Oce is to CBS as Ikon is to RBS. True or not True

After 300 plus reads in a week, seems like Vince McHugh hit the nail on the head!  For those who have not read Vince's blog here's a snippet with a link and then don't pass up on the responses from our Print4Pay Hotel Members!  They are classic!

You gotta love the insight from Vince McHugh about Canon and OCE. He's dead on with the Ricoh/Ikon thing and dead on with the coming merge of Canon/Oce. Read and enjoy especially you Ricoh folks that have been slamming me for years, seems you're not the only dog on the block looking for a new fire hydrant! Vince....great stuff!!
Oce:CBS::Ikon:RBS Simple Math

In case your math skills are a little rusty the equation reads Oce is to CBS as Ikon is to RBS. True or not True. Here is my argument for True:

The carnage at Ricoh Business Solutions continues as the Ikon takeover of RBS moves into it’s final stages. Ikon’s management is firmly ensconced in upper and middle management of RBS. And guess who they are bringing along for the ride? All their Ikon friends. The loyal RBS employees are being squeezed out!

(Please feel free to skip the rant in red below. I will not feel offended if you do).

I need to digress here and say I long for the days when the company who BOUGHT
another company called it a TAKEOVER, even a HOSTILE TAKEOVER!!! I am so sick of the political correctness of calling a purchase or a takeover a “merge”! In the old days a successful company bought a failing company and put IT’S MANAGEMENT TEAM in place of the failing companies management team to turn around the failing company. Ricoh seemed to be absent from business school the day they taught that lesson, because they buy failed, or failing companies and put the failing companies management team in charge of the company that bought them!!!! But I digress….

The Canon Business Solutions (CBS) “merge” with Oce is on the horizon. It is no secret that CBS has not performed well, and did not by any means fill the void in Canon’s distribution in the USA that was left by the Ricoh.....go here for more!

Here's a few of the responses that were posted on the Print4Pay Hotel forums

"In my area Canon Business Solutions is known as the biggest snakes in the industry. You can only 3-5 so many customers and leave them upside-down for so long before word spreads in the local community that you are a bunch of crooked used car salesmen. I'm sure my area isn't the only one where they have earned this reputation.

As for Oce' I can't think of a more backwards company.

Good luck to them all".

"How true this all is. Ricoh bought Savin, Lanier and Ikon and in each case Ricoh let them take over. Look where they are now and look what they inflicted on there small to medium size dealers. They are getting what they deserve".

"Here is what I don't understand they Lied about their revenue, they lied about their machine base, Ricoh paid millions back to customer, and they are still in control.

with Oce its a different story most people from Oce are in sticker shock. They cannot believe how much Canon stuff costs. it will be pretty interesting to see how they unfold for the remainder of 2012.

now I wonder Who's next? for a "HOSTILE TAKEOVER""

"Jack stated: "Ricoh bought Savin, Lanier and Ikon and in each case Ricoh let them take over"

Question: During which of the above 'regimes' was Ricoh most successful?

I know the answer and it ain't right now!

While the IKON and RBS integration continues, Independent RFG Dealers are being fed a can of chaMPS until Ricoh can get back to becoming the largest 'Direct' manufacturer in the Industry.

Leadership at both Ricoh and Canon are still lacking, which is why you continue to hear these horror stories..."

"Unfortunately it was under the guidance of Jim Ivy and Savin"

These are just a few of the responses that were posted in the forums.  Through out the years, I've always believed that those on top do not stay on top for long.  Would you rather be the dog that being chased or the dog that is doing the chasing.  In time Ricoh will be back on top whether it's with imaging or services, but here in the US they really screwed up a good thing.  I wish I could be a fly on the wall at a Ricoh Corporate Meeting in Japan.

-=Good Selling=-