Case Study: Clemson University

• Implemented pilot program for interior intelligent lockers

• Expanded a year later with exterior intelligent lockers close to select residence halls

• Conducted communications campaign to inform students and parents about intelligent lockers

• Installed higher-functioning print management technology for mobile printing and secured release

• Enlisted technology and Business Process Optimization team to speed invoice payment

Ricoh's collaborative partnership with Clemson helped the university reduce millions in printing costs, generate revenue through production print services, modernize its mail and print shop, and automate various business processes. Ricoh's on-campus staff ran the print and mail shop that receives and delivers mail throughout the campus. Working together to continuously improve processes and workflows, Ricoh suggested a pilot for intelligent lockers during the summer of 2019 and made recommendations on where to locate them based on extensive package data collected including volumes, sizes and frequency over the course of the eight-year relationship.

In the first year, 128 interior lockers and more than 450 exterior lockers were installed for students to retrieve their packages closer to their residence halls—adding a greater level of convenience. Each locker was integrated with software so students could access with their Android and iOS devices, enter a pin code or scan a QR code with their mobile phones to open the locker. While the interior intelligent lockers were subject to building hours, the exterior intelligent lockers were accessible 24/7. The exterior metal lockers were heavy duty and waterproof, and lighting and security cameras were installed to make the area safer during nighttime pickups.

Promotional materials were developed to inform students and parents about the new intelligent lockers, show where the lockers were located, explain why certain areas of campus were selected for the pilot and provide information on how to access the lockers. Clemson's frequently asked questions (FAQs) were updated on Clemson’s website, several email campaigns were sent to parents and students and Clemson's e-newsletters included information on the new lockers.

Higher-functioning print management software was added to Clemson’s printing fleet throughout the campus to accommodate mobile printing and secured release at printers. This provided Clemson faculty and staff with the flexibility to print no matter where they were working on campus. Technology was also implemented to allow a job to reside in the cloud for up to two days. If a print job wasn’t released and printed by then, it was removed from the system—leading to reduced abandoned prints and lower paper consumption. Default black-and-white printing is enabled at all color print devices. However, if the employee chooses to print in color, the technology can be configured to alert the employee about how much it would cost before printing—thereby encouraging black and white output.

Clemson’s departments processed thousands of invoices a year for payment. To support their digital transformation initiative, an invoice handling and payment process was created that dedicated just one P.O. Box number to receiving all hardcopy invoices, rather than hundreds of P.O. Boxes. Instead of the Ricoh mail services team receiving, sorting and delivering the mailed invoices, the team opened all incoming invoices, scanned the information and then sent the image offsite to the Ricoh Business Process Optimization team to extract the data, code it and upload the data into Clemson’s e-procurement site for automatic payment within five days. For electronic invoice submission, a centralized email address was created for suppliers to send invoices, replacing the hundreds of email addresses where invoices used to be sent. When the Ricoh team receives an email with an electronic invoice attached, the data is extracted, coded and uploaded to Clemson's e-procurement site within 24 hours.