Ricoh UK Ltd Achieves Customer Service Excellence Success

In October 2014 Ricoh UK achieved Customer Service Excellence (CSE) accreditation for its Customer Services Division. CSE represents the government seal of approval for customer care. It measures organisations against five criteria: customer insight; culture of the organisation; delivery of customer service; timeliness and quality of service; and information access. Ricoh UK is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ricoh technology products and services throughout the UK and Ireland. Their Customer Services Division, employs 770 field service engineers who are supported by over 140 staff in the UK National Contact Centre. Ricoh is a global technology company specialising 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 2014, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,195 billion yen based on the IFRS accounting standard (approx. 21.3 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 specialised 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. Why Ricoh UK wanted to achieve CSE To acknowledge employees’ hard work and dedication to continuous improvement. To support the company’s improvement journey using third party feedback, clarifying areas for improvement as areas of strength and helping deliver the best customer service possible. To integrate the standard with existing ISO standards. “Customer centricity is one of Ricoh’s key values, and lies at the heart of everything we do,” says Lisa O’Connell, Business Excellence Manager, Ricoh UK Ltd. Why Ricoh UK chose SGS United Kingdom Ltd SGS provided support and guidance and were very flexible with Ricoh’s approach. “They were professional, efficient and quick to respond to our questions. Their support made the process much easier,” says Lisa O’Connell. “The pre-assessment process showed how we were meeting the criteria before the site visit. “We scoped out what we were doing already to meet the criteria. This was important to us as we are a private sector company and we found some of the criteria challenging. The support and guidance from the SGS assessor were invaluable.” Benefits of CSE “The assessment process has allowed us to take a step back and realise our strengths,” says Lisa O’Connell. As a result of the process it has helped Ricoh UK focus and prioritise areas for improvement, and feed those into its annual business planning process. SGS auditor Mike Yule adds: “Their approach to consultation and engagement is impressive. It was easy to identify how customer service is embedded throughout the Customer Service Teams. A key reason for their success is they listen carefully to the voice of their customers to gain an in-depth understanding of their needs. “Also the organisation is totally committed to working in partnership with their customers, dealerships and supply chain manager to deliver a quality service.” Advice to other organisations considering CSE certification 1. Understand the criteria and how the organisation’s processes, procedures and policies fit. 2. Identify internal and external customers and how the criteria address each group. 3. Identify and involve stakeholders in the data gathering exercise. 4. Gather evidence of good customer service, especially customer feedback. About SGS SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognised as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.

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