08.11.2021
Help Lightning, a provider of remote visual assistance software that enables a company’s experts to accelerate the transformation of their service and support operations, today announced its global expansion with Ricoh.
As an information management and digital services company, Ricoh brings people, processes and technology together to solve problems for organizations of all sizes. By expanding its Help Lightning relationship from the US to other regions including EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Ricoh will leverage consistent technology to support global customers – with a focus on constantly enhancing the customer experience.
Help Lightning’s on-site and self-help remote visual assistance capabilities are a reassurance to Ricoh customers that their equipment will experience increased uptime. In addition to increased uptime, customers can now also benefit from:
Faster installation and response times
Improved first-time fix rates
Shorter time to resolution
Quicker deployment and field support of client (OEM) technology
Increased customer satisfaction
Higher expert availability
“A partnership with a company the size and caliber of Ricoh further confirms the immense need for remote visual assistance in the field service industry,” said Help Lightning CEO Gary York. “By expanding our partnership, Ricoh field service experts will apply Help Lightning’s AR-enabled software to provide expert advice through remote service, decreasing installation and service times globally.”
Prior to the global implementation, Ricoh USA, Inc. introduced Help Lightning’s technology via the company’s “Early Adopters” program. The program allowed Ricoh’s U.S.-based field service experts (FSEs) to work with and adapt to the technology first-hand. The company looked at how Help Lightning’s platform best-served its FSEs in the field, including customer and employee interaction. Employees reported improvement in customer communication, ease-of-use adopting the technology and a boost in morale.
“Delivering an exceptional customer experience is a cornerstone of how we help our customers every day,” said Dan Piccoli, Vice President, Field Services, Ricoh USA, Inc. “Implementing Help Lightning’s technology has enabled our field service professionals to continually enhance our support for more than 1.4 million customers worldwide. Through our extensive onboarding program, Help Lightning proved the benefits of its software, leading Ricoh to expand the service globally.”
Help Lightning’s next generation platform uses augmented reality to virtually place an expert on-site 100% of the time. The company’s patented merged reality feature provides a video-based collaborative environment enabling a Ricoh expert to reach out and virtually touch a piece of equipment or product when a customer needs help. Using merged reality (the merging of two video streams) along with 3D annotation, an expert can provide specific guidance, use hand gestures and even bring in tools, parts, images or instructions to quickly resolve problems.
