies, production, analysis and control, materials and devices, and security. According to Kobayashi, the combination of this technology with deep workplace insight is what sets Ricoh apart.
The Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions worldwide
But for Kobayashi, something matters even more: the trust Ricoh has built through long-standing customer relationships.
“Customers often tell us that they can rely on Ricoh, and that we never walk away and always see things through to the end. We are able to work with our customers today because our founder and those who came before us built that trust and passed it on to us. That is the foundation of everything,” says Kobayashi.
Trust often becomes the starting point for new conversations. One example is a global manufacturer that began working with Ricoh around 2014–2015, when Kobayashi was based in Europe. The relationship started with printers and MFPs. Over more than a decade, Ricoh addressed operational issues and complex requirements one by one while providing reliable operations and maintenance support. Eventually, the customer began asking Ricoh for help with matters that had nothing to do with printers.
The company’s challenge was to consolidate suppliers scattered across different countries and regions and bring security standards, operational policies, and service quality up to a consistent level worldwide. Ricoh made this possible by drawing on its delivery and support capabilities across approximately 200 countries and regions, together with dedicated global teams. Today, Ricoh’s support has expanded to include AV Managed Services for meeting rooms across the customer’s global operations.
This example illustrates what Ricoh means by working alongside its customers. It is not simply about providing the same services over time, but about understanding how customers’ businesses and ways of working evolve and continually adapting the value Ricoh delivers to meet their changing needs.
At the same time, global companies often have two potentially conflicting expectations: consistent service quality worldwide and solutions tailored to local and customer-specific requirements. For example, even among multinational companies operating in France, some expect support in English while others require service in French. Ricoh responds by assigning on-site staff with the language skills needed to support each customer. In some countries and regions, Ricoh also provides applications tailored to the specific requirements of the local market.
“Locally rooted services make up the majority of our business. Global companies, on the other hand, want to receive the same services at the same quality at every location, in Japan and overseas. We have both the ability to respond to local needs in fine detail and the ability to deliver consistent value globally, and we know how to use each where it fits. That is our strength,” says Kobayashi.
To make the most of these strengths, Ricoh introduced a new management structure in April 2026 designed to enable more agile collaboration across regions and businesses. The goal is to combine the customer understanding that each region has built up with products, technologies, and services of each business to create greater value for customers. However, the more autonomy each organization has, the greater the risk that regions and businesses will each optimize for themselves rather than for the Group as a whole. To create the best possible value for the entire Group, Ricoh introduced the concept of One RICOH.
“One RICOH does not mean consolidating everything into a single organization. It is about connecting the strengths of each region and business, reducing duplication, and working together as the Ricoh Group to create the best solutions for customers,” says Kobayashi.
The Integration Marketing Division, which Kobayashi leads, plays exactly this connecting role. The division connects regions, businesses, people, technologies, and insights gained through customer interactions. It also draws on external partners when needed to create the best solution for each customer.
To connect its customers’ work, space, and knowledge, Ricoh must first connect its own regions, businesses, technologies, and expertise. One RICOH is also the foundation for making this possible.
At the heart of Ricoh’s corporate philosophy is the Spirit of Three Loves—“Love your neighbor, Love your country, Love your work”—advocated by its founder, Kiyoshi Ichimura. Today, that heritage lives on in the company’s Mission & Vision, Fulfillment through Work. By staying close to people at work and continuously driving transformation, Ricoh seeks to help unlock human creativity and contribute to a sustainable future.
“When customers want to make even a small change to the way they work, I want Ricoh to be the first company that comes to mind. Increasing the number of customers who think of us that way, one company at a time, through our track record and the trust we earn, is the goal for both Ricoh and me personally,” says Kobayashi.
A principle that has guided Kobayashi in leading his organization is “TRUST and PRiDE.” It originated in a workshop in 2013, when he and his colleagues involved in solution development explored what kind of team they wanted to be. One sentiment that emerged was a desire to take pride in their work. But what would make that possible? Through further discussion, they arrived at a shared conclusion: Pride comes from contributing to others and earning their trust.
“Only when you achieve results through work, contribute to others, and earn their trust can you truly take pride in what you do. That is why TRUST comes before PRiDE. I always ask myself whether my words and actions are worthy of others’ trust,” says Kobayashi.
As technologies such as AI continue to evolve rapidly, companies need more than the adoption of individual tools. They need to turn change into meaningful business outcomes. Ricoh understands customers’ workplaces and connects their work, space, and knowledge. By bringing together the right technologies and services from within and outside the company, it works alongside customers until results are achieved.
This work is never finished. As customers’ businesses and ways of working evolve, so do their workplace needs and the value Ricoh must deliver. By continually adapting to these changes and bringing together what customers need, Ricoh seeks to create new value. Through these ongoing efforts, the company aims to help customers strengthen their competitive advantage and differentiate themselves.
That is the role Ricoh aspires to fulfill as a workplace integrator.
