Developed with global partner Condeco, new services are aimed at optimizing meeting room use and reducing associated costs
Ricoh Americas Corporation today unveiled Ricoh Meeting Room Services, enabling companies to more efficiently use conference rooms and curb the expense of unused spaces.
Offices spend $20,000 a year or more on their meeting rooms, but these rooms are empty nearly half of the time.[1],[2] That means companies are spending too much money on space that isn't being used. Ricoh Meeting Room Services, which incorporate market-leading technology from Condeco, address this inefficiency with an intelligent solution that minimizes "no-shows" by using ID sign-in technology and sensors to report occupancy rates and patterns in real-time.
"We hate to see companies wasting money on unused space," said Tim Vellek, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Ricoh Americas Corporation. "With Ricoh Meeting Room Services, we're giving them more information about how they're using their rooms, when peak periods occur, how to be more efficient, and how to get more value from existing real estate."
Combining Ricoh's service expertise with Condeco's technology, Ricoh Meeting Room Services provide information mobility for facilities, operations and office managers. The services capture real-time room usage data, analyze patterns, and re-engineer optimization plans to help balance occupancy rates and drive measurable cost savings. Ricoh Meeting Room Services can help companies manage an entire meeting room inventory via the Condeco software solution for booking meeting space, inviting attendees, reserving audiovisual equipment, ordering meals and activating electronic signage.
Beginning with an expert assessment, Ricoh communication consultants work directly with customers to meet their specific needs. Ricoh Meeting Room Services can incorporate other Ricoh solutions, including digital projector systems, interactive whiteboards, video conferencing and paperless meeting services. After design and implementation, Ricoh will help ensure objectives are met and drive continuous optimization.
"Meeting room optimization is a matter of streamlining information workflow, which is Ricoh's core mission and the main capability of the technology we've provided for the solution," said Martin Brooker, COO of Condeco. "This partnership gives companies access to Ricoh's personalized service experience from the beginning, helping them continuously optimize their meeting rooms to make the most of their implementation."
While managers oversee room usage, individual employees can swipe their ID cards or enter PIN codes at any meeting room door to book the space on the fly, manage no-shows, begin meetings and release rooms at the end of the session. For further precision, wireless sensors can be added to remotely track actual room utilization.
