Sign up for The Key Point of View, our weekly newsletter of blogs and podcasts!
As markets understand that the take, make, and discard process is unsustainable, circularity and the reuse of products before recycling is having a disruptive effect on the ways we think about our consumption habits. This change started as we all were forced to consider the impact of COVID on our home and work lives. The mounting evidence of global warming, combined with shortages in the supply chain caused by a lack of microprocessors and soaring energy costs, is forcing us to consider how we can make better use of what already exists today.
The office printing market has not been immune from these disruptors. The refurbishing and sale of used equipment had previously been a relatively incremental activity for resellers, dealers, and their technicians. Yet, some manufacturers have taken the opportunity to make better use of returning hardware and structured remanufacturing processes to place used equipment back into the market.
The BLI Pacesetter Award in Remanufactured Hardware
With that information in mind, Keypoint Intelligence invited all leading document imaging OEMs in Western Europe to complete a survey detailing their efforts around remanufactured hardware. Then, with the data in hand, our analysts used a proprietary rating scale to determine where each vendor stacked up compared to others in the following six categories:
- Company-Wide Vision: How remanufactured office hardware fits into the company’s overall vision and strategy. What are the goals they set and what are the differentiators?
- Current Reman Portfolio and Integration with Entire Portfolio: Which devices are included and what is the remanufacturing process? How does this integrate with the first-build portfolio?
- Achievements: What differentiates the portfolio in terms of innovations, service, or facilities?
- Product Labels: What labels have been achieved with the reman line and what percentage have these labels?
- Regional Marketing & Channel Activities: How do you market your remanufactured products and what channel programs are offered?
- Other Remanufacturing Differentiators: An opportunity to point to any areas we have not covered.
After crunching the numbers, we concluded that Ricoh Europe was the winner of our Pacesetter in Remanufactured Hardware.
“Ricoh Europe provided a particularly compelling entry for our Buyers Lab (BLI) 2022-2023 Pacesetter Award in Remanufactured Hardware,” said Peter Mayhew, Principal Analyst at Keypoint Intelligence and the lead on the judging panel. “Ricoh’s comprehensive portfolio of remanufactured devices, strong go to market strategy implemented across its organization and channel, as well as its credible and measured reuse and recycle approach gave the company the win. The entry from Ricoh Europe was also aligned with relevant United Nations’ environmental sustainability targets. It was the combination of remanufactured product, strategic implementation, and responsible alignment that attracted particular attention from Keypoint Intelligence’s judging panel.”
As reuse and remanufacturing increase in importance, we expect to see a growing number of manufacturers integrating quality, used products alongside their evolving product ranges. This presents new opportunities for the channel, more choice for the end-user, and is a benefit for the planet—a win-win all around!
Click here to find out the other Pacesetter Award winners over the years. Log in to bliQ to view additional Pacesetter Awards as well as to compare various devices, including those marketed by Ricoh Europe. If you’re not a subscriber, just send us an email at sales@keypointintelligence.com for more info.
