LEADERSHIP
S T R AT E G Y I N T E R V I E W
Advantia: navigating challenges and embracing opportunities Small but powerful, Advantia has seen a year of challenges - but, as MD STEVE CARTER explains, every challenge is another opportunity
A
dvantia has had a rollercoaster year, facing various
OPTIMISM FOR THE FUTURE
challenges but also seizing opportunities. The
Despite the challenges faced, Advantia remains optimistic about the
company’s managing director, Steve Carter, has
future. Outlining the company’s goals and ambitions for the year
insights into the past year to share, including
ahead, Steve acknowledges that Advantia is a smaller group with
goals for the future and the strategies employed by
around 36 members. The focus will be on diversifying the group
Advantia to support its dealers. With a strong focus on communication
further, including welcoming new dealers. “We are about to welcome
and collaboration, Advantia has been able to navigate the ever-changing
another dealer into the group, and we’ll probably look to add a few
landscape of the industry.
more during the course of 2023. We won’t go too big - probably our
Summarising the previous year, Steve likened it to “a game of two
ceiling would be around about 50.”
halves.” The initial months were marred by the lingering effects of the
As with many suppliers over the past couple of years,
pandemic and the war in Ukraine, impacting pricing and the supply
diversification has been the name of the game for Advantia’s
chain. The shortage of paper - ‘papergate’ - hit the industry hard;
members too. Steve believes this will continue, noting, “The
paper mills redirected their efforts towards more profitable products,
diversification across the group that we’ve seen - not just last year,
exacerbating the scarcity of paper.
but since the start of the pandemic - that will continue. We’ve got lots
“For us, in our industry, it’s like a chip shop without any chips. It hit
of different suppliers of new products and services coming in and
really, really hard,” Steve says. “but then, as the second half of the year
talking to us, some of which may have some mileage, some of which
came along, it seemed to ease a little bit. More people were encouraged
may not, so we’ll go down that route as well.”
to go back to work. The shipping costs came tumbling back down again,
Sustainability and environmental initiatives will also take centre
and the pressure on the supply chain eased. In the latter part of last year
stage, with two dealers, in particular, leading the way. Steve is hopeful
dealers started to claw back some of the business, perhaps, that they
that these trailblazers will support the rest of the group in their push
hadn’t had in the first part of the year, and it did start to get better.”
towards net zero.
[24] SUMMER 2023
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