Page 174 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

RICOH'S PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS

Japan's RICOi I is one of the world's leading office m
automation equipment manufacturers. It has the
largest market share in electronic copiers, facsimi- Z'SN O ILDV N I39433ALLVAO N N
les, and write-once optical discs. It also makes of-
fice computers, Japanese word processors, print-
ers, semi-conductors, cameras and software. RICOH's eight re-
search laboratories receive an unusually high level of support be-
cause RICOH believes that creative and innovative research is the
key to the company's future. Some of the primary features of its
support programs are flexible work hours, special motivation sys-
tems, and numerous information exchange efforts. For example,
in the center of the primary research building is a community plaza
with a giant meeting table in the shape of a tree around which
colleagues from different research projects may meet to brainstorm
and exchange ideas.

In deciding what to research, RICOH's planners study probable
customer needs over a certain time horizon. In determining fu-
ture customer needs, social and technological trends are investi-
gated and analyzed. Scenarios are then prepared based on these
analyses. For example, "The office in the year 2001" would be a
typical focal point around which to build scenarios. A scenario
might start this way, "One fine morning, Mr. R. got up at 8 a.m. as
usual. He sat down on the sofa in front of the wide flat-panel
screen. His home computer, connected with his office...." RICOH's
planners extract potential products from these scenarios and pick
10-15 per year for research. Next, strategic targets would he bro-
ken down into research themes. At this point, researchers join the
project. Alternatively, planners may also choose among seed pro-
grams that allow researchers to follow projects of interest to them
that also have marketability. Next, a research strategy is deter-
mined and carried out. Finally, technology transfer occurs between
the lab and the factory.

Source: Akira Okamoto, "Creative and Innovative Research at RICOH." Long Range Planning, October
1991, p. 13.

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