REVIEW 2024
Growth and change The past 12 months have seen growth in the print channel, with new technology providing new opportunities for many. While there have been challenges too, businesses have found innovative solutions to them.
For businesses in the print channel, 2024 has been largely a year of business as usual. For that, there is gratitude – there have been too many years recently where trading has been severely impacted by global events. Of course, business as usual is different to what it was five years ago – but print businesses have adapted to what was previously referred to as the ‘new normal.’ This has presented a range of opportunities for OEMs and resellers in the print sector, as has developing technology
– particularly artificial intelligence (AI), which has really come of age in 2024 – that they have looked to capitalise on. There have also been challenges in the sector too, with print volumes still not recovering to pre-pandemic levels just one that businesses have faced. But again, the sector has responded to challenges with resilience and innovation. Here, leading players from the print sector give their take on how 2024 was for them, their company and the wider print channel – and what 2025 might hold in store.
Rowan Jeffreys-Hoar , director, partner channel, Ricoh UK 2024 has been a year of continued recovery and growth. Looking ahead to 2025, there’s a clear shift toward a more forward-thinking, growth-oriented outlook. A personal highlight of the year was being
Another notable trend in 2024 was the rising importance of ESG (environmental, social and governance) requirements. Companies increasingly focus on their carbon footprint and environmental impact, particularly through office products. Ricoh has been one of the ESG leaders in the industry with one of the most comprehensive portfolios in this area. Our technology offers market- leading energy efficiency and consumption metrics that align with ESG goals. Ricoh has a strong legacy in sustainability, which translates into our work with partners and consultancy that we provide. As an example, we help Agilico to deliver against their net zero strategy through a device refurbishment programme – refurbishing and reselling used devices, some of which only have used 5% of their capacity and have plenty of life left. Meanwhile, one key challenge in 2024 has been the rapid pace at which customers are reassessing their workplace needs and working patterns and adjusting their budgets for office technology needs. With Ricoh’s range of solutions and the support of our experienced channel experts, we’ve helped our partners stay involved in key strategic conversations. This has allowed them to assist their customers in planning for the immediate future and the year ahead.
named the top UK reseller at the 2024 Technology Reseller Awards. Ricoh won the Corporate Reseller/Managed Services Provider (turnover £20 million) category, recognising our exceptional business growth and digital transformation over the past year as a reseller. Additionally, to end 2024 positively, Ricoh won the 2024 Print IT awards in the A3 MFP Vendor of the Year category. Together, these awards reflect Ricoh’s ability to innovate, adapt, and deliver value to its partners and customers, reinforcing its position as a trusted partner in workplace technology and solutions. In the print channel, this year’s key trend has been transformation, with businesses expanding their offerings and adding new revenue streams to capture existing and new customer opportunities. In line with this, we’ve seen strong engagement from our business partners with DocuWare, leading to impressive growth throughout 2024. High retention rates have supported consistent annual renewals and further expansion of on-site licensing.
Rowan Jeffreys-Hoar directo, partner channel
ricoh.co.uk
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