Opi 273 october b

BIG INTERVIEW

Connecting the

business products world

OP I

Arnold Theuws, Quantore October 2017

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The Who’s Who of the business supplies industry

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Staples sale in the US closes l ACCC doubt over Staples/OfficeMax merger in Oz l ADVEO outsources Spanish logistics Blockchain: what is it? l How to avoid cyberattacks l Category updates: mailing, packaging and stamping l EPIC review

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CONTENTS 16 Big Interview Arnold Theuws on his plans to further develop Quantore 24 Hot Topic Bitcoin and blockchain: what is it and how is it relevant to OP? 39 Category Update As the physical meets the digital space, the mailroom is a fast-evolving category 44 Category Update The latest from the buoyant stamping segment 46 Spotlight The OP industry has a great giving ethos. Here’s a look at some examples 48 Advertorial International Paper’s campaign to raise funds for breast cancer research 50 How to... ...make your business cyber resilient

Big Interview: Arnold Theuws, Quantore

Arnold Theuws is preparing to take Dutch dealer group and wholesaler Quantore to the next level. He has ambitious plans to further expand its already impressive logistics capabilities and develop additional initiatives to help dealers better compete in their local marketplace HOT TOPIC: THE MISSING LINK?

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28 WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT AND WHO’S NEW THIS YEAR?

REGULARS 5 Comment 6 News 56 5 minutes with...

Jeffrey James (JJ) Köhler 58 Final Word Al Lynden

October 2017

Because of its immutability, blockchain technology is being taken seriously by government agencies and businesses, with new ways of utilising it being discovered all the time. In the US, for example, the Department of Homeland Security is handing out Small Business Innovation Research grants to blockchain companies, and the General Services Administration is looking at the possibilities of smart contracts, procurement and supply chain management, among numerous other applications for the blockchain.

53 Review EPIC & ISSA/INTERCLEAN joined forces in Las Vegas for a dealer education and networking event

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COMMENT The OPI team EDITORIAL Editor Heike Dieckmann +44 (0)20 7841 2950 heike.dieckmann@opi.net Deputy Editor Michelle Sturman +44 (0)20 7841 2942 michelle.sturman@opi.net Reporter Joshua Allsopp +44 (0)20 7841 2952 joshua.allsopp@opi.net OPI Special Correspondent Andy Braithwaite +33 4 32 62 71 07 andy.braithwaite@opi.net Freelance Contributor David Holes david.holes@opi.net

SALES & MARKETING VP – Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa Ewan Dickson +44 (0)20 7841 2954 ewan.dickson@opi.net VP – North America and UK Chris Turness +44 (0)20 7841 2953 chris.turness@opi.net Director of Growth Services Jeremy Hughes +44 (0)7807 810617 jeremy.hughes@opi.net Digital Marketing Manager Aurora Enghis +44 (0)20 7841 2959 aurora.enghis@opi.net

EVENTS Events Manager Lisa Haywood +44 (0)20 7841 2941 events@opi.net

PRODUCTION & FINANCE Studio Joel Mitchell +44 (0)20 7841 2943 joel.mitchell@opi.net Operations & Production Eda Sismanoglu +44 (0)20 7841 2950 eda@opi.net Finance Kelly Hilleard +44 (0)20 7841 2956 kelly.hilleard@opi.net

PUBLISHERS CEO Steve Hilleard +44 (0)20 7841 2940 steve.hilleard@opi.net Director Janet Bell +44 (0)20 7841 2941 janet.bell@opi.net Executive Assistant Debbie Garrand +44 (7718) 660249 debbie.garrand@opi.net

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Who’s who and why?

verybody likes a good list, it appeals to people’s need for categorisation and compartmentalisation. Top 100 movies, top 100 songs, top 100 comedy moments, top 100 best places to work, top 100 rich lists… take your pick.

Turn to page 28 and find out who’s who in the business supplies industry in 2017 – our annual definitive guide to the top resellers in our sector. Except, of course, that it’s not definitive and by its very nature somewhat subjective (it’s also, importantly, not ranked within the top 100 entries; nobody takes precedence over another).

Some personality inclusions are no-brainers, if not necessarily for their current successes at their respective companies, but for the sheer influence of the organisations they work for. Others are not so clear-cut and that’s the trouble with compartmentalisation.

Some [Top 100] inclusions are nobrainers [...] for the sheer influence of the organisations they work for Where, for example, do you start and finish with some of the standout progressive independent resellers in our industry, especially across the globe; with the dealer groups (the combined UK contingent alone would make up 10% of the entire list); or indeed with the many organisations that have crept in from adjacent sectors and are now becoming ever-more important (Grainger, Bunzl, Manutan, Takkt, Raja Group and, of course, Amazon Business to name but a few)?

The OPI team, together with members of our advisory committee, have spent many hours debating, dismissing and ultimately collating what we feel is the definitive 2017 list of reseller personalities, taking into account different channels, geographies and diversified products sold (feel free to differ - write to heike.dieckmann@opi.net).

Elsewhere in this issue, we explore that same diversification and evolution of our industry. What, for example, is the blockchain and how is it (becoming) relevant (see page 24)? And how can we deal with the unsavoury side effects of digitisation – cyberattacks? Find out on page 50.

On a more upbeat note, I was able to delve a little deeper into our industry’s philanthropic efforts this month (see page 46) and found it utterly heartwarming as well as vindicating to have picked this sector as my chosen one.

Have a good month.

HEIKE DIECKMANN, EDITOR

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Office Products International Ltd (OPI) 2nd Floor, 112 Clerkenwell Road London, EC1M 5SA, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7841 2950

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October 2017

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NEWS

Analysis: ACCC voices concerns over Staples/ OfficeMax merger

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Australia’s consumer watchdog is carefully considering the merger of Staples and OfficeMax – and rightly so

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has delivered a preliminary view that raises doubts over the proposed merger by Platinum Equity of office supplies resellers Staples and OfficeMax in Australia.

Platinum acquired Staples Australia – which is now rebranded as Winc – earlier this year and has agreed with Office Depot in the US to acquire Depot-owned OfficeMax in Australia subject to regulatory approval.

In a Statement of Issues document dated 24 August 2017, the ACCC said: “The ACCC’s preliminary view is that the proposed acquisition may substantially lessen competition in the supply of traditional office products to large commercial and government customers in Australia.”

The ACCC expects to make its final decision on the acquisition on 16 November. That comes soon after it plans to make an announcement on the rival bid by Australian dealer Complete Office Solutions (COS) to acquire OfficeMax – either by not opposing a COS/ OfficeMax tie-up or by publishing a Statement of Issues as it has just done with Staples/OfficeMax. COS threw its hat into the ring and made a surprise offer for OfficeMax back in July and has been waiting in the wings ever since. It reportedly objects to the merger in New Zealand and is expected to seek a court injunction if it was to go ahead.

The ACCC appears to be conducting a more thorough investigation into the proposed Staples/ OfficeMax merger than it did two years ago when it surprisingly did not oppose the deal. Of course, that may be because, for some reason, there is more noise in the market about the tie-up than in 2015 and the watchdog has more information at its disposal.

The Statement of Issues, for example, refers to competitors COS and Lyreco tending to focus more on medium-sized customers and to doubts being expressed about their ability to scale up to compete effectively with a combined Staples/OfficeMax. In addition, there is a reference to Officeworks focusing on retail and SMB customers despite claims from Staples and OfficeMax that it also competes for large customers.

Amazon is also mentioned as a potential future competitor, but the ACCC notes that the e-commerce giant is not yet established in Australia and that its entry into the market will initially focus on the retail sector.

All of this has led the ACCC to say that “there may be a lack of viable alternative suppliers that will place a sufficient competitive constraint on a combined Staples/OfficeMax”.

SIGNIFICANT IMPACT Given that the “relevant market” mentioned in the ACCC investigation is the sale of traditional office supplies to large private companies and government entities, it is difficult to see how a combination of the two largest players – by some margin – will not significantly impact the competitive landscape. But that is what we thought back in 2015.

Since then, however, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US successfully blocked the Staples/Office Depot merger on basically the same grounds. While that FTC decision now looks short-sighted given the encroachment of Amazon Business into the contract space, Amazon is not yet present in Australia and the ACCC has concluded that it is unlikely there will be other entrants into the market.

There may be a lack of viable alternative suppliers that will place a sufficient competitive constraint on a combined Staples/OfficeMax Therefore, the ACCC’s decision will likely rest on its findings regarding the ability of COS and/or Lyreco to ‘step up’ as viable national competitors with the scale to compete with a combined Staples/OfficeMax on price, product range and service levels.

That’s a tough one to call, but with the watchdog commenting that some customers have said Staples and OfficeMax are the only two suppliers that can provide a one-stop-shop service in the region – in addition to the other comments made in the Statement of Issues – you can see which way the antitrust authority is currently leaning.

The acquisition of Staples Inc by private equity firm Sycamore Partners is complete.

The reseller’s shareholders approved the $6.9 billion deal at the start of September, paving the way for the transaction to be finalised.

It was widely expected that it would still take a few weeks for the sale to close, but it appears to have happened quicker following the securing of two loan agreements amounting to more than $4 billion.

At the special shareholder meeting in Boston (MA) on 6 September, shareholders rejected a proposal to

approve ‘golden parachute’ payments potentially totalling up to $20.7 million.

These would be payable to certain senior executives to offset possible tax liabilities on severance and equity-based payments due in relation to the acquisition.

This golden parachute vote though was conducted on a “non-binding advisory basis” and the board may still choose to grant these parachute provisions in order to discourage senior execs – including CEO Shira Goodman and CFO Christine Komola – from exercising ‘good reason’ resignation rights immediately following the closing of the Sycamore acquisition.

IN BRIEF Bureau Vallée opens in Tunisia France-based office supplies retailer Bureau Vallée has opened its first store in Tunisia.

The store is located in the town of L’Aouina in the north of the country.

Further openings are planned as part of the joint venture between Bureau Vallée and Tunisia-based stationery manufacturer Office Plast.

NEWS

Staples Inc sale closes

Comeback for RadioShack?

There is a glimmer of hope for beleaguered former electronics retailer RadioShack after the US Bankruptcy Court granted conditional approval for its reorganisation plans. The recovery rests on the outcome of an ongoing lawsuit with partner Sprint, however.

Strategic appointment for GNS Australia-based wholesaler GNS has appointed Margaret De Francesco as General Manager of Merchandise and Marketing. She is well known in the country’s OP industry after nine years at dealer group Office Brands, as well as stints at companies including WC Penfold, Pentel and Avery Dennison.

Avery announces new President

Avery VP/GM Europe & Asia Pacific Mark Cooper has been promoted to company President, following incumbent President Jim Sellors’ planned move to Asia.

Effective 1 January 2018, Cooper will relocate from the UK to Avery’s headquarters in Brea, California. He is tasked with returning the Avery and METO businesses to growth through a combination of product and service innovations, share gains and acquisitions.

He is also expected to retain the strong cost and profit focus developed under parent company CCL’s ownership.

Cooper’s career in the office products industry spans more than 30 years, much of it at Avery Dennison in the consumer products arm. After a stint with European envelope manufacturer Bong, he returned to Avery following its acquisition by CCL in 2013.

Southworth paper shuts up shop Historic US paper manufacturer The Southworth Company announced at the end of August that it was ending all operations after failing to find a new financing option. It is laying off more than 120 employees.

Emerald appoints accounts director Emerald Brand has added facilities management veteran Michael Cinquemani as Director of Mission Development and National Accounts.

He will focus on driving Emerald’s complete cost-neutral sustainability solution and services across both regional and national accounts.

Avmor to make US debut Canada-based cleaning products manufacturer Avmor is making its first steps across the border. After more than a year of planning, the group said it will begin marketing its products through a select number of distributors in the US.

October 2017

Mark Cooper

Schoch Vögtli shares transfer Schoch Vögtli co-owner Andy Vögtli has signed over his shares in the firm to partner Thomas Schoch. The transfer of shares comes almost a year after the Switzerland-based OP reseller was founded from the merger of Büroschoch Direct and Vögtli Bürotechnik.

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NEWS

Analysis:

Full steam ahead for HP Inc

HP Inc is finally getting its house in order almost a year after its split At the Reinvent World Partner Forum 2017 in Chicago last month, HP Inc showcased its progress since spinning off from HP Enterprise late last year.

One of the key announcements was the launch of HP University, a solution to equip its 18,000 worldwide Partner First customers with sales skills, product training and certifications to help them migrate to evolving business models such as contractual and subscription sales.

The platform comprises instructor-led, face-to-face training in addition to sales skills development, highlighting HP’s core competencies, including security, device-as-a-service (DaaS), mobility, and managed print services.

HP said it was looking to reinvent the customer printing experience for an on-demand world. This complements a partnership it forged back in August with technology distributor Ingram Micro UK and Ireland. It rolled out the ‘HP as a Service’ platform for resellers to promote its product range.

easier to protect and monitor systems across a range of devices. It introduced, for example, an intelligent embedded security feature to help printers stay ahead of malware attacks.

Ahead of the forum, HP had bolstered its Security Advisory Board after enlisting top cybersecurity experts. Controversially, it added three former hackers to the mix, including the infamous Michael Calce who joined as the board’s new Chairman. Calce, aka Mafiaboy, unleashed a massive cyberattack back in 2000 at the age of 15. He managed to bring down internet giants such as Yahoo!, eBay and Amazon, and cost the US economy $1.7 billion.

3D PRINTING Elsewhere, the group outlined the progress of its 3D printing division. It has partnered with a number of companies including German conglomerate Siemens and consultancy firm Deloitte to help accelerate global industry adoption and diversify its product offering.

These collaborations are designed to drive the development of 3D printing systems in large-scale manufacturing, ranging from components to footwear. It is the biggest step yet in HP’s 3D printing drive after opening a specialist materials lab earlier this year (see News, OPI April 2017, page 10).

The tech giant further presented its vision for the future of the workplace, which seems to involve packing it with gadgets. The latest hardware update targets workers whose professional lives frequently overlap with their personal ones and vice versa.

We’re entering an era of ‘omni’ intelligence that’s driven by data and predictive analytics, and the pace of change is exponential

CYBERSECURITY FOCUS This year’s forum also focused on cybersecurity and the onus on businesses to ensure devices are safe from attacks. HP revealed that endpoint security compromises have more than doubled in the past six years. As a result, the group announced that it is upping its security game and making it

Speaking in Chicago, HP Inc CEO Dion Weisler summarised the group’s philosophy: “We’re entering an era of ‘omni’ intelligence that’s driven by data and predictive analytics, and the pace of change is exponential. Artificial intelligence will improve nearly every aspect of our lives, analytics will help us unlock new business models, IoT means we will have constant real-time communication with all our devices, and 3D printing will make manufacturing easier. But with all of that comes all-out security warfare, and we need to be ready for that.”

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HP SHEDS TROUBLESOME SOFTWARE ARM

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Finally, after six tumultuous years, HP can finally wash its hands of UK technology group Autonomy.

In a transaction estimated at around $8.8 billion, the company has been sold to UK tech giant Micro Focus as

part of a wider deal for HP’s software business.

The combined company now makes Micro Focus the seventh largest pure-play software company in the world, and with annual sales of $4.4 billion, it is the biggest

UK technology firm listed on the London Stock Exchange.

HP bought Autonomy for $11 billion back in 2011, then a year later wrote down almost $9 billion from the value of the purchase. This led to HP filing a $5.1 billion

fraud case against Autonomy Founder Mike Lynch and CFO Sushovan Hussain.

They swiftly retaliated with a countersuit claiming defamation among other things. The case is expected to go to court next year.

NEWS

IN BRIEF The Mailing Room expands UK-based postal services company The Mailing Room has acquired Mailing Systems Limited. The deal adds 20% to its existing customer base and forms part of the group’s strategy to double its size over the next five years.

Alibaba opens mall E-commerce giant Alibaba is to build a five-storey shopping mall at its headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Named ‘More Mall’, it signals the company’s latest foray into bricks-and-mortar retail.

VOW loyalty scheme UK wholesaler VOW is partnering with specialist consultancy firm Corporate Rewards to launch a rewards scheme for its members. Each registered reseller receives a monthly target for purchases of goods.

Office Depot appoints marketing chief Office Depot has named Jerri DeVard as EVP and Chief Marketing Officer. Joining from US security company ADT, DeVard will oversee Depot’s brand positioning and is responsible for the implementation of the group’s strategic marketing activities.

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Integra launches managed print programme UK dealer group Integra Business Solutions has partnered with Centrex Print Services to launch its own enhanced managed print solution. Customers can now benefit from cost-savings and automatic replacement of consumables.

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COMING SOON...

...OPI’s annual Green Thinking supplement which will be published this autumn.

Featuring: - Vendor and reseller interviews - Legislative news - Supply chain best practice - CSR initiatives - Sustainable product category updates

OPI.NET POLLS Do you think the back-to-school season will be...?

17% 63%

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Worse than last year n Better than last year n The same as last year n

6%

Which of these issues is the most strategically significant for you?

15% 79%

6% 15%

CONTACT

For all editorial enquiries contact: heike.dieckmann@opi.net For all advertising enquiries contact: ewan.dickson@opi.net or chris.turness@opi.net

October 2017

The rise of Amazon (Business) n Changes in the wholesaling channel n Big-box takeovers/consolidation n

GREEN THINKING 2017

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NEWS

ADVEO outsources Spanish logistics

ADVEO’s move away from its traditional wholesaling model has taken another important step after it announced the outsourcing of its logistics operations in Spain.

ADVEO has signed an eight-year agreement to transfer its Spanish logistics to Madrid-based Actividades Logísticas Centralizadas (ALC) as it transforms into a European platform for workspace solutions – in line with its 2017-2020 strategic plan. The company confirmed in July that it had made about half of its 120 logistics staff redundant and that the remaining workers would be employed by a third party.

Now that third party has been revealed as ALC, which will handle ADVEO’s logistics out of a 19,000 sq m (190,000 sq ft) facility in the Tres

IN BRIEF Office Brands appoints new merchandise head Australian dealer group Office Brands has appointed a new merchandise manager. Andrew Gilbert has been promoted to the role, having joined the team back in June from Pelikan Artline where he spent 12 years in a number of senior positions.

Cantos area of Madrid. The firm will manage about 16,000 SKUs and will operate in three daily shifts for 300 days a year, but ADVEO confirmed it will keep in place its existing transport and delivery team.

ADVEO explained that the decision to outsource its logistics in Spain would enable it to meet new challenges in the market and to respond to different supply needs such as direct, indirect, B2B, B2C and B2B2C. Speaking to OPI, ADVEO said it was looking at the most efficient cross border model per geographic region as it implements its 2017-2020 plan.

See also our Top 100 entry Jaime Carbó on page 31.

EC clears Pelican Rouge takeover

www.opi.net

The European Commission (EC) has cleared the proposed acquisition of Netherlands-based office coffee provider Pelican Rouge.

The buyer, Swiss vending services operator Selecta, was given the green light for the takeover on the condition that it divests certain activities in Finland. The Commission examined the effects of a possible takeover in the vending services market and its sub-segments at a national level where the operations of Pelican Rouge and Selecta would overlap.

It concluded that the transaction would not result in serious doubts in the market, including any potential segmentation, with the exception of Finland. According to the EC, anti-competitive effects would likely arise here due to the high combined market share of the two companies.

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THE AVERAGE ATTENTION SPAN OF AN ADULT HUMAN

$7

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THE AVERAGE COST OF A DATA BREACH IN THE US

Pelikan makes offer for German subsidiary Malaysia-based Pelikan International has fixed a buyout offer of €3.72 million ($4.43 million) for its German subsidiary, Pelikan AG. Once approved, the deal will result in the automatic delisting of Pelikan AG from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Royal approval for Brother UK Brother UK has secured the royal seal of approval for its staff training and development programmes.

The Manchester-based manufacturer was awarded the Princess Royal Training Award by the City & Guilds Group – presented by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne.

New boss for Duplo UK Print finishing systems group Duplo International has appointed Andy Benson as its new UK Managing Director. He joins the team after more than 25 years with tech giant Sony.

Fantastic elastic US-based Alliance Rubber is collaborating with British scientists to create unbreakable rubber bands. The team plans to embed the rubber with graphene, a substance believed to be the strongest material known to humans, 200 times stronger than steel.

Veritiv buys packaging firm North American B2B distributor Veritiv has acquired rigid packaging company All American Containers. The deal expands Veritiv’s existing channels in a growing specialist market. It is also the first acquisition made by the group since going public in 2014.

@niqbohr Very dissatisfied with #ITMovie. It did not teach me how to fix my computer or set up my wi-fi at all. I was frightened the entire time.

@mesmerizing_nat This fawn and bobcat were found in an office together, cuddling under a desk after a forest fire.

@DamsFurniture A big thank you to all our customers who came to the Dams 50th party celebrations in Liverpool!

Follow us on Twitter @opinews

UK dealer consolidation

There have been two notable mergers among UK dealers in the past month or so, as players look to expand their reach.

Essex-based office supplies company Cowans has bought fellow dealer Statco, with the two businesses merging and operating under the Cowans name. Statco specialises in business gifts, office furniture, workwear, IT and jan/san products, which will provide Cowans with lines it didn’t previously offer.

Meanwhile, Pinnacle Document Solutions has purchased large Welsh independent Toshiba dealer Copier Mate. The acquisition is the third by Pinnacle in less than two years. Copier Mate will continue to trade under its existing brand.

The deal is part of Pinnacle’s strategy to strengthen its managed print services position in South Wales and South West England.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed, but it is understood to be supported with institutional backing from Finance Wales, the Welsh SME investment group.

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The passing of Hans Baumgarten OPI is saddened to report that Hans Julius Baumgarten passed away on 3 September, at the age of 93.

Hans was the patriarch of family-run office supplies vendor Baumgartens, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

The company was founded by his father – a Jewish immigrant to the US – shortly after the Second World War and is famous for manufacturing the first hand-held pencil sharpeners. In recent times, it has focused on environmentally-friendly products in keeping with the family’s core values of corporate responsibility.

Hans took over from his father in 1973 and his wife Jean was made President in 1988. His legacy is continued by son David, who was appointed EVP in 2005.

Look out for OPI’s Green Thinking supplement next month where David Baumgarten will pay tribute to Hans and his long-standing efforts in the area of sustainability.

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THE AGE AT WHICH MOST PEOPLE IN THE UK START HATING THEIR JOB OB

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THE AMOUNT OF WORK U S NOW O DONE O OU S DUTIES OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE

October 2017

THE EXPECTED INCREASE OF HOME OFFICE HOURS BY 2019

WorkingOn is a minimalistic progress tracker to monitor a team’s productivity without becoming a tyrannical micromanager. With WorkingOn, team members can post updates on the status of a project using the ‘/on’ command.

The app will then automatically send a notification to a dedicated channel, allowing you to see exactly what your team is working on and what stage they are at.

It’s billed as an effortless solution to stay updated, and allows colleagues to collaborate on a task while avoiding duplication. WorkingOn offers a 30-day free trial with a Basic plan starting at $4 a month thereafter. For more information on the app, visit www.workingon.com.

NEWS

BEST IN APP

BIRD FEED

13

BIG INTERVIEW

BIG

Plans 2.0

Already known for its outstanding logistics capabilities, Dutch dealer group and wholesaler Quantore is preparing to take things to the next level

W

hen Quantore Managing Director Arnold Theuws last featured in OPI’s Big Interview in 2014, the company had already become a purchasing and logistics powerhouse thanks to a state-of-the-art warehouse opened in 2009. Now Theuws is preparing for the next phase in Quantore’s development, with more ambitious plans to expand the firm’s logistics capabilities and other initiatives aimed at helping independent resellers better compete in the local marketplace. OPI’s Andy Braithwaite finds out more.

www.opi.net

OPI: What have been the main developments at Quantore since our last Big Interview in 2014?

Arnold Theuws: At that time, we were implementing our strategy to handle purchasing and logistics for our members. Taking over the logistical activities of our members was one of the main arguments for building our new warehouse [in 2009] and it went very well.

Then, around 2014-2015, we realised that, with the changes in the competitive environment, we had to do even more to enable our members to survive. It meant helping them with sales and with branding; as an independent office supplies organisation we were very big, but nobody knew us.

Although all these independent dealers are well known locally, we believed we could help them with a better pricing image by having a central branding, and therefore better communication and a strong private label.

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OPI: So how many of your members have adopted this branding strategy?

AT: In total, we have around 430 members – 370 in the Netherlands and 60 in Belgium – and we have about 130 of them [in the Netherlands] in our branding concept.

OPI: Is it a one-size-fits-all or can they choose from different levels of branding? How does it work?

AT: At first, our plan was to build a kind of franchise concept, but after a few months we realised that this did not really fit the requirements of our members.

So we abandoned that idea and gave them the option to choose which parts of the programme they wanted to take.

The only thing that we insisted on was that they adopted the Quantore branding because it is essential for our national advertising campaign – it has to be clear from a customer perspective that a dealer is a Quantore member.

OPI: Do these members have a minimum spend threshold with you?

AT: Yes, they must buy at least 70% of their total office products volume from our organisation.

OPI: When you say ‘office products’, does that mean traditional office products or other categories as well?

AT: Everything we are selling, so it could be jan/san, printing, paper and traditional office products.

BIG INTERVIEW Arnold Theuws

OPI: This leads into a question on product assortment. How are you diversifying and what are the challenges related to entering new categories?

AT: Let’s take cleaning and facility products. At first, we were only selling products, but that didn’t really work very well, so we added training materials; instructions on how to clean floors, what types of products are needed for specific cleaning situations, etc. This allows our members to sell a concept and explain how to clean…

OPI: When you look at the average sales mix of your members, how’s that split up?

AT: In general, 35% is ink and toner, 25% is paper, 30% is traditional office products and around 10% is facility products.

OPI: Are you comfortable with that balance? It seems heavily weighted to declining categories.

AT: No, we are not satisfied with it. It seems to take time for our members to shift from traditional OP to new categories; and apparently there is a big enough market for traditional office products because we are still growing our OP sales.

October 2017

OPI: So they can show that they are credible in that particular field?

AT: Yes. In cleaning, we added some concepts behind it. But if you take coffee and tea and the whole breakroom assortment, for example, we are responding to our members’ needs by stocking the lines they want.

If volumes on certain items are not good enough, then we will reorganise them, but in principle, if members say certain products are good and could generate volumes, we are adding stock.

Apparently there is a big enough market for traditional office products because we are still growing our OP sales

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Arnold Theuws BIG INTERVIEW

We are talking to an important French company to see where we can cooperate [... and] we are also exploring the possibility of working more closely with Exertis OPI: But I assume the market isn’t growing in these products?

AT: No. Traditional office products have been declining between 5-10% a year for several years now.

OPI: What are the main reasons that your members are taking share?

AT: One of the opportunities in the market is a result of bigger companies needing fewer office products.

This means they are coming into the market of our members. For example, ten years ago a company that was buying €150,000 ($179,000) of office products was a customer of the big boxes.

Now, there are a lot more €20,000-€25,000 companies that are becoming natural customers for our members, and we have the proper tools to serve this market.

OPI: How did you perform in 2016 overall?

AT: We had a small increase in sales of about 1%, but we had a good year in terms of margin. We gave half of our profit back to our members in a profit-sharing programme and they were very happy with that. If you look at it from an operations point of view, we did very well: we made fewer mistakes than the year before, we had more complete deliveries and our members scored us at our highest ever level in satisfaction surveys.

We did well and from January to May 2017 we have been able to increase sales by 6.5%.

www.opi.net

OPI: What’s behind that increase?

AT: We are not sure exactly, but we know our members are taking market share. Also, like I said, from an operations perspective we were doing very well, so I’m positive for 2017.

One of the big challenges we have is that we are now preparing our organisation for 2020. I have already mentioned the warehouse plans, and now we’ve started with a new product information management system. We are investing a lot of money in content and good technology behind it to drive this content throughout the whole supply chain.

We will also renew our ERP system and the systems with which we communicate with our members. The goal is for 2017/2018 to have our IT programs on par and then in 2018/2019 we are planning to undertake a major extension of our warehouse.

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OPI: When you say half the surplus is given back to the members, is the rest used to finance these various investments?

AT: Yes. All the things we need to be successful in the market; we need to have the money to invest and we have those funds.

OPI: Just to recap on your members in terms of their model; is it retail or just delivery – or a mix?

AT: It’s a mix. We have approximately 70% B2B and 30% retail; but about half of retail is due to one big local legal chain. We have B2B members with shops, but that is a different type of retail.

OPI: What are the key trends and challenges that you see in your market?

AT: There is a very high level of online penetration in the Dutch market and all servicing and invoicing is hugely automated.

Belgium is a far more traditional market, but in the coming years I expect that it will also change to be more like the Dutch way of doing business; we will need to adapt to these changes.

OPI: In Belgium, is it the Flemish-speaking area that you service?

AT: We have translated all our information and our systems into French in order that we are now also able to serve the French-speaking region. That has helped us to achieve growth so far this year of more than 20% in Belgium.

OPI: Does that also mean you could move into France now?

AT: We could move into France, but somewhere there is a logistical distance where transportation costs would be too high to be competitive.

OPI: So you have no geographic expansion plans?

AT: It’s possible. We are talking to an important French company to see where we can cooperate.

We believe that with our strength in purchasing and logistics, we could deliver cost-effectively from the Netherlands to parties in France, but you need volume and full trucks for that.

We are also exploring the possibility of working more closely with Exertis on different commercial and back-office areas.

All Climb of Life monies raised go to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) – www.icr.ac.uk

03/11/17 On 3 November, OPI will join over 100 intrepid walkers from the UK business supplies industry to tackle 30 of the toughest mountains in the country’s Lake District This year’s theme

30 YEARS, 30 MOUNTAINS 4 ICR OPI Climbing Team 2017:

Steve Hilleard

Kelly Hilleard

Help us beat cancer

The OPI team hopes to raise another record amount this year and beat its previous record of £25,000.

Help us do it – to donate, go to www.opi.net/COL2017

Janet Bell

Chris Turness

Special OPI Guest: TriMega’s Michael Morris

OPI: Staples and Office Depot both have their European operations based in the Netherlands and have both recently been sold to private equity owners. What impact has that had?

AT: It has certainly helped us because they have been more focused internally and less on the customer. On the other hand, they are competing more with each other than with the small independent office supplies dealers, so our members don’t come across them that much. That will hopefully change, because we are now preparing ourselves to sell directly, in partnership with our members, to large end-user companies.

OPI: So this is Quantore acting as a logistics service provider?

AT: For the French market this is an option; for the UK market it’s less likely.

OPI: Your logistics capabilities have a good reputation in the industry, but you completed your warehouse in 2009. What updates have you made since then?

AT: We are constantly working on improving efficiencies, not necessarily through investments in mechanisation, but with things like lean techniques.

Having said that, we are now in the planning process to double our warehouse capacity.

I believe we made a very big step forward in 2009 when we introduced this warehouse, and we are now in the designing phase of taking the next step which will help us in the 2020s.

OPI: Is this partly driven by the challenges that Staples and Office Depot have been having?

AT: To some extent yes, but it’s mainly because we have all the competencies needed to sell to the big companies, even if we don’t want to do exactly the same as Office Depot, Staples and Lyreco. We want to develop an optimum solution between the local dealer and Quantore’s central distribution facility, so we will only participate in tenders where local dealers can provide services that enable them to differentiate themselves from the international resellers.

We have just won our first major tender with a total contract value of €500,000 OPI: What will these services be?

AT: For example, customers want the last mile to be as carbon neutral as possible. Therefore, we have a proposition whereby deliveries are made by bicycle which has been well received by our dealers.

I really believe in the local dealers because they can perform these additional services which the big boxes usually can’t because, apart from Lyreco, they are not doing the last mile.

OPI: Is there a ‘buy local’ movement in the Netherlands?

AT: Yes, it’s becoming more prevalent, but you still have to have your price right. Customers don’t buy locally just because they want to; you need to have the right service, quality and price.

OPI: Where are you with this contract initiative you’ve just mentioned?

AT: I’m am very pleased to say that we have just won our first major tender with a total contract value of €500,000. Previously, we had been successful in smaller contracts, but we have been able to improve our pricing to be more effective against Office Depot, Staples and Lyreco on larger contracts.

October 2017

OPI: What’s the rationale for this project?

AT: First of all, we want to be the specialist for offices; everything that an office needs has to be in our warehouse and we currently stock only 24,000 SKUs, so we probably have to expand that.

We see a lot of opportunities in working more closely with vendors and with different resellers in order to fulfil their retail and e-commerce needs. The combination of handling the logistics to both shops and to end consumers is something that is fairly unique.

We are looking at collaborating with a few manufacturers to stock all the items they have for the Dutch and Belgian markets in order to fulfil not only the orders for our members, but also for their customers. That means we would be a kind of fulfilment centre for our vendors.

In addition, we are investigating a concept we call cross-dock 2.0 in conjunction with a few big vendors that have facilities very close to our warehouse.

The idea is that, commercially, we will offer their entire assortments, but we will not stock everything ourselves. Products from their warehouses will

BIG INTERVIEW Arnold Theuws

come to us on a just-in-time principle and we will create one order from these and the items we stock ourselves. That way, we reduce small orders which are expensive to ship.

But this type of solution needs volume and we are now talking with different vendors in our vicinity that are interested in working with us and also sharing the risk.

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Arnold Theuws BIG INTERVIEW

OPI: Is the name on the contract Quantore or that of the dealer?

AT: It is our name because we meet all the ISO requirements and various balance sheet criteria.

Therefore, our members are subcontractors to us and we operate a margin-sharing model.

OPI: Do you have a replacement B brand?

AT: No. What we now have is a neutral brand from different vendors. So we have a private label A brand with a high level of quality, and then we have an assortment from a vendor of a lesser quality and lower price.

OPI: That sounds similar to what ADVEO has announced. Talking of ADVEO, is it – and its members – a big competitor of yours?

AT: ADVEO is a competitor, but we hardly see them in the marketplace; they are mainly in the Belgian market and we are mainly in the Dutch market. Having said that, there are, especially in Belgium, a lot of potential customers of ours that are still doing business with ADVEO and we see opportunities there. Especially now that we also have all the catalogues in French, we think we will have better opportunities to take share.

On the other hand, the wholesale market is organised differently in Belgium and there is still a lot of direct business from vendors to bigger local dealers. As such, wholesalers are mainly for the very small resellers, but I believe that model will change over time. Also, if the bigger Belgian resellers want to organise drop shipments, they will need to work more closely with wholesalers, and that will be another opportunity for us.

OPI: And this will be sufficient to have a low-cost ‘fighter’ brand to help you compete in the contracts market?

AT: Yes. In the contract we recently won, we included this lower price assortment in our bid. It doesn’t have the same quality as the Quantore brand, but it meets the basic requirements of the customer.

OPI: So who then are your main competitors in the Netherlands?

AT: The main competitor for my members is Lyreco, and then to a lesser extent Office Depot and Staples.

For the rest, as a wholesaler, we don’t really have much competition.

OPI: What about pure-play online resellers? How is that market developing?

AT: They are growing significantly; I have several big online reseller customers and they are growing between 15-30% each year. But still, that market is quite small in relation to Quantore’s entire B2B business; small, but growing.

www.opi.net

OPI: You rejoined BPGI at the start of this year.

Just remind us why things didn’t work out with Interaction and its Q-Connect brand.

AT: BPGI mainly concentrates on A brands and marketing programmes for A brands. For Interaction, its biggest added value is the Q-Connect brand. What we noticed is that the Q-Connect brand is very much focused on the UK market with a quality level which is needed for contracts in the UK. But I am serving in my market and I’m not serving big contracts; I’m dealing with retail and SMB customers. While price is important, quality is even more important, and we found that while the quality of Q-Connect was good, it was not good enough for the needs of my members. And at the end of the day, we couldn’t make compromises with the quality.

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OPI: The Q-Connect name was obviously a great branding fit with Quantore.

AT: From a name point it couldn’t have been better, because I had my Quantore A brand and Quantore Connect, let’s say, as a B brand. But we didn’t have the volumes to have that Q-Connect brand fully used.

OPI: What do you see as the main benefits of BPGI? AT: When we came back to BPGI, one of our wishes was for closer cooperation between the warehouse members on the one hand and the non-warehouse members on the other. We are trying to shape that cooperation so that members with similar operations and needs work more closely together.

OPI: What are some of the things that you are doing in that regard?

AT: For example, one of the members we are working very closely with is Makro Paper in Spain – they are doing our private label sourcing in Asia.

It was something we were already doing before we rejoined BPGI and we are very satisfied with it, but let’s see if there are other initiatives we could share.

That will be one of the topics at the BPGI meeting in Berlin, Germany, in October.

OPI: OK. That about wraps it up. Thanks for your time Arnold.

The

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LINK?

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin may grab all the headlines, but it’s the underlying blockchain technology that could fundamentally change the way we do business

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f you’re a reader of any business publications, you can’t fail to have noticed the recent gazillion articles either heralding or demonising something called Bitcoin, and increasingly blockchain. Unfortunately, most of them are heavily weighted down with ‘technospeak’ and virtually impossible to decipher without a PhD in some type of technology degree.

Let’s start with the more familiar bitcoin. Strip out all the technobabble and there’s a reason blue chip companies such as Microsoft, PayPal and Expedia accept Bitcoin which is basically an encrypted digital currency, otherwise known as a cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin emerged after the 2007 global economic crisis as a response to a system that relied on the big banks which were blamed for the financial crash. The virtual currency works by giving a seller an encrypted signature which buyers decode, thus enabling the buying and selling of goods and services.

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DECRYPTING THE SOURCE Today, there are many different cryptocurrencies available, with Bitcoin being the original and the most well-known. Others include Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Zcash and Peercoin, for example.

The virtual currency world is becoming increasingly popular as it is counterfeit-proof, anonymous and works in a decentralised system. However, it has come under fire for the very reasons that makes it so popular – its biggest strength is also its greatest flaw.

Cryptocurrencies have been a target for fraud, with little to no repercussion, although various companies are working on solving this issue.

Still, the security of virtual currencies continues to be a key ingredient for their uptake which is ensured thanks to a colossal network-to-network/peer-to-peer public ledger known as the blockchain. The blockchain concept was first revealed by someone using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakomoto in a white paper entitled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This paper describes how blocks could be linked together chronologically to form a chain which is used to store transactions on a peer-to-peer

– by Michelle Sturman

network. The chain effect ensures transactions cannot be altered. “This solves the so-called ‘double-spend problem’ which describes the ability to infinitely copy digital assets and subsequently render them valueless. It’s because of the blockchain that cryptocurrencies cannot be spent twice as their ownership is recorded in the corresponding blockchain,” says Bitbond Online Marketing Manager Chris Grundy.

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK Because of its immutability, blockchain technology is being taken seriously by government agencies and businesses, with new ways of utilising it being discovered all the time. In the US, for example, the Department of Homeland Security is handing out Small Business Innovation Research grants to blockchain companies, and the General Services Administration (GSA) is looking at the possibilities of smart contracts, procurement, and supply chain management, among numerous other applications for the blockchain. The GSA hosted the first US Federal Blockchain Forum a few months ago, and has also

Definition: Blockchain A digital ledger in which transactions made in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are recorded chronologically and publicly Definition: Cryptocurrency A type of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank

launched a programme for federal agencies and US businesses that are intrigued by the blockchain and its potential within government.

Many pundits claim that blockchain is a disruptor due to its capability to eliminate third parties from several industries, most notably from the banking/ payments sector. Every transaction is an electronic ‘block’ that each networked computer competes to verify. The ‘winner’ then broadcasts the result to the rest of the network for checking before it can be added to the chain.

As founder and former CEO of Bitquick Jad Mubasalat points out, the blockchain can be applied

Because of its immutability, blockchain technology is being taken seriously by government agencies and businesses

OP RELEVANCE? Aside from payment applications, other uses for blockchain technology in the business supplies sector might not be immediately obvious. Smart contracts and the supply chain would make the most sense in terms of adoption by the industry. Many platforms and apps are currently in development such as the Ethereum Project, which is creating headlines for its decentralised platform for smart contracts that run on a custom-built blockchain.

But the door is wide open and the opportunities endless. Netherlands-based reseller Centraal InkoopBureau, for example, has found a way to use blockchain within its archival/secure paper business.

Owner Ewout van Haeften has also developed his own application using blockchain technology for disabled parking (see ‘If you can’t beat them, join them…’, page 26).

Blockchain can be used to provide benefits to just about any business that deals with a supply chain, employees, tax, contracts and banks. “I think the possibilities for the supply chain are fascinating, especially with the emergence of smart contracts. An intelligent supply chain can massively increase the speed of finding, negotiating and closing deals with partners all over the world,” says Grundy. In other words, the blockchain could enable a more efficient and cheaper supply network between manufacturers, wholesalers, resellers and customers than exists now.

The bottom line is that the technology has the capacity to change the foundations of how we conduct business at all levels, and that future could be just over the horizon.

For more exclusive information on cryptocurrencies and blockchain, along with full expert interviews, visit the October issue in the Magazine section on opi.net.

HOT TOPIC Blockchain

to a variety of cases where the exchange of value or information is needed between separate entities that may not trust each other.

“This could be the exchange of information in a supply chain, medical details, financial transactions, land ownership and more. Blockchain technology may enable solutions where data can be shared in a distributed manner that increases interoperability, security, immutability and privacy,” he adds.

BLOCKCHAIN IN YOUR BUSINESS According to professional services firm PwC, blockchain could add value where at least four out of the six following criteria apply: 1. Multiple parties share data 2. Multiple parties update data and these actions need to be recorded 3. Recorded actions need to be verified as valid 4. Intermediaries add cost and complexity 5. Interactions are time sensitive 6. Transactions are dependent on others

October 2017

For further information, visit www.pwc.co.uk

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Blockchain HOT TOPIC

If you can’t beat them, JOIN THEM…

OPI speaks to owner of Netherlands-based reseller Centraal InkoopBureau, Ewout van Haeften, about using blockchain within the office products environment

www.opi.net

OPI: What is your understanding of blockchain?

Ewout van Haeften: We are used to storing our data in one place such as a computer or a server, for example, but if that storage device is lost, hacked or otherwise disappears, we’ve then lost our data.

In the public blockchain we can store information on a vast number of computers and in such a way that the data is immutable and verifiable. You can call it a system of distributed data and it keeps track of each change in the data. So, if you make a transaction, this ‘public ledger’ will record that. As this record is unchangeable and valid, it removes the need for a trusted third party such as a bank.

Taking this further, we can now make our own ‘smart’ contract, which executes itself on the blockchain. Again, we therefore do not need a certified third party to maintain and keep this contract, such as a notary.

Looking at it in a rather philosophical way, blockchain technology is changing our societal viewpoint in that our pillars of trust such as a bank, lawyer, notary public, or even municipality, will no longer be the same as they become less relevant, if not partially obsolete.

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OPI: How do you use blockchain in your business?

EvH: One of the ‘pearls’ of my specialist OP business is secure paper. This paper contains many features such as invisible fibres that light up under UV light, microtext, watermarks, unique numbering, UV ink, high-level copy protection and optically dull paper.

A significant number of Dutch municipalities use it as it is almost impossible to commit fraud with this paper. However, there is always that very slim chance.

This is where blockchain comes in. We can now intercept the document data for a deed on the way to the printer, send it to the blockchain, encrypt the data with a complex algorithm and store it immutably. Then we generate a QR-code and send that back with the deed data to the printer in the municipality. The citizen goes home with his deed and QR-code on the paper.

When this deed is verified three months later by the authorities, they first check the paper. I have developed an app that knows the algorithm of the (private) blockchain. An officer then scans the QR-code with this app and can compare the data on the document with the result of the scan. This is the ultimate proof of truth and authenticity. We offer this not only to the Netherlands-based municipalities, but also for the Dutch Caribbean islands.

The other blockchain application I am working on is a parking app for disabled people. Centraal InkoopBureau (CIB) distributes the European parking cards for the Ministry of Transport, but they are being regularly stolen and as there is no licence plate scanning app, action has to be taken manually.

We want to change the parking card into an app.

Once the identity of the disabled person has been established on the blockchain, all parking actions and transactions will be placed on the public ledger. It will then be possible to add licence plate scanning to the system, which is better for the user and cheaper (and more secure) for the authorities.

However, this is easier said than done. Today, the public blockchain is slow and we need a transaction speed of a fraction of a second. We may end up using a hybrid form of the blockchain and traditional relational database technology to obtain the results we need.

But, once established, this could easily be made scalable for the whole European Union market.

OPI: How could the blockchain be used by an ‘ordinary’ business? What would be the benefits?

EvH: This phenomenon is so recent that it is difficult to summarise the application of blockchain technology in the office products world. The aforementioned apps are the ones I have developed.

Furthermore, blockchain projects require quite an investment as developers are hard to come by and knowledge in this field is limited. In my case, I have many stakeholders involved in the development, such as municipalities, disabled people interest groups, an IT advisor, an app builder, the Ministry of Transportation, and the blockchain platform supplier.

All in all, it is a tedious and long-term trajectory paved with pitfalls and an unclear business case.

OPI: So it’s not easy to implement?

EvH: No, it’s not. You need expertise and capital, in addition to a capacity to think ‘out of the box’.

Ewout van Haeften

OPI: Blockchain is being called a ‘disruptor’. Do you think it has the potential to unsettle the office products industry?

EvH: I don’t think this will majorly disrupt the office products industry, but there will be some effect, for example in the context of the blockchain making accountancy or public notary partially obsolete, and in its interference with the banking industry. If you have customers active in those branches, I can foresee loss of future sales.

In my own business, I should be concerned about my notary customers, as CIB supplies 50% of all notary offices with office supplies and deed documents. I think the only way to handle this threat is to embrace it – become your own biggest competitor. In the long run, you will come out on top since this technology is inevitably on its way.

Centraal InkoopBureau was established by the Association of Dutch Municipalities in the 1930s and distributes office supplies mainly for local authorities.

The company is also an archives and notaries specialist and under the sole ownership of Ewout van Haeften. The reseller operates four web shops, each dedicated to a particular target group.

TOP T O P I OO I O O 2O I 7 Who’s Who in OP?

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Now in its 17th incarnation, the OPI team has once again been putting its collective brains together as well as canvassing opinion from around the globe to pin down the Top 100 influencers – or influencers to be – of today’s business supplies industry – by Heike Dieckmann

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www.opi.net

hen we started collating this year’s Top 100 resellers list, it struck me that relatively few big hitters have come out since 2016 – Essendant’s Bob Aiken, SP Richards’ Wayne Beacham and Office Depot’s Roland Smith – and two out of the three did so because of retirement. There might be another couple of high-profile departures in waiting, of course, but nothing is confirmed yet...

Overall, there are 11 newcomers in 2017 – several of them and their companies described in more detail over the next few pages. Some, including Ric Phillips, Gerry Smith, Hervé Liboureau and Neil Maslen haven’t exactly proved their mettle yet and are in the list by virtue of succession or restructure rather than actual results.

Others have been singled out for an extended magazine entry because of achievements or considerable changes in their organisations, or indeed for breaking into an industry that years ago seemed beyond their radar (Paul Yardley/GNS and Frank van Zanten/Bunzl spring to mind).

On that radar note and just to remind me – and our readers – I

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went back to the first ever Top 100 list that we published in January 2001. Unsurprisingly, it was all about companies selling ‘office products’ – and EOS as part of the mix – as opposed to ‘business supplies’ back then. No facilities categories of any kind, no MRO, no PPE. Of course, selection criteria for the Top 100 have evolved over time as much as the industry itself. Nevertheless, it’s fascinating to see how many of those Top 100 companies of 2001 have been usurped by a series of consolidation waves. Buhrmann, Corporate Express, Samas, Boise Cascade Office Products, Guilbert, US Office Products, to name but a few: they are all big names of the past that now fall under two names – Staples and Office Depot.

Some [of the newcomers...] haven’t exactly proved their mettle yet and are in the list by virtue of succession or restructure rather than actual results But even before that consolidation happened, these two big boxes, plus Lyreco and OfficeMax, truly commanded the stage in 2001: 24 of all Top 100 personalities came from these operators. Now it’s 11.

If ever a potent reminder was needed of the channel shifts and blurring happening in our sector...

Interestingly, only four people have ‘survived’ from that very first Top 100 list and are still going strong for their companies and the industry at large and none of them are from these (former) giants: Bruce Eaton, Dave Guernsey, George Gerardos and Shoichiro Iwata.

Find out more from page 29 and on opi.net/ directories/resellers.

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Chairman, Pinnacle Affiliates & President, Eaton Office Supply

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A well-known member of the US dealer community and part of Pinnacle since his dealership, based in Buffalo (NY), left TriMega in 2014, Eaton has overseen a successful nine months at the group, recruiting four new members: Sandia Office Supply, Office Plus of Kansas, Source Office and Technology and MyBinding.com.

Pinnacle bills itself as the fastest-growing group of large independent resellers in the US. Its strategic plan for 2017 is to provide members with improved supplier programmes, reduced operating expenses, financial benchmarking and best practices, and initiatives to consolidate large resellers.

With his first AGM as Chairman just under his belt, Eaton is optimistic about the future: “We see the positive trend continuing in 2018, fuelled by an increase in membership, member acquisition strategies, effective go-to-market performance, product category

diversification, and supplier partnerships that recognise our market share leadership in the markets we serve.”

Pinnacle aside, 2017 has also been a good year for Eaton Office Supply.

Founded over a century ago in 1915, it’s been a year of growth, diversification and collaboration. Expanding its geographical footprint, Eaton acquired Strouse Business Products at the beginning of 2017. In terms of product breadth, the dealer is seeing modest sales growth in the still emerging breakroom and safety segments, and more prominent increases in the office furniture – including the state furniture business – and shipping and mailing categories.

On the customer front, Eaton has reinforced its existing contracts with a wide range of local sporting teams, not only supplying these clients with additional products but at the same time solidifying its position as an active and enduring member of the community.

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Bruce Eaton has made it into this year’s Top 100 primarily through his chairmanship of large dealer network Pinnacle Affiliates. His tenure began in January of this year, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Craig Bartholomew from 360 Office Solutions.

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Bruce Eaton

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Ric Phillips

Interim CEO, Essendant

It’sASIA all change again at US wholesaler Essendant. After just two years in the top seat, CEO Bob Aiken left in June, making way for Interim CEO Ric Phillips.

Overseeing the wholesaler’s second quarter results in July was a bit of a baptism of fire for Phillips.

In line with similar trends seen in the first quarter, Essendant reported sales declines in most of its product categories, and these top-line pressures also hit profits.

Phillips talked of an acceleration in the wholesaler’s transformation plan. His key go-forward strategy goals include better efficiencies in its supply chain; sales performance improvements in key channels; and creating better supplier partnerships.

It’s not clear how long Phillips’ tenure at the top will last, with no reference having been made to date with regards to a permanent successor to Aiken or whether Phillips might indeed be in the running for the job. He certainly wasn’t brought in as a quick-fix turnaround guy, but rather to steer a somewhat unsteady ship for the time being.

Phillips is no newcomer to Essendant, having joined the company in 2013. He most recently served as Group President of Industrial Essentials & President of Essendant-affiliated ORS Nasco. In this role, he was responsible for the oversight of the ORS Nasco Industrial, Medco Automotive and CPO Commerce

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businesses. Prior to that, he was President, Online and New Channels for Essendant, where he had responsibility for the wholesaler’s e-commerce business, and for building its online capabilities across the enterprise.

Prior to joining Essendant, Phillips spent 14 years at McKinsey & Company in Chicago, where he was ultimately made a Partner in 2005. His work at McKinsey focused on strategy, commercial performance and operations.

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Gerry Smith

CEO, Office Depot

Gerry Smith was named CEO of Office Depot in February 2017, succeeding Roland Smith who retired from the company after three years at the helm.

Who’s Who in OP?

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Addressing its strategic goals remains a work in progress at the big-box operator. Indeed, the goalposts themselves have seemingly been moved under Smith’s leadership. For a start, there appears to be more of a retail – or perhaps more appropriately omnichannel – focus at the reseller.

In its most recent quarterly results, Depot’s sales performance at the Business Solutions Division (BSD) were disappointing, with the top line down 6% compared to the year-ago quarter. This was despite expectations that sales trends in BSD would begin to improve following the disruption that occurred during the failed merger process with Staples.

Smith had already said previously that the reseller’s stores would play a pivotal role in the company’s future and be a key part of its supply chain footprint as it ramps up initiatives such as buy online/pick up in store and ship from store. There has also been good news from its ‘store of the future’ pilot stores, which have reported improved sales versus its traditional group of stores.

Smith is clearly not putting all his eggs in one basket, preferring instead an all-round integrated purchasing experience for customers. In September, the company started collaborating with supply chain software platform Elementum to help boost e-commerce operations and strengthen its omnichannel operations.

Having previously worked in senior roles at global technology firms Lenovo and beforehand Dell, Smith has become well-versed in defining and leading ambitious growth objectives and operational efficiencies, driving both increases in market share and profitability at the two companies.

When Smith was appointed, Warren Bryant, Lead Director of Depot’s Board of Directors and Chair of the CEO Search Committee, referred to his “significant operating expertise” and his “ability to lead large, complex organisations”.

Rick Toppin

CEO, SP Richards ASIA

www.opi.net

A new face in our Top 100, but certainly not a new face in our industry. Rick Toppin took over from Wayne Beacham at the beginning of this year when his predecessor retired and he became CEO AUSTRALASIA of SP Richards (SPR).

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Even before taking the top spot at the US wholesaler, Toppin already had a long and extended career in the business products industry, spending the first 19 years with Moore Corporation (now part of RR Donnelly) and then in 1999 joining Corporate Express (CE) as a Division President.

Having spent a couple of years in Canada as President of CE in the country, he returned to the US in 2007 and joined SPR in 2008 as EVP of Sales & Marketing.

SPR’s results over the past two quarters are best described as “satisfactory”. Parent Genuine Parts Company and Toppin himself certainly like to play their cards close to the chest, with Toppin referring to “pleasing” sales growth but downward margin pressure and increasing cost to serve. Both of the latter continue to place additional pressure on profits. For the six months to 30 June 2017, SPR’s sales were up 6.8% year on year to $1.02 billion while operating profit fell 8.4% to $61.2 million.

Having already been very acquisitive over the past few years – which has already helped boost the top line – the wholesaler continues to be on the lookout for further opportunities, particularly in the fast-growing Facility, Breakroom and Safety (FBS) segment where it’s also posting “solid” organic sales increases. FBS is now SPR’s strongest-performing category and accounts for 36% of total revenues.

In addition to his role at SPR, Toppin is a dedicated member of the City of Hope National Business Products Council and has been named the 2018 Spirit of Life honouree.

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CEO, ADVEO AMERICAS

Member recruitment and retention as well as all the usual mix of sales and marketing services, training programmes ASIA and other value-adds that make up the daily work of a dealer group were part and parcel of Büroring’s agenda over the past 12 months.

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In addition to that, the dealer group’s focus has been very firmly on two core strategic projects, according to Managing Director Ingo Dewitz: ramping up its warehouse operation and offering a better e-procurement option.

The group posted record revenues for the whole of 2016 and the good performance continued for the first quarter of 2017 when the warehouse operation grew by 3.9% and the central billing business with the group’s suppliers by an impressive 19.5%.

But while the warehouse business did well in 2016, it became a victim of its own success and reached a severe impasse towards the end of the year when demand and order volume far outstripped capacity.

Dewitz and his team are currently in the final stages of a major €4 million ($4.8 million) logistics overhaul which will not only add the much-needed extra capacity, but also pave the way for considerable category growth.

Before the warehouse expansion, which effectively takes the shape of adding an extra floor in its existing building, Büroring offered about 12,000 SKUs through its facilities, plus an extra 13,000 through its virtual warehouse. As completion and full ramp-up approaches, so does the potential for a sizeable increase of its own brand portfolio, plus extended – and in some instances completely new – forays into the areas of school supplies, jan/san, packaging, PPE and breakroom products.

Going hand in hand with its upgraded logistics offering is a better e-commerce experience for members’ customers, a project that is also being finalised right now.

In addition to providing a more competitive, user-friendly web shop offering, the intention is that this will also open the door to further enhancements, such as in-shop solutions and add-on marketplaces.

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The headline news from the pan-European wholesaler’s camp AUSTRALASIA this year is undoubtedly the abolition of the traditional wholesaling model at the company and setting a new course to develop into a multichannel provider of workplace solutions. Selling direct to end users may not be the most surprising of its new strategic pillars that will help ADVEO on this path, but it’s certainly the one that raised the most eyebrows.

Starting from scratch this year, the goal is to achieve direct sales of €67 million ($80 million) by the end of 2020 via four sales avenues: in partnership with its top resellers, through its Calipage dealer network, directly from ADVEO, and from new B2C platforms.

The argument is that, as a wholesaler, ADVEO is essentially locked out of a large chunk of the addressable business supplies market with enterprise and public sector accounts.

Another transformational change includes a strengthened focus on own brands that compete in different sectors of the market. Carbó’s plan states these brands will account for €75 million of new sales over the next four years, thereby taking the ratio of own brand sales up to about 25% of total revenues.

In addition, the company’s franchise and retail network – Calipage, Plein Ciel and Buro+ – is set to play a considerable larger part in the future. Expanded product categories and services are planned to result in a much bigger share of wallet for ADVEO from these partners.

Most recently, the firm’s departure from its traditional wholesaling model has manifested itself in ADVEO outsourcing its logistics operations in Spain – a bold move for a wholesale operation and one that has already resulted in many job losses as well as staff re-allocations. It will be interesting to see if this is a sign of things to come for the rest of Europe.

Managing Director, Büroring

Who’s Who in OP?

Having called 2016 a year of transition after selling its IT consumables business to UK distributor Westcoast and taking a number of ASIA key financial measures, 2017 can surely be described as a year of fundamental – CEO Jaime Carbó referred to it as “transformational” – change for ADVEO.

Ingo Dewitz

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Kimmo Laaksonen

Who’s Who in OP?

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New Wulff CEO Kimmo Laaksonen has taken the helm at a time when the office ASIA supplies reseller is struggling to get back on its feet. Its H1 2017 results revealed sales down over 4%, along with operating losses.

Despite these challenging results, Laaksonen believes that the developing economic situation in the Nordics will AUSTRALASIAaffect Wulff’s business for the rest of 2017. positively The company is also striving to increase profitability and competitiveness through building a “winning strategy for the future”, developing its sales and customer service and utilising digitisation. Laaksonen, who took the CEO position in March this year, is also Chairman of the company’s executive board. He moved to the reseller from commercial printing firm Brand Factory Finland.

Prior to this, he worked in the telecommunications and media industries. As such, he understands the importance of branding and the benefits that Wulff can gain through 120 years of history, great visibility and reputation in Scandinavia.

Importantly, Laaksonen says that there is a huge desire internally to renew the company’s operations and change the business in order to set it up well for the future.

Its ongoing strategic investments address the continued decline in its traditional operating market.

Wulff has taken steps, for example, to develop its workplace product range, now focusing on digitisation, automation, new working environments and mobile. The reseller already offers its customers a diverse range of products and services, such as office products, facility supplies, ergonomic solutions and LED lighting products. It is also embracing an omnichannel approach and serves its customers across multiple platform.

In addition, the company is thoroughly embracing the future of the office. Laaksonen is keen to ensure that Wulff is at the forefront of this currently popular trend, and influence – and even partly decide – how people will work in the times ahead.

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N EW This year sees a very different Staples in our Top 100 list. What was formerly the world’s largest office products reseller has over the past eight months or so been carved up into several regional entities, all (majority)-owned by private equity firms.

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Hervé Liboureau

Head of Commercial, Staples Solutions

CEO, Wulff

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Staples Solutions in Europe is one of these entities, having been bought – a controlling 85% stake at least – by Cerberus Capital Management in February of this year. It’s still a mighty business, with combined sales across Europe of about €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion), but its sale to Cerberus followed years of struggle in what were historically part of the US-based reseller’s international operations.

Heading up Staples Solutions as Chairman is Olof Persson, but at the helm of the company’s contract and online businesses and very much the go-to person for all the country managing directors of the reseller’s commercial subsidiaries across Europe is Hervé Liboureau.

A seasoned sales and marketing leader, Liboureau joined Staples in October 2015 as Head of Advantage, Staples Europe. He became Head of Commercial following the sale to Cerberus, tasked with re-establishing Staples Solutions as a leading provider of workspace products, services and solutions for businesses across Europe. The company now has web shops in 14 European nations and serves contract customers in 29 countries through 17 wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Prior to Staples, Liboureau had several positions within SAP, including SVP and General Manager, Telco Industry and Mobile Solutions in EMEA. Prior to SAP, he was Managing Director Europe at BlackBerry.

During his four years at BlackBerry, he successfully held multiple operational and sales leadership roles, including managing BlackBerry’s partnership with Orange. Other roles included several years at Nokia and at Cisco Systems.

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Neil Maslen

EUROPE SVP Contract, Office Depot Europe

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Office Depot Europe has made significant progress under the new ownership of German private equity firm Aurelius which was first announced in September of last year, with the acquisition being finalised at the beginning of 2017.

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Depot is currently implementing a transformation process to restructure its European organisation and create a more customer-focused business. In the process, it will address the ever-increasing competition, especially from the big online players, in a rapidly-changing market.

Spokesperson for the Core Management Team & SVP Contract Neil Maslen has a strong e-commerce focus. And having joined Depot back in 2014, he certainly believes the future of the company lies in an online-first approach.

His focus is on delivering value for Depot’s customers, through a simple and anytime experience. He says the company will leverage its two routes to market through the well-known Office Depot and Viking brands.

Office Depot operates in 14 European countries and employs around 6,500 people, with annual sales of €2 billion ($2.08 billion). This includes the Viking brand which operates in ten European markets, a contract segment supplying more than 100,000 business customers and a retail operation that sells products under the Office Depot brand in over 100 stores and online.

Maslen is well-placed to steer Depot Europe through this period of change. He has spent the past 20 years working with large complex businesses, leading change through restructuring, post M&A integration and business transformation.

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Frank van Zanten CEO, Bunzl

Frank van Zanten has been Bunzl CEO for 18 months and during that time hasASIAembraced former CEO Michael Roney’s organic and acquisition growth strategy. With still a few months of 2017 to go, Bunzl has already spent almost €550 million ($714 million) on acquisitions this year – a record for the AUSTRALASIA company.

Still, it can afford to with H1 revenues (ended 30 June) up 7% in constant currency to €4.12 billion.

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In March this year, Bunzl beefed up its outsourcing operations in the US with the purchase of Diversified Distribution Systems (DDS). With operations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, in addition to its main business in the US, Minnesota-based DDS will help expand Bunzl’s outsourcing business globally.

High on the agenda for acquisitions are jan/ san and safety/PPE businesses. The past year has seen an acceleration in the number of companies Bunzl has bought in these two categories across all geographic areas where it operates. This is particularly clear in North America, its largest market.

Not only has the company been snapping up cleaning and hygiene businesses in Canada, but in a bid to boost jan/san trade in North America opened a central warehouse in 2016 in the north-east of the US. Jan/san and the safety/PPE categories are currently Bunzl’s third and fourth biggest market sectors (12% and 11% respectively).

Van Zanten continues to have ambitious plans and Asia is very much on his radar following two acquisitions on the continent earlier this year. Bunzl kicked off 2017 by buying Singapore-based LSH, a €5 million distributor of PPE; this was followed in August when the outsourcing and distribution giant announced its arrival in China by acquiring Shanghai-based PPE firm HSESF. There are still more acquisitions in the pipeline, so watch this space.

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Who’s Who in OP?

It was one of seven Askul distribution centres and accounted for 22% of all deliveries. The centre is mainly used for the delivery of products ordered on the Askul/ Yahoo! LOHACO B2C e-commerce website. It was this area of the business that has been disrupted more than the main B2B operations.

Despite the extensive damage, Askul managed to achieve record sales of ¥315 billion ($2.88 billion) for its full fiscal year ended 31 May, up 6% on last year. The strong sales performance managed to absorb the entire immediate costs associated with the fire.

That said, the group and its long-standing CEO Shoichiro Iwata anticipate costs associated with the incident to affect profit well into FY2018, where operating profit is expected to come in around 60% lower.

Elsewhere, Askul’s B2B business has extended its product range significantly over the past year, mainly in categories such as MRO and medical supplies. The reseller now sells 3.3 million SKUs (as of May 2017) and clocked sales growth of just under 5%.

Meanwhile, its B2C arm LOHACO – a joint venture with Yahoo! Japan – has rolled out its one-hour delivery offering to a wider area. The service, Happy On Time, now covers ten ‘wards’ (municipalities) in Tokyo, and an additional nine wards in Osaka. In July, LOHACO also partnered with Seven & I Holdings, the largest retail group in Japan to develop a fresh food and groceries delivery service.

E-commerce and private label continue to be strategic priorities for Iwata. He aims to make Askul the number one e-commerce player in both the B2B and B2C segments, and forecasts sales of ¥359 billion across both segments in FY2018.

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CEO, Askul

Japanese business supplies reseller Askul had a tough start to the year after a 12-day fire tore through its AUSTRALASIA main distribution centre in the Tokyo metropolitan area in February.

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Shoichiro Iwata

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Paul Yardley

CEO, GNS Wholesale Stationers

Paul Yardley joined GNS Wholesale Stationers as CEO in October of last year to head up a strengthened management team brought in following a tough 2016.

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A Brit, Yardley’s background is originally in investment banking, but since relocating to Australia in 2009 he has focused on the turnaround and restructuring of consumer businesses in industries undergoing major change.

GNS began life almost 40 years ago as a buying cooperative for newsagents, but has since evolved to being the largest – and only national – wholesaler in the Australian marketplace.

It has been a busy 12 months after a very challenging 2016 where the business had to refinance and refocus on its core operations due to a prolonged period of poor execution.

Since joining, Yardley has been implementing a renewed strategy based around two big themes: delivering a lowest-cost operating model, and driving market consolidation. As he puts it, he wants GNS to be the “last man standing” in terms of profitability.

In the past year, the group also acquired two smaller regional office products wholesalers, Perth-based WA Stationery and V Wholesale in Sydney. In February, it was made the Australian distributor for Double A paper, significantly enlarging its customer base. It was also appointed to the Office Brands wholesaler panel earlier this year, adding to its preferred wholesaler status with the Office Choice and ASA dealer groups.

Yardley says that boosting the group’s marketing and merchandising capabilities is a critical part of delivering the commercial part of a wholesaling model. To this end, the group has recruited a well-known OP industry marketing manager, having head-hunted Office Brands’ General Manager of Merchandise and Marketing Margaret De Francesco.

The Australia and New Zealand office products market is in a period of significant flux right now, with several of the large operators undergoing consolidation and smaller independent dealers able to take advantage of this disruption.

The arrival of Amazon is also expected to bring new opportunities for GNS and the wider market, as it threatens traditional big-box retail.

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ASIA Shoichiro Iwata, CEO, Askul Shailesh Karwa/Sharad Dalmia, Co-CEOs, Work Store Gregory Liénard, Managing Director Asia, Lyreco Worawoot Ounjai, CEO, COL Jackie Robb, Managing Director, Staples China

Abdulrahman Ibrahim, CEO, HPG Trevor Girnun, Managing Director, Waltons Wihan Oosthuizen, CEO, Office National Africa

AUSTRALASIA Darren Fullerton, CEO, Winc Dominique Lyone, CEO, Complete Office Supplies Kevin Obern, Managing Director, OfficeMax Australasia Brad O’Brien, CEO, Office Choice Pejman Okhovat, CEO, Warehouse Stationery Grant Sheridan, CEO, Office Products Depot Gavin Ward, CEO, Office Brands Mark Ward, Managing Director, Officeworks Paul Yardley, CEO, GNS Wholesale Stationers N E W

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Ángel Alverde Losada, CEO, Office Depot de Mexico Patricia Barber, CEO, The Supply Room José Mário Britto & Thiago Britto, Chairman & Managing Director, Inforshop Michael Brown, CEO, HiTouch Business Services Bruce Eaton, Chairman, Pinnacle Affiliates/ President, Eaton Office Supply N E W Tony Ellison, CEO, Shoplet Sean Fleming, CEO, DM Supplies Network Paulo Garcia, Managing Director, Kalunga Mike Gentile, CEO, Independent Stationers Shira Goodman, CEO, Staples Inc Dave Guernsey, CEO, Guernsey Jim Hebert, CEO, Office Partners Kevin Johnson, CEO, Warehouse Direct Radostin Kirilov, Managing Director, Office 1 Superstore Mark Leazer, Executive Director, AOPD Sid Lerman, CEO, Weeks Lerman Sean Macey, President, Basics Office Products DG Macpherson, CEO, Grainger Mike Maggio, President, TriMega Purchasing Association Denis Mathieu, CEO, Novexco Leo Meehan, CEO, WB Mason Ric Phillips, CEO, Essendant N E W Gerry Smith, CEO, Office Depot N E W Jennifer Smith, CEO, Innovative Office Solutions Rick Toppin, CEO, SP Richards N E W Prentis Wilson, VP, Amazon Business Joe Yorio, CEO, School Specialty

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Raj Advani, Managing Director, Exertis Supplies N E W Adriano Alessio, Managing Director, Gruppo In Ufficio Michael Andersson, CEO, Ocay Tim Beaumont, Managing Director, NEMO Group Philip Becker, Chairman/CEO, EOSA/Hedera Carlos & Rafael Benavides, Managing Directors, Comercial del Sur Laurent Bertrand, Managing Director, Fiducial Office Solutions Udo Böttcher, Managing Director, Büromarkt Böttcher Sergey Bobrikov, Founder, Komus Robert Brech, Managing Director, Kaut-Bullinger Jaime Carbó, CEO, ADVEO Ingo Dewitz, Managing Director, Büroring Simon Drakeford, CEO, EO Group Dr Benedikt Erdmann, Chairman, Soennecken László Féher, Managing Director, Corwell Christa Furter, CEO, iba George Gerardos, CEO, Plaisio Gert Gerber, Managing Director, Office Supplies Denmark Xavier Guichard, CEO, Manutan Julie Hawley, Managing Director, Office Friendly Steve Haworth, Group CEO, EVO Group Barrie Hayes, CEO, BPGI Joe Hemani, Chairman, Westcoast José Luis Hernández, President & General Manager, Carlin Stephan Iseli, Director, Offix Group Danièle Kapel-Marcovici, CEO, Raja Group Alper Kisa, Vice General Manager, Akoffice Kimmo Laaksonen, CEO, Wulff N E W Hervé Liboureau, Head of Commercial, Staples Solutions N E W Neil Maslen, SVP Contract, Office Depot Europe N E W Aidan McDonough, CEO, Integra Office Solutions Hervé Milcent, CEO, Lyreco Paul Musgrove, Managing Director, Nectere Şerban Oarză, CEO, RTC Proffice Siobhan O’Connor, Managing Director, Codex Theo Paphitis, Chairman, Ryman Bruno Peyroles, CEO, Bureau Vallée Nicolas Potier, Managing Director, JM Bruneau Šarūnas Pranukevičius, Managing Director, Officeday Laurent Proy, Managing Director, Alkor Groupe Ferdinando Rese, President, Errebian Richard Scharmann, CEO, PBS Holding Hans Schmid, President, Printus Dieter Schmidt, Managing Director, Plate Stefan Sonesson, CEO, RKV Miroslaw Szydlowski, Managing Director, PBS Polska Arnold Theuws, Managing Director, Quantore Igor Trifonov, CEO, Samson Jan Van Belleghem, Managing Director, Interaction Frank van Zanten, CEO, Bunzl Thomas Veit, Managing Director, soft-carrier Francesco Villa, General Manager, Gruppo Buffetti Dmitriy Vinogradov, CEO, Merlion N E W Michael Voll, CEO, Despec N E W Jeff Whiteway, CEO, SPOT Group Felix Zimmermann, CEO, TAKKT

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CATEGORY UPDATE

As the physical world meets the digital space in the office mailroom, this is a sector that is having to evolve rapidly – by David Holes

W

ithout doubt the biggest change to the mailroom and packaging category continues to come from the phenomenal growth in global parcel shipping which is driven by e-commerce.

Volumes over the past two years have increased by 48%, with a staggering 65 billion parcels shipped worldwide in 2016 – China (31 billion), the US (13 billion) and Japan (9 billion) represent the largest markets by parcel volume. Predictions indicate this growth is likely to continue to rise by 17-28% each year between now and 2021.

But as parcel volumes grow, so do shipping options and this is benefitting end users. Stephen Darracott, Country Manager at Pitney Bowes Australia & New Zealand, explains: “Disruptors are changing the parcel landscape in countries around

There’s increased demand for time-saving devices such as automated mail-folding and inserting technology

SPACE RESTRICTIONS Smaller businesses are also struggling with a growing number of inbound deliveries to their mailrooms and lobbies. And they not only have to deal with company shipments, but are additionally having to cope with the influx of personal online purchases of employees whose parcels are arriving en masse at their office mailrooms.

Ever-increasing volumes, coupled with limited storage space and less manpower mean that many offices are employing dedicated parcel-sorting solutions in order to manage. These scan incoming packages and digitally alert employees, residents or customers that their delivery has arrived. This reduces storage time and labour-intensive mail sorting and will prove vital for businesses, large hotels and apartments, as well as delivery centres and parcel locker locations. Plus, there’s increased demand for time-saving devices such as automated mail-folding and inserting technology as organisations ramp up efficiency and look for improved security too.

“Compliance is also driving demand for mailing automation,” adds Darracott. “Organisations charged with the protection of privacy and data are turning towards automation to meet their obligations more effectively. This trend continues in the supplies space where web-based automatic reordering can keep businesses up and running, while offering repeat-order discounting for office supplies.”

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the world. As the competition between traditional and start-up parcel companies gets more intense, couriers and online booking services are going head to head with large traditional carriers. This is driving down costs for consumers and businesses – the cost per parcel dropped 8% over the past year in Australia, and other markets with a growing number of carriers showed similar reductions.

“But this added choice can be difficult for SMEs to manage and navigate, with multiple shipping

options, service levels and 24/7 tracking to wrestle with. Without dedicated staff it can be hard to know if you are getting the best deal and saving the most money for your company. Many offices are now considering cloud-based, SaaS solutions to help them make the most of this opportunity.”

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Several industries are still finding considerable value in direct mail campaigns Providing the tools to open the parcels once they arrive has also proved a lucrative angle for the specialists that supply them.

“We have seen double-digit growth in our core range of scissors, cutters and blades every year since 2013,” says Helge Becker, Sales Director at Acme United in Germany. “This is strongly related to the increase in online shipping – the more a country or region is growing in this segment, the higher the demand for these products.

“The trend of employees receiving their online orders directly at work is increasing and further driving the need for more scissors and cutters. But growth is not just B2B-focused, but can be seen in the B2C sector as well caused partly by consumers now indulging in a style of shopping known as ‘product tourism’ – ordering items in several different sizes and colours only to return the unwanted items later. This leads to even bigger volumes of parcels that need both packaging and unwrapping.”

LETTERS NOT DEAD While the volume of traditional letters is declining at varying rates across the globe, several industries are still finding considerable value in direct mail campaigns, with personalised messages and custom-colour logos printed on envelopes leading to greater opening rates.

Adding a digital experience to conventional mail can also significantly enhance its impact. For example, connecting a mail shot to a web page using a QR code or a well-timed email offer has been shown to be very effective in driving response. This teaming of physical post with emerging digital technologies is helping to reinvent mail.

Say Darracott: “Small local businesses like real estate firms are successfully finding a valuable place in the letterbox of prospective clients along with other critical mail such as bills. Their personalised messages are reaching potential customers directly, and are not getting buried in an email inbox. Instead, they make it onto a prospective client’s kitchen counter or desk along with other important communications.

That’s an important position to capture.

“Printers are now offering full print-to-mail campaigns to give customers an end-to-end solution, differentiate themselves from the competition and offer more value to clients. Non-traditional mail and print businesses are also springing up to meet gaps in local markets.

We have a client who owns a taxi service and got into the mail delivery business at night when drivers didn’t have much to do. Recently he’s been able to add mail creation and on-demand envelope printing to his delivery offerings. His business is thriving and he’s franchising the operation. There are real opportunities in this rapidly-changing market.”

The influence of the digital revolution is being felt throughout mailrooms around the world and the pace of change will continue. There are a number of trends that are only going to accelerate in the future.

CATEGORY UPDATE Mailroom & Packaging

WRAP IT UP The relentless growth in e-commerce shipping is additionally benefitting those that supply all the various packaging products needed to transport them safely.

German adhesive tape manufacturer tesa, for example, refers to a study by Freedonia that predicts the market for carton-sealing tape to grow by almost 5% in 2018.

But, says Falk Butterwegge, its Head of Office Supply, Food & Digital Sales – International Sales Consumer & Craftsmen, there’s not one type of tape that fits all needs. “Having a good understanding of the various tape applications helps to increase the overall category value. Different target groups have different requirements – PVC, PP, speciality and eco-friendly tapes are all increasingly needed – including both for high-value and low-price brands.

“The mailroom sector has changed considerably over the past few years and now requires more detailed knowledge about the associated products to ensure that items are packaged securely, handled correctly and the process has minimal environmental impact.”

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Mailroom & Packaging CATEGORY UPDATE

FUTURE TRENDS Firstly, parcel delivery hours are expected to expand, meaning deliveries will potentially arrive outside normal business times. This will result in an increasing number of offices having to purchase outside parcel lockers to cope. Businesses may even choose to set themselves up as non-traditional places for all package deliveries in their area in order to provide an additional revenue stream.

Secondly, parcel-tracking technology is fast becoming critical to consumers and businesses and will continue to develop over the coming years, with information and updates more frequent and accurate.

Thirdly, ‘crowdshipping’ is likely to evolve into something far more mainstream – when an individual or business wants an item delivered, an online platform will crowdsource the job to a network of approved drivers that have the capacity to courier the goods. The sender then selects who they want based on price, specific package requirements and the courier’s feedback ratings. There will also

be a rise in the use of online apps that offer parcel delivery using nearby taxis that don’t currently have a customer to transport.

As these non-traditional services take hold, there will probably be a shift in packaging supplies too, as these new services will have different requirements to traditional carriers. Additionally, as more people shop online and cross-border, packing requirements to meet different compliance standards could vary country by country. Plus, in some regions there could be the minefield of the collection of local taxes, tariffs and duties that will be crying out for a solution.

As Darracott sums up: “The confluence of the physical and digital is having a huge impact on mailroom processes, supplies and parcel packing and receiving. There is now a significant opportunity for customers to leverage the cutting-edge technologies and solutions that are becoming available to better integrate shipping and mailing into their workflow and grow their influence in their region or even across the world.”

GETTING NOTICED Avery UK has been investigating the way labelling and packaging can help make a parcel stand out from the crowd and raise awareness of a business and its products.

An eye-tracking study with over 1,000 participants showed that using multiple labels on parcels could have a dramatic effect. Brand loyalty (or ‘love’), the perception of quality and the intent to repurchase or recommend the supplier to others, could all be raised substantially if the right elements are built into the labelling design (see below). Handwritten fonts, bold designs with borders, images and icons, awards and accreditations, as well as elements of surprise can all be used to great effect.

Fiona Mills, Marketing Director for Avery UK, says: “While we don’t recommend businesses stick labels on their packages just for the sake of it, there is a clear case for going above and beyond a simple plain address label. A company brand label, a return address label and a friendly special message label – such as ‘Open me’ or ‘See what’s inside’ – gets across all the important information. This will include your brand, your professionalism and a way to show your appreciation for a valued customer.

“Our research demonstrates that small business owners and all those involved in sending mail and packaging really need

to consider what they put on their labels.

Gone are the days of quickly handwriting the address and sending mail on its way.

It’s vital that packages stand out and get noticed by the recipient, so they are more inclined to tell others about your business or buy from you again.”

MAIL MERGE The massive growth in digital marketing has caused a pronounced shift towards email over direct mail as it’s seen as a more instant and easier form of communication. Recent estimates suggest that we receive an average of 121 marketing emails each day compared to just two pieces of direct mail.

A research report by the Royal Mail has found that 51% of consumers actually want to receive both mail and email from the organisations they deal with, while a further 17% only want to receive conventional mail. European paper merchant Antalis says this shows that if email is used in isolation to contact customers, two thirds of them could be left dissatisfied.

This should serve as a reminder to dealers that direct mail still has a crucial part to play in the mix.

Antalis Marketing Manager Cassie Booth explains: “We are

Benefits of multiple labels on a letter/parcel www.opi.net

Source: Avery UK

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so conditioned to spending the majority of our day staring at a screen that we forget there are other forms of communication, and ones which we should probably be using to reach out to our customers.

With people receiving a huge number of e-marketing communications each day, a tangible piece of direct mail can be a much better way of capturing their attention.

“That said, it’s important to be creative and innovative. Gone are the days when you could send out a plain sheet of A4 paper inserted neatly into a C5 envelope and expect the phone to start ringing with endless enquiries. The good news is that today there’s a wealth of possibilities when it comes to paper, print, envelopes and stickers. These offer dealers a wide creative scope to produce a completely unique concept guaranteed to lure prospects into opening a mail shot.”

CATEGORY UPDATE

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from s w e res, nmarket in u s s e i c p r e v e a l s a avid Holes m o n r D e e c o g s e c t o r a p e – by t i p s De tampin ood sh the s isingly g r surp

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n 2016, OPI reported on a stamping category that had weathered tough market conditions, but which looked as though it had turned a corner, with brighter prospects ahead. One year on and those predictions appear to have been borne out with sector leaders reporting major plans to develop their international operations.

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THE ASIA EFFECT Austrian stamp specialist Colop has announced that international expansion is its priority for 2017. Two new offices have already been set up this year, with the goal of achieving a firm foothold in the Asian region – one in Guangzhou, China, the other in Mumbai, India.

“The economic upturn in these two countries has led us to take this important step,” says CEO Ernst Faber. “The Asian continent, with over four billion inhabitants, is becoming increasingly important to us. We launched a subsidiary – Colop India – in April 2017 to better service this enormous demographic which is generating considerable demand for quality European products.

“Meanwhile, our Guangzhou office opened in September. With the Chinese domestic economy currently in a state of upheaval, we believe now is the right time to distribute our products in this region.”

The company is also expanding in Europe.

It already has a presence in Germany, the UK, Sweden, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and, of course, Austria. However, in addition, it has recently acquired distribution partners in Poland and France and successfully integrated them into Colop. It’s further succeeded in growing sales in Russia despite extremely difficult economic

conditions. This is a country where careful nurturing over many years is finally beginning to bear fruit.

And Head of International Sales and Marketing Franz Ratzenberger is bullish about the future: “There’s still a lot of potential for further expansion, particularly in France, and I’ve no doubt we’ll continue to be successful there.”

Faber also reiterates the importance of the Polish takeover: “It fits perfectly into our portfolio and we are convinced it will be seen as another positive step in the company’s history.”

With the Chinese domestic economy currently in a state of upheaval, we believe now is the right time to distribute our products in this region Rival Austrian manufacturer Trodat is equally upbeat, with tales of similar success in Asia and elsewhere. “We’ve had two consecutive record years and it looks as though we are on target to achieve that again in 2017,” says Managing Director Roland Rier.

“However, individual regions are developing very differently for us. In countries such as Italy, Mexico, China and India we are growing particularly well and far above the current trends. On the other hand, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that some established markets such as the UK are struggling and we are seeing severe decreases in demand.”

Trodat’s new Professional 4.0 stamp

PRODUCT ADVANCEMENT A common theme that emerged from the sector’s main protagonists was that, despite much-improved economic conditions in many regions, companies still see product development and technical innovation as essential for future success.

With this in mind Trodat has launched its new Professional 4.0 stamp. Billed as ‘Stronger. Cleaner.

Faster’, it’s made of polished stainless steel to maximise stability and durability, while keeping size and weight to a minimum. The company claims its innovative finger protection ensures ink-free hands when replacing the cartridge. In addition, special grip zones on the feet make it easier to compress the stamp and an improved band drive offers faster and more precise date setting.

Like its predecessor, it’s also climate neutral, having been manufactured using renewable energy sources and a high percentage of recycled material.

For success in a mature sector like ours product innovation is key Andreas Poimer, Trodat’s Head of International Marketing and Product Management, explains the philosophy behind its continuing focus on R&D: “For success in a mature sector like ours product innovation is key. This means precisely understanding the needs of our target groups – both those of the end-user and all the distribution and manufacturing levels in between.

Detailed market research and rigorous testing of prototypes are vital before we launch a new product.

The development of the Professional 4.0 was based on customer insights that we gained from research in countries all over the world.”

AUGMENTED REALITY On the topic of innovation, Colop has taken a technological leap and become the first manufacturer to bring 3D stamping to this sector. Using augmented reality and a mobile app for smartphone or tablet users, the traditional 2D stamp imprint now

has an additional dimension. Says Ratzenberger: “We’re using a technology called Augmented Reality Stamp Imprint to add digital value to customers and bring stamps right up to date. Our popular motivational stamps used in school books are one of the first products to use this idea – a star, for example, jumps off the page, smiles and turns around, turning an exercise book into a full 3D experience and injecting more fun into school life for children.”

Other developments at Colop include the introduction of a new Green Line model, together with a special edition stamp aimed primarily at women. Both products have sought to keep the advantages of their predecessors, particularly their extremely low weight.

“The Green Line started in 2008 with the range being regularly extended,” says Ratzenberger. “The products are all made using 75% recycled materials, but the latest model – a heavy-duty stamp in classic black with a green cover – is made almost entirely of recycled plastic.

“In a separate development, because we know that more than half of all stamp users are actually women, we’ve focused the design of our special edition model on aspects that we hope will appeal to female users. Its new look – a white handle and base, with a turquoise cover – and the stamp’s light weight, improved ease of use and comfortable handle have all been well received by its target audience.”

At Trodat, Poimer is a little more guarded about future innovations the company has in store: “It’s obvious that digitisation has been harming the development of the traditional office stamp and we’ve now rearranged the structure of our organisation so that it’s better geared to an innovation-friendly philosophy. This has already led to the creation of a pipeline of projects that will see us moving away from the classic stamp and into different applications and fields to what you see today. However, at the moment I can’t reveal further details.”

It’s clear that more interesting new products are on the way and there appears to be plenty of life left in the stamping sector.

October 2017

Colop’s motivational 3D stamp

CATEGORY UPDATE Stamping

Taiwan-based Shiny Stamp reports that growth in both mature and emerging economies is driving its sales across the sector, with the prospects for 2017 – its 60th anniversary year – looking better than ever.

“Over the past 12 months we’ve seen positive signs of recovery in many global regions,” says Deputy Executive Manager Jimmy Chen. “Trading conditions are much improved and this has led to considerable upwards momentum for the stamping industry.”

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SPOTLIGHT

COMMUNITY Spirit

Good citizenship lies at the heart of all truly great businesses. The OP industry should be very proud of its giving ethos – in the spiritual as well as literal sense – by Heike Dieckmann

B

www.opi.net

usiness supplies in their growing diversity are of course the nuts and bolts of our industry, but it’s the community spirit that is the invisible superglue which holds it all together and that makes people often dedicate their entire career to it. Nowhere is this more evident than in the wide variety of philanthropic efforts that year after year support a large variety of charitable causes.

Often these happen on an individual company basis, such as International Paper’s support of the Susan G Komen foundation (see ‘Rising to the challenge’, page 48), but there are also several country and even industry-wide initiatives that bring all channels together and, most importantly, raise much needed funds for some incredible causes. Here’s a selection of three from across the globe (for more examples of CSR initiatives, look out for our Green Thinking supplement in November).

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City of HOPE

OPI: What is the business products industry’s involvement with the City of Hope (COH) and how has it evolved?

Matt Dodd (Senior Director of Corporate Philanthropy, City of Hope): City of Hope is a leading research and treatment centre for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases and we’re headquartered in Duarte, California. For the past 35 years, leading executives and companies from what we now call the National Business Products Industry (NBPI) have supported the City of Hope through organised, industry-wide fundraising campaigns.

In total, over 200 companies support these initiatives every year. To date, about $165 million have been donated. The 2017 Saving Lives Hand in Hand campaign alone is expected to raise over $14 million.

OPI: What specifically has been achieved at COH with the monies raised?

MD: Most of the funds raised are what we call unrestricted, so they go into a large pool of general operational funds from where COH allocates monies to support what it feels is the most promising research, facility, talent, etc.

From time to time, NBPI leadership directs amounts towards specific projects or facilities such as the National Business Products Industry Chemical GMP Synthesis Facility; the National Business Products Industry Center for Biomedicine and Genetics, or the National Business Products Industry Cellular and Tumor Immunotherapies Center.

OPI: What are the key priorities for the City of Hope?

MD: We’re focused on developing new life-saving drugs, therapies, patient protocols and cures for cancer, diabetes and HIV/Aids. COH developed Humulin about 35 years ago, for example, which is now used by millions of diabetics around the world.

COH research breakthroughs have also led to the development of many well-known anti-cancer drugs such as Herceptin, Avastin, Erbitux and Rituxan. Over 100 million patients annually benefit from new therapies and drugs developed at COH. Earlier this year, our research team and leadership announced that it is the City of Hope’s goal and expectation to cure Type 1 diabetes in six years via The Wanek Project (www.cityofhope.org/wanek).

OPI: How specifically can our industry get involved?

MD: There are several ways. NBPI organises about 20 annual fundraising events which include golf outings, fishing trips, walks and bike rides as well as the City of Hope Tour and Hall of Fame Dinner or the annual Spirit of Life Gala get-together where a member of the business supplies industry is honoured. Supporting any of these events is one option.

Companies are also raising funds for COH by hosting their own events in collaboration with vendors and suppliers. Employee engagement is another way and monies are raised via payroll deductions, bake sales, car washes, jeans day, etc.

In addition, there’s consumer involvement whereby manufacturers identify a product and create sales promotions around it, donating a specific percentage or dollar amount from the sale to COH. Finally, there’s the NBPI personal giving programme which aims to raise $3 million over five years in support of the NBPI Chemical GMP Synthesis Facility.

Donations range from $25 upwards to $100,000.

OPI: Aside from the raising of funds, how is this industry-wide collaboration in the US benefitting the industry and community as a whole in your view?

MD: In many ways. COH and our fundraising activities and events are helping to keep the industry connected from a professional, business relationship development as well as humanitarian angle. Our events tend to have great support and turnout from the most influential executives, companies and brands in the industry.

Even taking philanthropy out of the equation, these events represent a great opportunity to spend quality time with your business partners.

Climb

OF LIFE

PLE SPONSOARSE OPI !

October 2017

For more informati The Climb of Life (COL) dates on, visit www.op back 30 years and has become the i.net/CO L2017 fundraising event in the UK business supplies industry’s calendar.

Founded and organised by industry veteran and Chairman of the BOSS Business Supplies Charity Graeme Chapman MBE, COL brings together over 100 members of the UK OP sector who, once a year, climb some of the toughest mountains in the country’s Lake District. This year’s theme is ‘30 YEARS, 30 MOUNTAINS 4 ICR’.

In each of the past three years, COL raised over £100,000 ($129,000). If 2017 donations exceed £100,000 again, the total amount received over the past 30 years will be £1.5 million.

For the past 11 years, all monies raised have been donated to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) which, in partnership with The Royal Marsden hospital, forms the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe.

Given that the climb takes place in November, trekking conditions are rarely pleasant, with battering rain and snow, high winds and storms a common occurrence. Rather than acting as a deterrent, however, it makes participants even more determined to reach the top and in the process hopefully raise much needed funds.

One of the long-standing supporters and main fundraisers of COL is OPI. This year again – on 3 November – OPI will take a team to the Lake District in the hope of not only conquering the mountains but, step by little step, also the dreadful disease that is cancer. Says CEO Steve Hilleard: “Practically all of our friends, colleagues and family members have been affected in some way by cancer.

We at OPI and the industry as a whole have lost so many loved ones to this illness in the past few years alone that even the toughest day in the mountains feels like a privilege compared to their suffering.

“And as long as cancer claims lives and makes those of family and friends difficult and miserable, we’ll be climbing mountains to raise money that can go towards research, treatment, drugs and cures.”

Coming together for COL at the ‘base camp’ Swan Hotel in the small English town of Grasmere is one of the highlights of Chapman’s year. Despite the sad cancer tales told by many participants, the fundraising event also illustrates the enormous companionship and community spirit in our industry, he comments. “In 1987 when I started COL, I simply wanted to raise money for charities. I’m staggered by how the event has evolved and progressed over the past 30 years, not only in terms of fundraising, but also in terms of its positive community spirit. I’m immensely proud to see so many people in our industry trekking and socialising together for the greater good, even if they are the fiercest of competitors.”

The Australian Office Products Charitable Fund was founded in 1999 by Anthony Keyzer whose son was suffering from an incurable and debilitating disease. Keyzer, along with other members of the OP community, decided to run a charity golf day, with all funds raised being donated to help his sick child.

This is how it started and evolved from – a desire and pledge to help sick or underprivileged children in Australia as well as deserving causes specifically in our industry.

John Donaghy, Managing Director at dealer Australian Forms Office Choice and Chairman of Office Choice, and Brian Brown, General Manager Commercial at ACCO Brands, are joint Directors of the charitable fund. They are supported by a committee made up of industry personnel from companies such as Fellowes, Canon Australia, Stationery News and GNS. As Donaghy explains: “The charity’s mission statement is to provide funds to children’s charities in Australia that are not mainstream and do not receive a great deal of government funding. In addition, we try to help people in hardship within our industry. Last year, for example, we had a sales person from Avery whose brother committed suicide and she asked if we could donate some money to Beyond Blue which is a charity set up to help people deal with depression. We donated A$10,000.”

Over the past 18 years, about A$800,000 ($641,000) have been raised to assist children’s charities, industry-specific hardships and on occasions other causes such as the tsunami victims of Sri Lanka in 2005 and the Bali bombing survivors in 2008.

Funds for the chosen causes predominantly come from two main events – a golf day and a Christmas charity lunch. Annual donations are now in the region of A$100,000, up from about A$14,000 when the fund was first set up. Every year, charities are invited to pitch their cause, with ultimately about A$5,000 being given to an industry plight throughout the year, with the remainder being allocated to one or occasionally two charities at Christmas.

In addition, between A$15,000 and A$20,000 are raised at the annual Office Choice conference through an auction and raffle at its awards night. This is awarded to the Dealer of the Year to donate to their local charity of choice.

The selected children’s charity in 2016 was Foster Care Angels which provides assistance to foster children throughout Australia.

Says Donaghy: “To see the faces of the recipients when I give them the cheque is priceless. Last year Foster Care Angels thought they would receive A$10,000, so you can imagine the tears when I gave them A$80,000 – it’s an amount that funds them for a whole year.”

This year, the core beneficiary of the monies raised will go to the Mirabel Foundation, an organisation that assists children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental drug use. The charity supports children aged 0-17 years and works at restoring a child’s sense of self-worth, offering practical as well as emotional support.

“I believe the industry can feel very proud of its efforts – we have bought wheelchairs, paid for treatments and helped a whole variety of hardships. Hopefully we are only two years off hitting the magic one million dollar mark in terms of total funds raised,” Donaghy concludes.

SPOTLIGHT CSR in OP

Australian Office Products CHARITABLE FUND

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ADVERTORIAL

Rising TO THE

CHALLENGE October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there’s no better time to rise to the challenge of raising funds for this important cause, according to International Paper

www.opi.net

I

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nternational Paper has been producing HP Papers for 20 years. It’s a collaboration that over the years has spanned a wide range of programmes and products. Most recently, a new initiative has been launched in Europe which builds on the company’s core global citizenship goals. These primarily focus on mobilising its people, products and resources to address critical needs in the communities where its employees live and work.

Since June of this year, International Paper has been collaborating with the Susan G Komen Europe Network (KEN) – a partner organisation of the Susan G Komen organisation in the US (see ‘Where it all began’, page 39) – and launched the Pink Ream. This is a special edition of the HP Office Paper and has been created to support programmes that help save lives from breast cancer in Europe.

A contribution of €0.10 from the sale of each HP Office Pink Ream in Europe will be made to KEN during 2017, with a minimum guarantee of €100,000 ($120,000) being donated to the charity. Katarzyna Kozmik, HP Papers Brand Manager at International Paper, comments: “We are very excited about expanding the HP Papers Pink Ream campaign to Europe because we strongly believe in supporting people and organisations that are standing up for a good cause.”

OPI speaks to Jürgen Vanpraet, Marketing and Partnership Coordinator for the Susan G Komen Europe Network, about what KEN does and how initiatives such as International Paper’s Pink Ream play a vital role in advancing its cause and help to ultimately eliminate the breast cancer threat.

OPI: Please tell me a bit about KEN. Jürgen Vanpraet: With the support of Susan G Komen in the US, a network of European breast cancer organisations have come together to increase their impact in the fight against this terrible disease.

Our mission is to work collaboratively to reduce mortality from breast cancer and support women facing the disease. We focus on breast health awareness and targeted education; projects that identify and reduce barriers to care and services; and mission programmes supporting women with breast cancer.

Among many other things, we organise the Race for the Cure events in Europe.

This is the biggest event worldwide in the fight against breast cancer, where participants either run 5 km or walk 3 km. Each year, over 150,000 people run or walk together at a Race for the Cure event.

In 2018 most and in 2019 all Race for the Cure events will be held on the same day in the six European countries that currently take part – that’s 30 September in 2018 and 29 September in 2019.

Jürgen Vanpraet

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All the funds donated by International Paper in Europe will stay in the region OPI: What will the donations that International Paper generates be used for?

JV: As part of a European agreement, all the funds donated by International Paper in Europe will stay in the region, and will be used to support and aid European programmes that are focused on breast cancer research, awareness and prevention.

This year KEN has initiated a new healthy lifestyle campaign in six countries targeting children aged 12-18. The network’s goal is to reach a minimum of 100 schools per country and teach students that cancer prevention and healthy lifestyle habits begin in childhood and that healthy nutrition, physical activity, avoiding alcohol and smoking are crucial in disease prevention.

Most current campaigns are focused on adults and the goal of the Komen Europe Network is to fill this gap. We’re starting the campaign in Belgium, Italy, Greece, Romania, Bosnia and Georgia – very diverse countries with very different realities.

Another project that has been made possible by the support of IP is an award of €40,000 which will be granted to support innovative work in women’s health care in Europe, with a focus on technological innovation and/or corporate welfare and education.

All over Europe, different organisations are working and developing new methods to save lives from breast cancer. With this award, KEN will work towards stimulating collaboration and quicker development of best practices and innovative programmes to increase overall impact and ultimately save more lives. While KEN and its member organisations focus on breast cancer, they also understand the importance of women’s health care in general and its impact on survivorship.

Stimulating innovation in the area of women’s health in general and more specifically for breast cancer in Europe remains an important goal. Health care systems have been evolving but at very different speeds and rates in each country.

ADVERTORIAL International Paper

OPI: Specifically for Europe, what is the cancer threat we’re looking at?

JV: Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death for women over 35. Nearly 500,000 women a year are diagnosed and we lose over 140,000 to this disease.

THE RESELLER’S VOICE Office Depot was International Paper’s first distributor that joined the HP Papers Pink Ream sales campaign in June through the Office Depot and Viking channels in all the European countries where it has a presence.

Alexander Steffl, Depot’s EU Product Manager of Paper, Labels & Envelopes, says of the initiative: “Office Depot has been supporting the Pink Ream campaign in the US from the very beginning and we knew we wanted to be involved in it in Europe too. This is not only a campaign that is wholly endorsed by our company, but it is also a topic that is close to the hearts of our customers.”

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN…

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breast cancer deaths by 50% in the US by 2026. It was founded by Nancy Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G Komen, she would end the disease that claimed Suzy’s life. That promise has become Komen’s remit to all people facing breast cancer – a mission to save lives by meeting the most critical needs in its communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and ultimately cure breast cancer.

Since its creation in 1982, the organisation has funded more than $920 million in research and provided approximately $2 billion in monies to screening, education, treatment and psychosocial support programmes serving millions of people in more than 30 countries worldwide.

Visit www.komen.org for more information.

Every 19 seconds, somewhere in the world someone is diagnosed with breast cancer Every 60 seconds, somewhere in the world a woman dies of breast cancer

October 2017

International Paper’s support of the Susan G Komen network has been long-standing in the US and Canada. Over the past decade, over $700,000 have been donated through HP multi-purpose Pink Ribbon reams towards the charity’s breast cancer research and its awareness campaigns, and over $50,000 are donated annually to the organisation.

As Brian Rabe, HP Papers Brand Manager in North America, says: “Over the years HP Papers Pink Ream has become the signature social campaign in North America, with our partners, employees and customers all participating in the Race for the Cure events.”

Susan G Komen is the largest breast cancer organisation in the world with the bold goal to reduce the current number of

49

BEHAVING in CYBERSPACE

HOW TO...

I

With all its advances and advantages, the era of digitisation has also brought an unsavoury side effect: cyberattacks.

In the first part of our How to… guide, Hend Ezzeddine highlights the key elements of cyber resilience

n 2016, US furniture giant Haworth released a white paper making the case for how sensor-embedded workspaces can lead to a higher-quality work environment. Sensors are utilised throughout the day to gather information around occupancy and variations in the cognitive and emotional state of employees. This set of data then serves as a baseline to improve workspace efficiency and employees’ productivity.

Designing for behavioural change has become a lucrative trend and one of the best assets that a company can possess. Chances are all of us are now using a certain app, device or gadget to help us follow through a new resolution. These products are conceived to trigger a positive behaviour such as eating healthier, being more productive or fighting a bad case of the Mondays.

Technology is now designed to get jobs done and humans are at the centre of that design.

www.opi.net

BETTER BEHAVIOUR The question is this: in the context of cybersecurity, can a behavioural-based approach lead to better defence mechanisms against cyberattacks?

According to leading industry and government reports, human error remains the main root cause of successful cyberattacks. In fact, 90% of data breaches are executed with information stolen from employees

50

who accidently give away their system ID and credentials to hackers.

While this is the most common form of human error, it doesn’t just stop at falling in the trap of spear phishing or social engineering. Other behaviours causing fatal data breaches relate to poor password management, unsafe surfing and general carelessness.

Human error is also a major issue in IT departments as illustrated by the latest Verizon data breach that happened in July: six million users had their data exposed due to a misconfigured security setting on a cloud server. Most often, IT security analysts cite long hours of work and unclear responsibilities and ownership as the main reasons for failing to comply with the protocols.

It is now an established fact that technology alone doesn’t prevent human error nor does it promote safe behaviours. This ‘human-incompatible’ way of approaching cyber resilience is the reason why successful cyberattacks are on the rise. In fact, more often than not, real attacks exploit psychology as much as the technology.

In most cases, hackers tap into the irrational decision-making process that users exhibit while prompted by a security warning. When they are trying to accomplish a task and run into such a warning message, they will ignore it or try to bypass it in less than two seconds. It’s essential for us to understand how and why users fail at protecting their data and the company’s assets they work for.

It’s not a lack of communication and training by employers to raise awareness of the dangers – there’s plenty of that. Instead, it seems we need a different cyber defence framework that is designed around the behaviour of people.

90% of data breaches are executed with information stolen from employees who accidentally give away their system ID and credentials to hackers

BALANCING ACT Cyber resilience is a balancing act between increasing secure and safe behaviours and reducing human error. Let’s start with a few misconceptions: • Cybersecurity is NOT a “nice to have” – it needs to be part of the company’s vision.

• Cybersecurity is NOT an IT function – it has to be embedded in all functions.

• Cybersecurity is NOT about losing data that can be restored – it’s about the damage to your shareholder value and reputation.

Once these misconceptions are out of the way and the correct mindset has been established, we can focus on designing a framework tailored around behavioural change that can drive stronger cyber resilience. There are five key elements to this: • Leadership commitment: Your C-suite has to signal to the organisation the importance of cybersecurity and commit to it financially and strategically. Signing off a cybersecurity budget is not enough to redirect employees’ behaviours. Leaders are expected to abide by the same compliance rules as anyone else and dedicate the time to understand the risks of a cyberattack. Since the 2013 Target cyberattack, the C-suite is now held accountable for protecting a company’s assets and maintaining customers’ and shareholders’ trust.

• Organisational structure: Your cybersecurity function needs to be fit for purpose to align with your overall business strategy while allowing for plenty of flexibility to proactively counteract and prevent future breaches. A direct line of communication between the chief information security officer and the CEO is key to stay informed and to react quickly in case of a breach.

Also, cyber defence should be separate from the regular running and maintenance of the IT department. When it comes to executing cyber

defence activities, roles and responsibilities have to be defined and distributed accordingly. This will help reduce errors within IT and ensure that cyber defence is executed on a regular basis as opposed to an add-on.

• Operating model: Your cybersecurity efforts need to be directed towards the rest of your organisation in a way that bridges the gap between the business and IT. A key indicator to a strong operating model is when everyone in the organisation knows what to do to enhance cyber resilience.

• Talent management: Your IT security workforce has to be well thought out in advance and recruited to acquire the skills and the human resources needed to achieve and maintain a state of cyber resilience. Advances in technologies will call out for a continuous sharpening of technical skills, but also of communication and management skills. IT and the business will need to work hand in hand to provide defence mechanisms that align with the overall strategy of the organisation.

• Culture: Your culture is a direct expression of your users’ behaviour inside and outside the workplace.

Achieving a state of cyber resilience must become second nature and not device dependent. When staff realise their personal data is at risk as much as their employer’s, they will take extra precaution whether they are working from home or from the office.

HOW TO... Cyberattacks

A behavioural-centric approach is helpful in the context of cybersecurity as it allows us to understand the way we really interact with technology, so we can more readily observe the human biases and be more aware of their influences on us.

Armed with that knowledge, behavioural change gives us the tools to get ahead of the most common human errors and redirect behaviours that are needed to foster cyber resilience.

Despite the continuous increase in technological spend, cyberattacks remain on the rise. It’s time to incorporate human behaviours into designing and executing cyber defence initiatives to achieve a stronger state of cyber resilience. Humans are a complex part of the organisation and cannot be controlled through technology. They can however become your best defence mechanisms if the technology is designed around their limitations.

As Cybersecurity Practice Director at change management consultancy Expressworks, Hend Ezzeddine has over ten years’ experience helping clients adopt and implement IT solutions. In the cybersecurity space, her work is primarily focused on the human element and leverages cognitive behaviours to reduce user errors and establish safer practices.

October 2017

Cyber resilience is a balancing act between increasing secure and safe behaviours and reducing human error

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Global 2018 The 7th Global Forum for senior executives from the business supplies industry and associated sectors

11 - 13 November 2018 Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile, Chicago For more information, email steve.hilleard@opi.net

www.opi.net/gf2018

ORGANISED BY Connecting the

business products world

EVENT

EPIC 2017: EPIC & ISSA/INTERCLEAN REVIEW

the best of both worlds

Dealer group members enjoyed a productive few days in Las Vegas at both the EPIC and ISSA/INTERCLEAN shows – by Andy Braithwaite

E

Business, sharing some of the findings of the OPI/ MWA research report Piranha Business: Investigating The Appeal Of Amazon Business before opening the session up to dealers, asking them how they compete with Amazon Business.

The forDealers, byDealers format is one that works well and generates more interaction than traditional presentations

Mike Maggio and Mike Gentile (l-r)

October 2017

PIC, the joint dealer group show organised

by Independent Stationers (IS) and TriMega, is now firmly established in the US office products event calendar.

There was an added bonus this year as EPIC was co-located in Las Vegas with the mega cleaning and hygiene show ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America, meaning that dealers were able to take in both events during the same trip away from the office.

First up was EPIC, held from 10-12 September at the prestigious Bellagio Resort and Casino. Attendance was slightly lower than expected as a result of some last minute cancellations due to hurricanes Harvey and Irma that had hit the states of Texas and Florida respectively shortly before and during the event. It did not dampen spirits, however, as delegates took full advantage of the many educational and networking opportunities that were on offer.

Following a welcome reception on the Sunday evening, dealers got down to work on Monday morning, first with their own dealer group meetings and discussions, and then with a series of educational sessions that continued the ‘forDealers, byDealers’ format which was introduced at EPIC in Nashville last year. This involved panels of carefully chosen dealers – helped by a specialist moderator – sharing ideas and best practices on a wide range of topics such as jan/san, marketing, EPIC Business Essentials, pricing, succession planning, millennials, print, furniture, and more.

OPI’s very own Steve Hilleard moderated the highly anticipated and well-attended seminar on Amazon

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EPIC & ISSA/INTERCLEAN EVENT www.opi.net 54

The forDealers, byDealers format is one that works well and generates more interaction than traditional presentations. This year, almost 60 dealers volunteered to take part in the panel discussions. This willingness to collaborate with other independents and share information, regardless of dealer group affiliation, is refreshing and encouraging.

The second day kicked off with a general session that was opened by TriMega President Mike Maggio and IS CEO Mike Gentile. They provided an update on the EPIContent product e-content initiative and the EPIC Business Essentials (EBE) national accounts programme.

Progress has been made on both fronts: the EPIContent supplier portal is up and running, with vendors adding product content that will enable dealers to expand the number of SKUs they are able to sell (see ‘EPIC Business Essentials on the up’ on page 55 for details of how EBE has turned a corner after a challenging 2016).

The general session also featured some inspirational success stories from dealers – one dealer in particular, Sandy Grodin from El Paso, Texas, had the audience cheering after revealing how he had prevented Amazon Business from winning the office supplies contract from his largest customer (see Grodin’s story on opi.net).

“These dealer vignettes were a highlight of the event for me,” Maggio told OPI. “Four dealers, four success stories that were all different; this points out the strength of the dealer community and the importance of that differentiator.”

In addition, the EPIC Partner of the Year award was presented during the general session, with office furniture vendor HON taking this year’s prize ahead of runners up 3M, Avery, Fellowes and Smead.

EPIC delegates also heard about the charitable work taking place in and around the event. On the Sunday, participants on the third annual Hike for Hope raised almost $10,000 for City of Hope and TriMega’s NEXT and ISSA’s YES young executive committees delivered boxes of goodies to a Las Vegas children’s hospital. EPIC trade show vendors, meanwhile, donated supplies to the Kids In Need Foundation (for more charitable initiatives in our industry, see page 46).

The rest of the day was devoted to the EPIC trade show which featured almost 150 vendor brands.

This expo has been much improved over the years, with a number of imaginative initiatives to ensure that dealers stay on the show floor throughout the day.

They have the option of one-on-one meetings with manufacturers, for example – known as EPIC Get Togethers – which have proved very productive.

There has also been a renewed emphasis on the expo being as much a buying show as a viewing one.

Whereas in the past, manufacturers may have had a month of special offers around EPIC, now it’s one-day offers only available to dealers that are in attendance.

“We encourage suppliers to be aggressive with their promotions and those I spoke to said the dollars ordered have gone up,” confirmed Maggio.

I remember coming to ISSA/ INTERCLEAN for the first time five years ago and the vendors didn’t want to give me the time of day DEALERS HEAD TO ISSA/INTERCLEAN Following the conclusion of EPIC, dealers were able to head over to the Las Vegas Convention Center for ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America.

“I remember coming to ISSA/INTERCLEAN for the first time five years ago and the vendors didn’t want to give me the time of day,” recalls Gentile. “They had no idea who IS was or what office products dealers were doing there. Now it is totally different.”

Gentile’s words nicely sum up the changes that have taken place between the traditional office products and jan/san distribution channels over the past few years, so much so that EPIC 2017 was timed to coincide with the ISSA trade show.

Disappointingly, this did not lead to an uptick in the number of dealers attending EPIC, but many of those that did certainly took advantage by visiting the ISSA show. This was facilitated by ISSA hosting a special introductory briefing and tour of the show for attendees visiting the cleaning industry event for the first time.

For IS’s Director of Merchandising Mike Foster ISSA/INTERCLEAN is a chance to meet with existing and potential suppliers as the dealer group ramps up its jan/san capabilities, in particular with its new strategic alliance with Afflink (see OPI September 2017, page 29) and a programme with wholesaler RJ Schinner for the distribution of products, including Afflink private label products.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY EPIC 2018 will take place 15-17 October in New Orleans.

ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America 2018 will take place 29 October-1 November in Dallas.

EVENT EPIC & ISSA/INTERCLEAN

TriMega’s jan/san committee

TriMega’s VP of Purchasing Tom Hoffmann was also at ISSA/INTERCLEAN with the dealer group’s jan/san committee. “With the co-sponsorship this year between EPIC and ISSA, I think this was a great opportunity for many more dealers to walk the show and see the enormity of opportunities the jan/san industry has to offer,” Hoffmann told OPI. “Hopefully, it has opened more dealers’ eyes about the need for a high level of commitment within their dealerships and about what it takes to be successful in this arena – including a reinforcement of the message that it is absolutely vital to have a jan/san specialist,” he added.

Raising eyebrows at this year’s ISSA event was the presence of Amazon Business, albeit in a small booth in an area reserved for first-time exhibitors. Speaking to OPI, the e-commerce giant confirmed that it was at the show mainly to encourage jan/san distributors to sign up to the Amazon Business platform as marketplace resellers.

For 2018, logistical issues mean that EPIC will not co-locate with ISSA/INTERCLEAN, but no one is ruling out the possibility of it happening again in the future; there is definitely the desire from both IS and TriMega to develop closer ties with ISSA and the jan/ san world in general.

EPIC BUSINESS ESSENTIALS ON THE UP 12 months ago, the future appeared somewhat uncertain for EPIC Business Essentials (EBE), the national accounts joint venture run by Independent Stationers (IS) and TriMega, as it struggled to achieve sufficient scale. The picture is quite different now, an enthusiastic Grady Taylor – EBE’s Managing Director – told OPI at EPIC 2017, confirming that both dealer groups are firmly committed to continuing with the programme.

Sales are up in the double digits, the organisation is profitable and Taylor fully expects results to be even better in the second half of the year. He puts this down, in part, to EBE having more opportunities with private sector commercial accounts as purchasing managers look for alternatives to the traditional big-box suppliers.

It had hoped to announce the award of a major seven-figure contract win at the EPIC show; that was not to be, but news of the award is still expected to be imminent.

Currently, about 240 IS and TriMega dealers are enrolled on the EBE programme, giving the initiative a healthy national coverage. This has been important for some accounts, explained Taylor, especially with customers located in rural areas where the big-box suppliers don’t normally have much of a presence.

There have also been some recent developments with EBE’s Order Point e-commerce system, said Taylor. These include additional software that improves available content and adapts to dealers’ own systems, and more access to some of the customer service functions of Order Point. The former is a step to emulate the single database that the big boxes have while the latter enables dealers to handle more of the customer service, which is something they are keen to do.

Grady Taylor on the progress of EPIC Business Essentials

[EBE] sales are up in the double digits October 2017

Winning in the commercial space is important for EBE as contract fees are usually lower than with cooperative contracts such as National IPA – which has just been renewed – and group purchasing organisations where, for example, EBE members can ‘piggyback’ on the healthcare contract held by independent dealer FriendsOffice.

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5 MINUTES WITH...

Jeffrey James (JJ) Köhler CAREER Q&A Describe your current job.

I am in charge of Newell Brands’ international key accounts managed within the EMEA territory.

I work with a strong team of local key account managers and am supported by a dedicated marketing team for major clients across the region, representing well-known brands such as Dymo, Rubbermaid, Parker, Paper Mate, Waterman and Sharpie.

Best way to spend the weekend?

BBQ, beer and watching football.

What scares you?

Not much, but I do everything possible to ensure that my family stays healthy.

What was your last online search?

Summer holiday 2018.

Describe yourself in one word?

FunnyLoyalHardworkingFamilyFirst.

What was the last gift you gave someone?

Oops. This is a nice reminder that I should buy some flowers for my wife!

What words do you use the most?

Please and thank you.

Favourite music genre?

Techno music.

What’s your life philosophy?

Work hard, play hard.

What would you cook for a dinner party?

I’m not sure the party would be a success if I cooked – most probably not.

What makes you happy?

When my family is doing well, I am doing well. Happy wife = happy life. J

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Facebook. I rarely post anything, but I find it amusing when people share their whole life with the entire world.

www.opi.net

Your favourite gadget?

My iPhone.

What do you do in your spare time?

As I am often travelling during the week, I have absolutely no say when it comes to the family diary. I just do as I’m told. My daughter’s hobby is dancing, therefore we spend a lot of weekends travelling to tournaments across Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Best compliment you’ve ever received?

In business: “Thanks for your support and your fairness, you have helped me develop to the next level.” It came from a former team member.

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What’s your favourite place to visit in your homeland Germany?

Hamburg. It’s a fantastic city. I like the harbour, in particular the Speicherstadt, which is a historic warehouse district where the buildings stand on timber-pile foundations. I also enjoy visiting the lake known as the Binnenalster, plus there are many more great locations.

If you weren’t doing your present job, what would you like to be doing?

Taxi driver. I like driving cars, I like talking to people and you have flexible working hours.

Sounds perfect.

Best moment in your career?

Fortunately, there is not just one. I always have good moments if I can fulfil expectations from Newell and my customers.

What do you like best about the office products industry?

It´s all about the people. Just the same as every industry, we have vendors, customers and competitors, each with their own objectives. But in my experience, we all cooperate in a respectful and responsible manner. I also enjoy the multiple fairs, summits, OPI Forums and Partnership events. And of course the entire OPI team – Janet Bell, is this enough for the free drink you have promised me?

What personal item do you have on your work desk?

A small, unopened bottle of junmai ginjo-shu sake.

FINAL WORD

GREAT leadership:

what does it take?

I

’ve recently had the great honour of winning the Industry Achievement award at the North American Office Products Awards (see NAOPA review, OPI September 2017, page 48). One of the criteria for winning this award is great leadership I was told.

So when asked to define what makes a good leader I came up with a whole host of answers: being able to execute a solid business plan with benchmarks to assure systems run nearly autonomously; motivating associates; collaboration (the 2017 business buzzword). Then it struck me that words alone don’t make a good leader, nor does a well-executed business plan equate to being the type of person people want to follow. It’s more than that.

www.opi.net

LEADERSHIP JOURNEY Trust is the root of all sustainable relationships, from business to pleasure – that’s where it starts. Feedback and confidence from followers empower a leader.

Building trust, influencing actions of others for the good of the whole is what great leaders do, but becoming a great leader, I believe, is a work in progress.

Leaders are keen listeners with bright minds that like solving puzzles or riddles. People who see opportunities or a void that needs to be filled, and feel compelled to find answers to solve the problem, to fill the gap. These types find challenges energising rather than stressful. Problem-solving elevates their feeling of wellness as opposed to undermining it.

But it takes more than an appetite for learning and solving problems. A leader sees success in teamwork and knows the limits of self. This person strives to build teams that are willing to support well-defined goals based on mutual respect and open communication, and has the power – the duty even – to implement change.

Good leaders provide the environment and the framework for people to succeed. They lead by

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example, share joint responsibility to win, give people tools to empower their growth and contributions, and recognise and celebrate the success of the team or individuals.

Natural leaders enjoy people and the sharing of knowledge, build consensus, see the glass half full, and remain focused on the prize while distractions flare up and diversions take place. Leaders dismiss whining and instil winning. Confidence leads people; experience teaches confidence.

A leader must, in a way, be a storyteller who engages others for the betterment of all. This, in my opinion, is the most important part: honesty and ethics. Without the underlying concern for making things better for the whole, there is no benefit, no reward, no improvement, no leading.

VISION AND BELIEFS Great leaders have a clear vision and strong beliefs; they paint a picture we want to be a part of. This core message, this belief (the plan) and path (the opportunity) must pass a sound test to make the circle whole. For people to move from trust to actually follow they need to buy in and that happens only when the notes ring clear and true. In other words, people need the sum of all the parts to build trust and follow.

One example of exemplary business leadership today is the success story of Costco Wholesale. Starting with one warehouse in 1983 in Seattle, Costco’s co-founders, Jeff Brotman and Jim Senegal’s vision was to build a profitable company, charging less to customers, yielding margins 50% lower than the competition, while providing higher wages and benefits in a fun and healthy work environment for employees.

Costco had a clear message, took care of its team, built trust and hired from within for promotions. Despite competing in one of the toughest businesses on the planet, despite criticism from Wall Street and investor advisors, Costco never strayed from its belief that a company can be both profitable and a generous employer. Today Costco is 776 stores strong with 2016 revenues approaching $119 billion.

I believe great leaders feel compelled to benefit the well-being of the community and enjoy the process of leading as much as the end results.

Al Lynden, former owner and President, Chuckals

NEXT ISSUE Big Interview Mike Maggio, President & Ian Wist, Chairman, TriMega Purchasing Association Hot Topic The future of wholesaling How To...

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