Ricoh is making the move into print management information systems (MIS) after making a multimillion-dollar investment in Avanti Computer Systems Limited, a leading provider of MIS solutions for the print industry.
Avanti, headquartered in Canada, provides print MIS software that helps commercial and in-plant printers streamline their workflow, resulting in greater productivity, customer satisfaction, and improved profit margins.
With hundreds of installations throughout the commercial print and in-plant marketplace, Avanti will now be able to bring its MIS tools, including job costing, tracking and billing, scheduling, CRM, inventory management, warehouse and direct mail management, to an even broader global market.
Ricoh says that Avanti's core technologies are well positioned to complement its existing offering with advanced solutions for mixed environments with wide format, digital cut sheet, continuous forms, offset, and fulfillment and kitting operations. Ricoh is committed to providing printers with alternative solutions that support open industry standards and connections to key production print technologies across vendors.
This represents the most recent investment by Ricoh to expand its reach across the print industry. Ricoh previously invested in PTI Marketing Technologies, a leading provider of marketing automation solutions for both enterprise users and print service providers. Ricoh says it is continuing to make these investments to further enhance the development of new management tools to help enterprises and commercial printers on their continued path toward efficiency and growth.
"Avanti's Print MIS capability is a perfect complement to our portfolio. In the same way we automate print workflow, Avanti automates the printer's back office systems: inventory management, job pricing, estimating, and billing,” said Yasuhiko Hosoe, associate director and deputy general manager, Ricoh Production Printing Business Group, Ricoh Company. “The investment also speaks to our ‘imagine.change.’ initiative — by enabling commercial and in-plant printers to streamline their businesses and seek efficiencies to lower costs, and improve their bottom line.
- Patrick Bolan, president and CEO of Avanti.
"This strategic move, like our investment in PTI, further demonstrates our commitment to help companies imagine the changes that they can make to automate and improve their businesses, and most importantly, their customers' experiences," he said.
Patrick Bolan (pictured), president and CEO of Avanti, said: "At Avanti, our priority has always been to invest in our people and our technology, which in turn, provides our customers with innovative, effective and award-winning software solutions.
"This strategic investment by Ricoh means that we can accelerate product development and expand into new markets, and most importantly, ensure that both current and future customers have options when choosing a Print MIS system," he said.