Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Ricoh Group is strengthening its business activities in the area of digital services with the acquisition of Axon Ivy AG from Lucerne. The Swiss firm specializes in the digitalization of business processes with its process automation platform. Ricoh already operates a Swiss subsidiary in Wallisellen in the canton of Zurich.
The headquarters of the 30-year old company Axon Ivy AG operates from Lucerne, Switzerland (© Pixabay CC0).
Business transformation
Headquartered in Switzerland with offices in Austria, Germany, and subsidiaries in the US and Singapore, Axon Ivy has over two decades of experience in building software platforms and solutions to help customers achieve their digital transformation goals.
To better address the explosive demand in digital transformation worldwide, Axon Ivy sought a partner with global reach and scale, the company said in a statement. After a detailed search and evaluation, Axon Ivy chose to become part of the Japanese Ricoh Group, a global provider of business process transformation and information management technology.
Independent subsidiary
Axon Ivy will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary of Ricoh and maintain the existing brands and products. All employees will be retained. Axon Ivy will continue to provide its customers and partners the same levels of service as before.
In addition, customers will have ready access to Ricoh’s global reach and broad portfolio of digital services capabilities, designed to provide a seamless digital workplace experience, supporting organizations to realize innovations, better security, and increased sustainability.
Rolf Gebhard Stephan, CEO Axon Ivy AG, says: ”I see tremendous value in becoming part of the Ricoh global family. We have built one of the most reliable and easy-to-use digital process automation platforms and have a very successful track record in Central Europe. While we will retain our core strengths of technology and agility, we will benefit from Ricoh’s access to all major markets worldwide. My team and I look forward to the prospect of Axon Ivy becoming a global leader in the digital automation space.”
Group transformation
The Ricoh Group operating from Tokyo has major operations throughout the world, and its products and services now reach customers in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2021, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 1,682 billion yen (approx. 15.1 billion USD).
Through the acquisition of Axon Ivy, Ricoh customers around the world will gain direct access to a powerful, industry-recognized process automation and orchestration platform with low-code/no-code support, Ricoh announced. They will also benefit from sharing in software development innovations and faster digital transformation journeys.
Akira Oyama, Executive Corporate Officer and President of Ricoh Digital Services Business Unit, says: “This acquisition is part of Ricoh’s strategic investment for the growth of our digital services business. It enhances Ricoh’s capabilities to further support customers around the world with their digital transformation needs as well as Ricoh’s market position as a digital services company.”
During the five years until 2026 positioned as “Ricoh Lift Off,” Ricoh’s global strategy remains focused on driving transformation to become a digital services company to ensure sustainable growth, innovation, and development. Through a global business structure change in April 2021, Ricoh integrated everything from development through production and sales in each business unit.
Text: SCCIJ with material of Axon Ivy AG and Ricoh Group
