Ricoh unveils unique student package retrieval service to help enhance student experience

GETTYSBURG, Pa., June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NACAS East. -- Getting a package in the mail is a joy for a college student, or should be. It can quickly turn into a hassle, however, with long lines at the mail center, confusion behind the counter and the all-too-frequent lost package.

At the National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS) East 2013 Regional Conference in Gettysburg, PA, Ricoh Americas Corporation today announced a unique solution to these package delivery challenges with the University Kiosk for Higher Education service, which automates student notification and pickup for an improved experience all around. In one customer setting, the service shortened average student wait times from more than 20 minutes to less than two.

"The Ricoh inbound package kiosk solution has dramatically improved our student experience," said Lehigh University's Mark Ironside, Executive Director of University Business Services. "Students' time is valuable; now they come in, get their package and go happily on their way. We're more efficient, and everyone's delighted with the service Ricoh provides."

The service is the latest example of Ricoh's Business Information Solutions approach, which tailors services to customers' most pressing business challenges.

How it works
Mail center employees receive and digitally scan a package when it arrives, generating an e-mail alert to the student and recording the package's location within the mail center. When ready to pick up, the student visits the mail center and swipes his/her student ID card at the kiosk. The mail center staff is alerted visually and audibly that a student has arrived, and LCD touchscreen monitors display the student's name as well as the location and other information about the package.

The mail center staffer retrieves the package based on the information displayed on the touchscreens and brings it to the service desk, where the student shows ID, signs on an electronic signature pad and leaves with his or her package.

"This solution is proving to be a game changer as more students order books, electronics and everyday products online," said Renaud Rodrigue, National Director, Higher Education Market at Ricoh Americas Corporation. "Students get their packages promptly, operational costs are reduced, we know exactly where the packages are at all times, and overall the solution creates a positive student experience."

The University Kiosk for Higher Education service is based on Ricoh's TRAC solution^®, a Web-based centralized reporting tool that documents every package's chain of custody and measures mailroom performance. In one installation, nearly 100,000 packages were delivered without a single lost package.

In many cases, Ricoh staffs mail centers with Ricoh Managed Document Services personnel. The company has more than 20 years of mail center operations expertise and more than 1,000 mail management customers. For more information visit ricoh-usa.com/univ.

About Ricoh's Business Information Solutions
Through extensive analysis and experience, Ricoh has identified the major business challenges enterprises are facing today: globalization, increasing employee mobility, new generational work styles, exploding information volumes, mounting cost pressures and rapid IT infrastructure changes. The company directly addresses these challenges with its Business Information Solutions approach, which brings together technologies, services and expertise that can help to measurably improve business performance by optimizing the flow of business information.

The Business Information Solutions approach streamlines an organization's entire information workflow by improving:

• Input – capturing valuable information from employees, customers and partners.
• Processing – creating business value from information.
• And Output – distributing the information to the right person at the right time in the right form for productive action.

For details on Ricoh's full line of products, services and solutions, please visit www.ricoh-usa.com.

| About Ricoh |
Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in about 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2013, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 1,924 billion yen (approx. 20 billion USD).

The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and sustainability initiatives.

Under its corporate tagline, imagine. change. Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and harness the collective imagination of their employees.

For further information, please visit  www.ricoh.com/about/  

© 2013 Ricoh Americas Corporation. All rights reserved. All referenced product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Contact:
John Greco
Ricoh Americas Corporation
(973) 882-2023
[email protected]

Jill Searl
Brodeur Partners
(603) 559-5824
[email protected]

SOURCE Ricoh