Avanti Brings Print MIS To Ricoh Portfolio (Includes Commentary from Mark Michelson)

Commentary by Mark Michelson

Sam Hosoe, associate director and deputy general manager of Ricoh’s Production Printing Business Group, and Patrick Bolan, Avanti president and CEO, explained the rationale for Ricoh’s multimillion-dollar investment in Avanti during a brief conference call with Mark Michelson, editor-in-chief of Printing Impressions.

Hosoe says Ricoh was especially drawn to Avanti’s open platform, modular architecture. And, coupled with Ricoh’s previous investment in PTI Marketing Technologies (a Web-to-print and marketing personalization solutions provider), it will enable Ricoh to provide customers with a fully integrated and automated, end-to-end solution. Ricoh’s global customer and sales coverage will also enable Avanti to expand its MIS customer base worldwide, noted Hosoe.

Bolan added that Ricoh’s investment will further accelerate and fund product development at Avanti, some of which will debut at PRINT 13 in September. And, more importantly, it will reaffirm to current MIS customers and prospects that Avanti will not be sold to EFI, which has been aggressively consolidating the market by acquiring independent MIS solution providers. “This announcement will signal to the marketplace that we plan to be here for the long haul,” Bolan stressed.

He says Avanti currently has between 300 and 325 MIS users in the United States, ranging from $1 to $2 million print shops up to large industry conglomerates such as EarthColor. Bolan adds that Avanti’s modular, scalable software structure can grow with individual users, including those print shops expanding into services such as mailing and fulfillment.

Avanti’s three majority shareholders, including Bolan, who bought the Toronto-based company about eight years ago, will still maintain majority ownership.

TOKYO and TORONTO—July 11, 2013—Ricoh Company (Ricoh) today announced that it has made a multimillion dollar investment in Avanti Computer Systems, a leading provider of Print Management Information Systems (MIS) solutions for the print industry. Avanti 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. Avanti’s core technologies are uniquely positioned to complement Ricoh’s offerings 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 is the most recent investment by Ricoh to expand its reach across the print industry in an effort to ensure customers have access to the critical information they need, when they need it. Ricoh previously invested in PTI Marketing Technologies, a leading provider of marketing automation solutions for both enterprise users and print service providers. Ricoh 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. 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,” said Yasuhiko Hosoe, associate director and deputy general manager, Ricoh Production Printing Business Group, Ricoh Company. “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.”

Ricoh enables companies of all sizes around the world to help expand their businesses with tools such as data intelligence, document management software, industry-leading digital printers, and other solutions—all aimed to provide them with a sustainable, competitive advantage.

“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,” said Patrick Bolan, president and CEO of Avanti. “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.”

In addition to Ricoh, Avanti will continue to actively market its products through all channels, including its current partner vendors.

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.

About Avanti Computer Systems
In business for over 28 years, Avanti provides innovative, award winning Print MIS solutions that help the print industry automate all facets of their business and cultivate a more meaningful relationship with their customer. Avanti’s solutions are the most open in the industry; JDF certified, fully integrated and extend from Web-to-print through to production and billing.

Source: Ricoh.

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Ricoh Makes Strategic Investment in Avanti Computer Systems (Includes Commentary from Mark Michelson)