Premium Early Childhood Education Provider Streamlines Its IT and Workplace Solutions With Ricoh

Streamlining IT and workplace solutions and enhancing business growth of a leading early childhood and preschool education provider

A leading early childhood education centre in Singapore was facing difficulties managing multiple suppliers for different IT and workplace solutions, ranging from office printing and CCTV systems to visitor access management and air purifiers. The variety of vendors resulted in complex procurement processes and made it challenging to find the best solutions for their needs.

In this case study, we explore how Ricoh helped a new MindChamps centre in Singapore streamline the procurement of its wide array of IT and workplace solutions into one, convenient solutions package with financing.

 

One of the reasons we chose Ricoh is because they provided a single point of contact for various solutions, saving us from going to five different vendors and sourcing for the best cost.”

June Sun
Centre Director, MindChamps

An Overview

MindChamps is a leading premium early childhood education, enrichment, and infant care provider in Singapore, with a leading market share of 38.5% of all premium preschools in the country’s private early education sector.

In the two decades since the company’s founding, MindChamps has grown from an educational research centre to an international force in early childhood education, with early learning and preschool franchise centres located in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the USA.

To date, over 100,000 students have graduated from MindChamps schools and centres internationally.

The Challenges

The need for a total solutions provider to simplify procurement and save time and money

MindChamps Centre Director, June Sun, experienced difficulties with coordinating and managing different suppliers for various IT solutions for her first centre, resulting in increased complexity in procurement and maintenance.

As a result, she was keen to avoid the same challenges with the second centre and wanted a one-stop vendor which could help the new centre achieve operational efficiency with comprehensive, cost-effective solutions.

Key challenges

The first preschool centre struggled with coordinating and managing different suppliers for various IT and workplace solutions, resulting in complicated procurement and maintenance processes.

The preschool’s management team had to invest significant time and effort in sourcing, negotiating with, and managing different vendors.

Dealing with multiple suppliers often led to inconsistent pricing and difficulties in financial planning due to the lack of a comprehensive overview of costs.

The Solution

How Ricoh solutions helped MindChamps simplify its workplace hardware and solutions procurement

June’s MindChamp venture has been a Ricoh print customer since 2017.

“At the starting point of our MindChamps venture, we were presented with various options for multifunction printers but Ricoh had a better competitive edge in terms of pricing and exceptional on-site support,” June said.

With the establishment of the second centre, the preschool director identified Ricoh as a comprehensive solution provider capable of offering a range of IT and workplace solutions the centre needed in addition to multifunction printers. These included projectors, digital screens, audio speakers, building access management systems, security cameras, and air purifiers.

Additionally, selecting Ricoh as a single vendor involved bundling various workplace technology solutions, including BioZone air purifiers and BenQ projectors, into a single financing package.

This approach, in conjunction with Orix, enabled the preschool to make monthly payments over three years, alleviating immediate financial strain and providing the liquidity necessary for a new business venture.

 

Having a financing option from Ricoh definitely gave us the assurance and also the cash flow we needed to sustain our new business venture.”

June Sun
Centre Director, MindChamps

The Outcome

A seamless transition: One-stop solutions with Ricoh

Ricoh’s role as a single point of contact for integrated workplace technology implementation helped the new MindChamps centre streamline its technology procurement and relieve the burden of managing various vendors.

While coordinating with one vendor for multiple solutions enabled the centre to increase efficiency and speed up decision-making, the option of having the full range of solutions financed in a single package also offered the cash flow flexibility required to sustain the new business venture during the crucial initial phases.

Key Benefits

Enhanced Efficiency: The preschool's operational efficiency improved significantly with streamlined procurement, reduced administrative burden, and fewer points of contact to manage.

Better cost management: By opting for bundled financing from Ricoh, the preschool achieved better cost control and allocation of financial resources.

Exceptional support: Regular visits from the assigned Ricoh account manager facilitated seamless communication and the adoption of new solutions, driving continuous improvement.

Conclusion

Simplifying complexity with a single point of contact

By transitioning from managing multiple vendors to partnering with Ricoh as a one-stop shop for IT solutions, MindChamps overcame challenges related to vendor coordination, cost management, and efficient procurement.

The comprehensive range of offerings, competitive pricing, and bundled financing options significantly contributed to the preschool’s successful initial setup.

From this case study, it’s evident that partnering with Ricoh as a reliable and comprehensive digital services and solutions provider can bring substantial benefits to businesses looking to simplify operations, manage costs, and deliver improved services to their customers.

 

There are many challenges in coordinating the procurement and implementation of not just IT solutions, but also infrastructure and hardware, but I was able to manage everything, thanks to Ricoh.”

June Sun
Centre Director, MindChamps