The CBI Partners with Ricoh to Create State-of-the-Art, High-Productivity Workspaces

The Confederation for British Industry (CBI) provides a voice for the private sector on the national and world levels, and distributes business intelligence that helps members to identify opportunities, minimise risks, and build a brighter future. Amidst the uncertainties of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, the CBI needed to find smarter ways to implement its workspace transformation initiatives. Learn how the CBI partnered with Ricoh to deploy innovative digital tools that enhance the workplace, improve member services, and achieve its goals.

Working with Ricoh puts the CBI at the forefront of digital innovation

An Overview:

Headquartered in London, the CBI is a not-for-profit membership organisation that provides advocacy, training, support, and information services to 190,000 private sector businesses, which employ seven million people. Founded in 1965, the CBI reported a total income of £25.5 million in 2019 and delivered the highest-profile business conference in the UK, with more than one million Twitter impressions.

The Objectives and Challenges

Striving to drive efficiency amidst a crisis

As the CBI strived to find smarter ways to negotiate the choppy economic waters, a move to a new London headquarters provided an opportunity to demonstrate fresh thinking. With technology transforming the business landscape, the CBI looked to set an example as a digital innovator by using cutting-edge tools to drive workplace efficiency and deliver greater value to members.

The CBI formulated plans for a state-of-the-art, connected workspace for its new offices at Cannon Place in the heart of London. The proposals included a comprehensive review of how the CBI completed its industry market surveys, one of CBI’s most high-profile activities. The onset of COVID-19 in 2020 gave added impetus to the CBI’s digitisation initiatives. As pandemic lockdown restrictions eased and employees started using the new office, the CBI aimed to implement a return-to-work strategy that would reduce the risk of infections.

The CBI looked for a partner that could provide expertise in business process optimisation and a portfolio of digital solutions to turn concepts into reality  

The Solution

Dynamic digital workplace solutions with RICOH Spaces

With such wide-ranging objectives, the CBI looked for a partner that could provide expertise in business process optimisation and a portfolio of digital solutions to turn concepts into reality. After an initial consultation, the CBI engaged Ricoh to lead the project and began by implementing Ricoh-managed print solutions.

To modernise its market survey tools, the CBI worked alongside the Ricoh software team to develop a customised platform for gathering and analysing the data, and presenting the results. Since the initial deployment, Ricoh has continued to enhance the solution capabilities based on user feedback, and the CBI is phasing out its previous solutions in favour of the integrated platform from Ricoh. The CBI also deployed the RICOH Spaces solution to facilitate employees’ return to work with a centralised digital desk booking system to manage when and where employees can work within the site.

Working with Ricoh is a truly collaborative process, where we have the opportunity to influence the long-term solution roadmap. Where most software vendors simply offer a one-size-fits-all approach, Ricoh engages with us to respond to our unique challenges. 

— David Peters, Head of IT, The CBI

The Benefits

Leading the charge on digital innovation

Working with Ricoh puts the CBI at the forefront of digital innovation. The RICOH Spaces solution provides integrated Microsoft Power BI tools to track usage of desks and meeting rooms, which will help the CBI to ensure that office space is used as efficiently as possible, while data analytics will enable the CBI to make smarter decisions about physical office layout and design.

For CBI members, the capabilities provided by the new market survey tool will help to provide deeper insights into current economic and business conditions. These insights will offer CBI members the guidance they need to tackle market challenges and build a more sustainable future.

Transforming our workplaces will be a long journey with many hurdles to overcome. So far, our work with Ricoh has been hugely successful, and we are confident that they will deliver the expertise and solutions we need to set the standard for digital business within the UK.

— David Peters, Head of IT, The CBI