OPI Magazine 285 December/January 2019 A

BIG INTERVIEW

Connecting the

business products world

Dolph Westerbos, Staples Solutions December/January 2019

INSIDE THIS ISSUE l What next for ADVEO? l Depot’s ‘federation’ move l GSA schedule overhaul l SOTI preview

l Living with Amazon Business l Staff well-being in the spotlight l EOPA 2019 shortlist revealed

Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING Special Issue

CONTENTS 16 Big Interview To be a customer-centric and profitable operator – that’s Dolph Westerbos’ aim 22 Hot Topic Amazon Business: friend or foe for OP resellers?

39 Research A preview of The State of the OP Industry 2018-19 40 Vendor Profile Pilot Corporation of America looks at the art of writing 44 Preview: Paperworld What’s coming up at Paperworld 2019?

47 Review: Climb of Life Record fundraising year for the 2018 Climb of Life 48 Review: Global Forum OP leaders gather against a backdrop of industry change

Big Interview: Dolph Westerbos, Staples Solutions

In February 2017, the European business of Staples Inc was acquired by New York-based private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. What followed was a period of reshuffling, readjustment and refocusing for what is now known as Staples Solutions. Eight months Issue as CEO. He later Dolph Westerbos joinedSpecial the reseller HEALTH & brought a fresh angle to the company, questioning WELL-BEING established systems and procedures, and hailing a new transformative and much more customer-centric outlook.

HOT TOPIC: CREATIVE DISRUPTION

VENDOR SPECIAL

26 Category Update Well-being in the workplace – everybody benefits

Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING

32 Feature The juxtaposition of lighting and wellness

34 Case Studies Two companies illustrate how they’re putting staff first 36 How to... ...crack the wellness ergonomic design code

Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL

50 Generation Game Scott Castle

REGULARS

Special Issue

5 Comment

December/January 2019

Quite frankly, dealers can’t replicate the Amazon product and service model. Trying to ‘out-Amazon Amazon’ is a losing proposition. That being said, it’s critical to invest in improved technology to more effectively interact with customers.

Independent dealers need to redeploy their capital resources from traditional sales expenses to a balanced sales and technology approach.

However, [...] most small independents won’t have the necessary resources and must depend on their wholesaler partner to provide these. If I were advising wholesalers, I would suggest bringing a technology solution to their dealer customers, giving them Issue Special state-of-the-art mobile ordering platforms, high-resolution product imaging, easy-to-understand product descriptions, track-and-trace shipping technology, and an easy-to-use 3P sourcing solution. Stop focusing on product price and give dealers tools that will allow them to grow and retain clients.

Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING

VENDOR SPECIAL

6 News

52 5 minutes with...

Gavin Ward 54 Final Word Christa Furter

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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 Lily Elden +44 (0)20 7841 2952 lily.elden@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 Chief Commercial Officer Chris Exner +44 (0)7973 186801 chris.exner@opi.net Head of Media Sales Chris Turness +44 (0)7872 684746 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

his is the second time that we’re publishing a Health and Well-being Special in OPI and there’s no sign of interest in this sector waning. Indeed, momentum, as Michelle Sturman says, is still building (see page 26). Great news for manufacturers and resellers that are tapping into this category and maximising the many and varied sales opportunities. And the product possibilities are becoming ever broader. While ergonomic chairs and sit-stand desks are fast becoming the norm, there are plenty more sub-categories, lighting being one of the emerging ones (see page 32).

However, ‘healthy’ products are just a small fragment of the total ‘employee happiness’ picture. The onus on employers to provide an all-round fulfilling, enjoyable and healthy workplace is becoming more important than ever, not just from a productivity perspective, but very much from the viewpoint of attracting and retaining quality staff.

It could be argued that only happy staff result in happy customers, whoever they may be It could be argued that only happy staff result in happy customers, whoever they may be. Our Case Study candidates (see page 34) are acutely aware of this, as is our Big Interviewee Dolph Westerbos (see page 16), although customer satisfaction remains very much at the top of Staples Solutions’ agenda.

In fact, the customer, certainly in our industry, still appears to tower head and shoulders above everything else. As Christa Furter recalls (page 54), 20 years ago it was Viking that dazzled with ‘fanatical’ customer service; today, customer ‘obsession’ is Amazon’s mantra. For more on Amazon Business and its impact on our industry, check out our Hot Topic (see page 22).

Whatever anybody thinks of the online giant – and I appreciate the competitive debates and some of the controversy surrounding its model and certain practices – there’s no doubt in my mind that Amazon has got its customer focus and user-friendly shopping experience down to a tee. Never more so than during the Christmas period when busy work schedules and the need to be ultra-organised at home collide. And Amazon Prime has been a lifesaver for many I’m sure.

On that note, I wish all OPI readers a very happy festive season and a successful – and healthy – 2019. It will be an interesting year for HEIKE DIECKMANN, EDITOR many operators, there’s no doubt about that!

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December/January 2019

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 (0)7718 660249 debbie.garrand@opi.net

T

Who comes first – customer or staff?

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NEWS

Analysis:

ADVEO – who’s picking up the pieces?

Wholesaler’s fate set to be decided as OPI goes to press The future of the constituent parts of European wholesaler ADVEO should be clearer by the time you read this issue of OPI. An announcement on the outcome of the latest round of negotiations, including the prospect of the company going into administration, was expected at any time as we went to press in mid-December.

On 13 November, ADVEO filed a document with the Spanish stock market announcing that it had entered into a state of voluntary insolvency after its lending consortium demanded the early maturity of loans totalling €172.5 million ($198 million) and the liquidity of the debt. An ADVEO spokesperson quickly confirmed that the company had not declared bankruptcy and that this move had been made as a protective measure to ensure it could continue trading while the process to appoint an administrator took place.

Then, at the ADVEO World event that took place in Paris at the end of November, company executives confirmed that discussions were taking place with potential investors for all or parts of the group. In addition, the wholesaler has initiated further restructuring actions at its loss-making German and Spanish subsidiaries.

Suppliers and customers alike are now waiting to learn the outcome of the latest round of negotiations. The consensus is that ADVEO will be broken up as it would appear unlikely another

investor would step in to acquire the whole of the debt-ridden business following the failure of Staples Solutions and ADVEO’s lenders to reach an agreement a few weeks ago (see also Big Interview, page 16).

OPI sources indicate that ADVEO’s subsidiaries in France, Italy and Benelux are operating at “acceptable” service levels, and there is a degree of optimism in the trade that these businesses will continue to exist, either as standalone entities with new owners or after merging with other market players – national or pan-European.

In Italy, there is widespread speculation that Austria-based multichannel operator PBS Holding could make a move for ADVEO’s assets in the country. PBS has just entered the Italian market and is being led by former ADVEO Managing Director Fabrizio Pistoni. The company has already met with suppliers outlining commercial plans for early 2019, OPI understands, but at the time of writing it did not possess its own distribution network or delivery capabilities.

As for Germany and Spain, their futures are less clear. ADVEO Spain’s total sales in the third quarter sunk to below €5 million while ADVEO Germany was forced to seek creditor protection in November as its cash position became unsustainable.

Analysis:

Wight makes Depot switch

rs tion ails

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Long-time SP Richards executive set to lead Office Depot’s dealer acquisition push

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Much has been made of the big boxes snapping up independent dealers in the US. But it was a high-profile executive switch that caught people’s attention at the end of November after it was confirmed that SP Richards (SPR) SVP Bryan Wight had joined Office Depot as SVP of Business Solutions Division Sales in charge of what the reseller calls its “federation” strategy.

Wight had been with SPR for 14 years, most recently in an SVP role that saw him leading the wholesaler’s core business and having oversight of all sales, distribution, pricing, marketing and

corporate communications functions. His move took many in the industry by surprise and was described as “disappointing” in some circles, as Wight had done much to further the cause of independent dealers and was seen as a driving force behind SPR’s standalone strategy following its failed merger with Essendant in 2018.

Indeed, Wight had become the ‘face’ of SPR to many in the independent dealer channel (IDC) following his step up to the SVP role in January 2018 and his hosting of the ABC show that, since the event’s inception, had been handled by now retired Jim O’Brien.

Now Wight will be using his IDC experience to further Office Depot’s federation strategy of acquiring dealers, but then letting them operate virtually independently under the reseller’s umbrella. The company has acquired a number of dealers in this way over the past 15 months, including Complete Office Solutions, Garvey’s and, most recently, COS Business Products & Interiors.

Office Depot declined to comment on Wight’s appointment, including on whether it signalled an acceleration of its dealer acquisition strategy.

NEWS

9

9 EOPA 2019 shortlist announced A panel of independent industry experts has decided the shortlist for the 2019 European Office Products Awards (EOPA) during the judging meeting which took place in Madrid, Spain, in early December.

Now in their 18th year, the EOPA are firmly established as the ultimate accolade for business supplies companies operating in Europe. As has become customary, the discussions among the judging panel are always lively, with categories, nominations and entries often fiercely debated.

The winners of the ten categories will be announced at a celebration Gala Dinner on 5 March 2019 at the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam, Netherlands, during the OPI Partnership event.

The EOPA shortlist is:

Product of the Year • AJ Products – Standing Table • Hamelin – Scribzee • HP – Sprocket Photo Printer • Samsung – Flip Interactive Display WMH Series 55 • Steppie – Balance Board

Wholesaler of the Year • Corwell • Exertis Supplies • JGBM • PBS Holding

Vendor of the Year • ACCO Brands • Essity • Fellowes Brands • Papyrus

Marketing Campaign of the Year • ACCO Brands – Rexel GDPR campaign • Avery – Every label tells a story • Durable – Duraframe TV campaign • Fellowes Brands – Sensible steps for GDPR with Fellowes Brands • ZenOffice – What does print mean to your business?

Reseller of the Year – over €100 million • Amazon • Böttcher • Bureau Vallée • Gruppo Buffetti

Initiative of the Year • BIC – Ubicuity: The ‘write’ kind of bench/ Developing ‘virtuous circles’ • Brother International Europe – All in Box • Fellowes Brands – GIVE Program • JGBM – TechStuff! Cloud-based ‘managed’ e-catalogue • Office Friendly – Pioneer e-learning platform • RTC Proffice Experience – Feel Green, Choose Double A

Young Executive of the Year • Scott Castle, VOW • Margaux Lefaucheux, HK Wentworth • Katie Metcalfe, Office Friendly Professional of the Year & Industry Achievement No shortlist, the winners of these awards will be announced on the night For more information and to book your place at this special Gala Dinner – open to anyone, not just attendees of OPI Partnership – please visit www.opi.net/eopa2019.

Video of the Year • Brother International Europe – VC-500W full-colour compact label printer with ZINK Zero Ink Technology • HP Sprocket Photo Printer • Pilot Pen Europe – #PILOTART Canelle Design • Samsung – Flip Interactive Display WMH Series 55 • ZenOffice – ZenOffice Print & Promotion: Take a walk with our Print Specialist, Chris

There have been more senior-level departures at Staples Inc. The execs to leave are President North American Retail Steve Matyas, and Staples Business Advantage Canada President Mike Zahra.

Company veteran Matyas joined Staples in 1991 when he became the first employee at Business Depot in Canada, which at the time was a joint venture between Staples and a number of investors. Matyas went on to become President of Staples Canada,

a role he held for 16 years before leading the whole of Staples’ retail business in North America from 2016.

Zahra joined Corporate Express Canada in 2002, becoming President in 2007, and then President of Staples Business Advantage Canada in 2008 following Staples’ acquisition of Corporate Express. In a statement to OPI, Staples Inc confirmed that both executives are leaving but declined to provide further details.

December/January 2019

Senior executives depart Staples Inc

7

NEWS

Lawson to retire from BOSS Philip Lawson will retire as CEO of UK trade association BOSS Federation in 2019.

Lawson joined BOSS in June 2016 from UK reseller OfficeTeam where he held various senior management roles. He has gained over 30 years of industry experience in sales, marketing and purchasing positions at leading OP companies, including Dudley Stationery and UK Paper.

The BOSS board is looking for an experienced leader with a background in sales and marketing to become the new CEO.

Papedis expands offering

Swiss office products wholesaler Papedis has expanded its assortment with the acquisition of local distributor Roost.

The addition of Roost – which also includes the Swiss distribution of ONLINE Schreibgeräte – will lead to a new ‘creative and fantasy’ division at Papedis which will complement the existing office supplies, ink and toner, technology and jan/san offerings. Papedis said it made the move as customers are increasingly looking for a one-stop-shop solution from suppliers.

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GSA to overhaul federal acquisition schedules

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The US General Services Administration (GSA) has announced a major restructuring of its Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) that enable suppliers to do business with federal, state and local governments.

The GSA has said it will consolidate the current number of 24 MAS – which account for around $31 billion in annual spend – into one single schedule for products and services. The MAS traditionally associated with office supplies is Schedule 75. This was reopened to new applicants in early 2018 after being closed – controversially – for several years as the GSA focused on its strategic sourcing initiative. Other MAS include Schedule 73 (janitorial and cleaning products and services) and Schedule 71 (furniture).

An Industry Day that was set to take place on 12 December as OPI went to press was expected to include an update on the GSA’s e-commerce marketplace initiative which aims to open up federal purchasing to commercially available online marketplaces. Whether the changes to the MAS programme and the e-commerce marketplace are linked is not clear. However, one major concern with the online marketplace concept has been the ability to achieve and monitor supplier and product compliance.

One possible solution could be to require MAS certification for suppliers to be able to sell on the marketplace solutions that are selected. By doing that, the responsibility for compliance would lie with the suppliers, and the marketplace providers would just need to ensure that they were valid MAS holders – something that, from a technology perspective, would not be hard to achieve.

Simplifying the MAS application and management processes for suppliers, and making it easier for federal buyers to select vendors, would appear to make sense, both for online marketplaces and other purchasing channels.

IN BRIEF Depot invests in Viking Office Depot Europe has launched a new UK website for its B2B delivery business Viking. The website is part of a company-wide investment in e-commerce across its European businesses.

Geruson leaves Lexmark Lexmark CEO Richard Geruson has resigned from the company. While the IT vendor looks for a successor, it will be led by CTO Allen Waugerman, Chief Legal Officer Brent Lambert, and CFO Vivian Liu. Dealer consolidation in California US-based workplace solutions provider Give Something Back (GSB) has merged with Blaisdell’s Business Products. GSB will move its headquarters to Blaisdell’s corporate office in Oakland, California.

New CEO for Diversey US-based jan/san vendor Diversey has announced that Mark Burgess will take over as CEO from Dr Ilham Kadri. He joins the company from packaging manufacturer Signode Industrial Group where he was also CEO. OfficeFleet recognised for green deliveries UK-based office products wholesaler Spicers has been awarded Gold Fleet status by Masternaut for its last mile delivery option OfficeFleet. The Gold Fleet emissions reduction programme rewards companies that make efforts to reduce their CO2 output.

PBS Network continues European expansion Germany-based e-commerce and data specialist firm PBS Network has acquired the assets of Netherlands-based product data hub start-up CommerceFeeds. The deal is the second in Europe for PBS Network this year, after it formed a partnership with multichannel office supplies operator Quantore.

Uni-ball names new President Mitsubishi Pencil has named Mike Parker as President of its new Uni-ball division for North America. Parker has extensive industry experience, including 16 years at Fellowes Brands, most recently as President from 2015-2017.

Newell offloads two more businesses As part of its ‘Accelerated Transformation Plan’ Newell Brands is to sell academic and achievement products manufacturer Jostens and fishing outdoor recreational goods vendor Pure Fishing.

Konica Minolta adds to leadership Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA has named Mark Simons as new SVP Strategic Alliances. He has 35 years of experience in the personal and mobile computer industry.

Warehouse Stationery streamlines operations New Zealand-based Warehouse Group has revealed its strategy to combat international e-commerce players such as Kmart, Alibaba and Amazon. Warehouse Group CEO Nick Grayston said that despite the increased competition, the company is not for sale and aims to refocus its business to contend with global retailers.

The firm faced operational challenges in the first half of 2018 with the integration of Warehouse Stationery and sister company, ‘essential items’ retailer The Warehouse. However, through considerable time and resources, issues that included systems and process difficulties, have now been rectified.

The operator said that Warehouse Stationery sales are now on track to improve throughout 2019, and it will continue to invest in building competent fulfilment capability and improving operations systems across all of its businesses.

Staples promotes Baldrey Staples Solutions has broadened Robert Baldrey’s role at the company, promoting him to VP Northern Region where he will be responsible for the €500 million ($564.1 million) area consisting of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the UK. Baldrey joined the reseller in March 2017 as Managing Director of Staples Solutions’ operations in the UK and Ireland. He was tasked with turning around the business in the region, following the acquisition of the European business of Staples Inc by private equity firm Cerberus.

NEWS

ECi snaps up Print Audit

BIRD FEED

US-based office products technology provider ECi Software Solutions has expanded its foothold in the device remote monitoring market through the purchase of Print Audit. Print management solutions business Print Audit helps dealers remotely manage printer fleets as well as enable organisations to monitor and control user printing behaviour.

The product suite includes tools for managed print services (MPS), device data collection and document management for both dealers and users. The company will join the Field Service Division, adding strong print rule and document management capabilities to ECi’s own software offerings.

The acquisition is the fourth for the business in 2018, which also included the purchase of Print Audit rival PrintFleet in January. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Ryman bucks the trend

As UK stationery and office products retailer Ryman celebrated 125 years in business, owner Theo Paphitis revealed to OPI how the company is defying the high street downturn. The key to Ryman’s longevity, according to Paphitis, is ensuring that everything the retailer does is appropriate to its location and its client base, and understanding their requirements.

He also said that in the 24 years he has owned Ryman, customer needs have changed and the company has always adapted to new requirements. With over 200 retail outlets across the UK, Ryman is bucking the current high street trend. However, the intention is not to open a lot of new stores, but instead fill in gaps where there is demand and the right site can be found.

Ryman has also successfully made the transition into a multichannel operator, offering click-and-collect, physical stores or next-day delivery for both private consumers and B2B customers. For the year ended April 2017, the online business had increased almost 25%. But while e-commerce continues to grow, there’s still stability within the physical retail business.

@StaplesBizCan A very big thank you to our team in Edmonton for supporting their local Food Bank. Over 650 boxes were started, packaged and prepared!! The food bank supports over 25,000 local people in a month. Congrats team! #LifeatSBA #givingback

@EncoreEnvelopes Our partnership with @TwoSidesUK means we can promote the #sustainable nature of paper and debunk the #environmental misconceptions around paper waste. #envelopes #NationalTreeWeek

@ZenOffice We’ve been busy filling shoe boxes with Christmas goodies for @MustardTreeMCR, here are Hayley and Paul dropping off Zen’s donation of 40 boxes and workwear. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed.

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$1.2 TRILLION

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WORLDWIDE SPENDING ON INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) TECHNOLOGIES IN 2022

$4.2 TRILLION L N

VALUE OF THE GLOBAL WELLNESS ECONOMY N IN 2017

@HSMUKLtd Did you know... 2018’s most popular word has been crowned ‘single-use’ according to Collins’ Word of the Year, popularised by the call to ban materials damaging the #environment and the urge to recycle waste materials.

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IN BRIEF

The UK office products industry celebrated excellence at the 2018 BOSS Awards ceremony which took place at the end of November at the Tower Guoman Hotel in London. The Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Hamelin Brands UK Managing Director Philip Beer by the company’s CEO Eric Joan. The other winners were:

Exertis strengthens international team Technology distributor Exertis has expanded its international division. As Head of Transformation, Chris Bale will be responsible for leading operations and financial practices across Europe.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Brand Manufacturer of the Year – BIC UK Dealer Excellence Award (under £5 million in revenues) – Citrus Office Group Dealer Excellence Award (over £5 million in revenues) – Commercial Group eBusiness Award – Choice Stationery Supplies Initiative of the Year – Avery UK: Every label tells a story New Product of the Year – BIC UK: 4 Colours 3+1 Multi Function Publication of the Year – Marketing SPA with Edge Office Service Provider of the Year – Office Power Sustainable Leadership Award – Commercial Group Emerging Professional of the Year – Emily Jones, Fellowes UK Professional of the Year – Julie Hawley, Office Friendly Unsung Hero Awards – Marie Challis (Antalis), Robert Carr (EVO Group), John Simpson (Hamelin Brands), Robert Jenkins (Integra Business Solutions), Pentel UK Team, Adele Griffiths (SPOT), Barry Roach (Trodat)

NEWS

BOSS announces 2018 award winners

Böttcher adds to senior management Germany-based online reseller Böttcher has added to its board with the appointment of Daniel Frankenberg, who worked for pen manufacturer Pelikan for over 20 years. He is tasked with helping the company reach a mid-term annual sales goal of €500,000 ($564,000).

Alibaba expands Shopping Festival Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba reported that 230 countries and regions completed transactions during its annual 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. It generated RMB213.5 billion ($30.8 billion) of gross merchandise volume, an increase of 27% on the prior year.

Tech Data appoints new VP US-based IT distributor Tech Data has named Tim Hannon as its VP of Public Sector Solutions. Hannon has 35 years of experience in IT sales, most recently as President as CIS Secure Computing.

OfficeMax launches e-waste programme

Office products reseller OfficeMax has partnered with the Australia and New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP) to provide a free e-waste initiative – the TechCollect programme.

TechCollect will include 16 OfficeMax store locations throughout New Zealand where consumers can drop off unwanted electronics including computers, printers and tablets. Licensed e-waste recycler Croxley Recycling will collect and process the waste, ensuring regulatory requirements are met.

Southern hemisphere loses two OP stalwarts

ASL hits tenth acquisition UK managed print services provider ASL Group has acquired printer and photocopier supplier Geerings Digital. The deal marks ASL’s tenth acquisition in nine years and will boost the company’s sales to £27 million ($34.3 million).

Another acquisition for Visual Edge US-based office and IT solutions business Visual Edge has expanded its foothold in Texas with the purchase of office equipment provider Zeno Imaging. The purchase is the latest in a string for Visual Edge, taking its total to over 30.

BIC stationery factory to close BIC may close its Vannes manufacturing plant in France following the proposed divestiture of its water sports division. The company would then transfer its stationery manufacturing to its sites in Marne la Vallée, France, and Bizerte, Tunisia.

December/January 2019

OPI is very saddened to report that industry veterans Roger Henry and Robert Slavin have passed away. Roger died on 27 October 2018 after a long and courageous fight against cancer, while Robert passed away on 11 November.

Roger enjoyed a lengthy career in the business supplies industry as Managing Director of family-owned OP manufacturer Arnos Australia. A familiar face at OPI conferences and other industry events, he was instrumental in establishing Arnos brands in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Robert, meanwhile, was founder and CEO of Bantex South Africa and a giant in the country’s stationery industry. His leadership and dedication to the company over his many years at the helm will be cherished by all employees at Bantex.

MPSA welcomes new President The Managed Print Service Association has appointed Tawnya Stone as its first female President. Stone is VP of Strategic Technology for GreatAmerica Financial Services, as well as an executive council member of CompTIA Technology Lifecycle Services Community.

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NEWS

Brother to expand partnerships Business technology solutions vendor Brother UK has said its strategy for 2019 is to transform into a service-orientated operator. Throughout 2018, the company’s managed print services (MPS) business continued to grow; it now has a large installed base and a 90% success rate in contract renewal with partners.

Talking to OPI, Brother UK Managing Director Phil Jones said that the company is winning business for large enterprise firms that have more complex needs. In 2019, the vendor said it will entrench its position in the MPS market by working with existing partners to increase sales, as well as develop relationships with new resellers that have the capacity to deliver a wider range of scalable services and solutions.

WHO’S WHO IN OP

Top 100 new entry 2018: Richard Coulson, CEO, Complete Business Solutions Under the continued guidance of CEO Richard Coulson, 2018 has seen UK independent office supplies dealer Complete Business Solutions break the £120 million ($153 million) barrier.

Investment by private equity firm Abercross Holdings to the tune of £20 million in late 2017 has helped expedite Coulson’s strategic plan to build up the company over the next five years through organic growth and acquisitions. The reseller made four significant purchases in 2018: OP dealer Office Gold, IT and technical services company Simply Outsourced, managed services provider Anglo Office Group, and most recently, Irongate Group. The addition of these businesses takes Complete’s location portfolio to 21 across the UK. Complete has grown from £8 million in revenues in 2012 to reporting sales of £80 million at the end of 2017 before adding the latest acquisitions over the past few months, representing a phenomenal annual growth rate of 40%. Coulson expects to double sales by 2020.

Pilot reorganises European management

HP Inc reshuffles leadership team

Writing instruments manufacturer Pilot Corporation of Europe has announced a number of management changes following the departure of SVP Sales and Marketing Paul Phelan which will take effect 31 December 2018.

Phelan will be replaced by Urban Martell, while Martell’s current post as Managing Director of the Nordic subsidiary will be filled by Jan Olof Vegholm, who is being promoted from his role as Pilot Pen Nordic National Sales Manager.

Meanwhile at Pilot Pen France, Corporate Services Manager Patrick Forveille will take over as Managing Director from Hugues Chatelain. Retiring Chatelain has worked for Pilot since 2002 and made a valuable contribution to the development of the company, initially in Europe and then in France specifically.

HP Inc has appointed two new Presidents, one for its Americas and one for its Asia Pacific subsidiaries following Stephen Nigro’s retirement.

Nigro’s role of President 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing has been filled by Christoph Schell, who has held leadership roles at the company since 2014, most recently as President Americas.

Richard Bailey, meanwhile, has taken over Schell’s role, having worked for the company for over ten years. During this time, he held management roles in Asia Pacific, most recently as the region’s President. This position is now occupied by Tian Chon Ng who has become HP President Asia Pacific Region. He will be responsible for the go-to-market strategy and overall financial performance for the business across all products, services and markets.

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5.1% 12

PREDICTED CAGR OF THE NORTH AMERICAN MPS MARKET BETWEEN 2018-2026

Commercial ups environmental credentials UK-based business services specialist Commercial Group has been awarded The Planet Mark certification for continued efforts in reducing its carbon footprint.

In order to gain accreditation, a company must reduce its footprint year on year by a minimum of 2.5% through savings in energy, waste, water, travel and procurement. Commercial said it has been taking positive action to reduce emissions for nearly 12 years. It has moved from 73 tonnes of CO2 /£ million sales in 2006 to 20 tonnes of CO2 /£ million sales in 2017. It means that for every £1 million ($1.3 million) of revenues gained in 2017, it emitted 73% less carbon compared to 2006. This has been achieved through sustainable working practices including the introduction of hydrogen-fuelled fleets and the use of renewable energy.

Rebrand for CWG US imaging supplies and business machines distributor Carolina Wholesale Group (CWG) will combine its three distribution brands – Carolina Wholesale, Arlington Industries and Digitek – under the name Arlington from 1 January 2019.

CWG purchased Arlington Industries in 2004 and Digitek Computer Products (currently Digitek) in 2016. The businesses previously kept separate branding and workforces, but will now be merged under the new company name and become what it calls a ‘super distributor’ – providing an enhanced offering of solutions, services and programmes to resellers.

RTC extends jan/san portfolio

Office supplies reseller RTC Proffice has acquired fellow Romanian cleaning and hygiene products firm Paper Plus. The latter is a specialist in the away-from-home jan/san market with a strong geographical focus on the capital Bucharest and Ilfov. In 2017, it reported sales of €1.5 million ($1.7 million).

RTC said the deal fits with the company’s strategy to diversify its product portfolio and consolidates its supplier position for customers.

$11.7 $1 $ 11 1 1..7 7

billion b iilllllliio

WORLDWIDE SPENDING W ON BLOCKCHAIN SOLUTIONS IN 2022

BIG INTERVIEW

Shackles off, CUSTOMER

FIRST

Staples has always had a tough time in Europe.

Now independent, CEO Dolph Westerbos is determined to make the ‘new’ Staples Solutions a customer-centric and, finally, profitable operator

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n February 2017, the €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) European business of Staples Inc, at the time the largest OP player in the world, was acquired by New York-based private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. What followed was a period of reshuffling, readjustment and refocusing for what is now known as Staples Solutions.

Eight months later, on 1 November 2017, Dolph Westerbos joined the reseller as CEO. A new face in the industry, Westerbos brought a fresh angle to Staples, questioning established systems and procedures and hailing a new, transformative and much more customer-centric outlook.

OPI’s Steve Hilleard met Westerbos at Staples Solutions’ European headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in early November to find out how – not unlike chief competitor Office Depot – the company has removed the shackles of its US parent, giving it the flexibility to be more nimble, customer-centric and, importantly, successful.

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OPI: Let’s start with a short Dolph Westerbos résumé.

Dolph Westerbos: Sure. I am Dutch by birth, but I’ve spent most of my life abroad. I lived in the UK for nine years, 17 in the US and also had a couple of stints in Asia.

My expertise lies in the supply chain and logistics/ distribution, but also in IT and technology. Different industries, but as the business supplies space is broadening to something much wider than just office products, I believe there’s actually a lot of commonality with my background.

Up until just over a year ago I ran Westcon Group, an IT distribution company in New York. That’s where I came across this opportunity to head up Staples Solutions after it split from its US parent and became independent. Its private equity owner, Cerberus, is headquartered in New York and was looking for a European with an international perspective.

It was exciting to come back to the Netherlands.

After four years in Manhattan, I now live a fairly Dutch lifestyle – I go to work on my bike at least half the time and I have cheese sandwiches and milk for lunch! It’s quite different from my life before.

OPI: What made you take the job – the lure of coming back to your home country or the challenge of the task you faced?

DW: I wasn’t looking to move back to the Netherlands, so no, that wasn’t a core reason, it was definitely the job. What I liked is that there was a good foundation of a company, but there clearly were challenges – be that the market itself or the way the company was organised. The task was to figure out with our customers and our employees how to transform the business for the benefit of both. I liked the broad spectrum of what needed to be done – I get easily bored if life is too simple.

OPI: ‘Simple’ would not be a word I’d use for the job you faced. Can you walk us through what Staples Solutions looks like?

DW: We are a €1.5 billion company. We are in 17 countries physically with offices, and distribution centres in 12 of them, employing 6,000 staff overall.

About 50-60% of our revenues come from the contract B2B business, focused on large enterprises and global accounts. Another 30% of sales is our online business, which is concentrated around the SOHO and small business segment. The remainder – less than 20% now – is retail. All in all, it is a very omnichannel set-up.

BIG INTERVIEW Dolph Westerbos

I liked the broad spectrum of what needed to be done – I get easily bored if life is too simple

OPI: Why haven’t you?

DW: I believe it’s partly execution-related. When Staples was under US ownership, the two parts – Europe and the US I mean – were quite different. The fact that the various European countries where Staples has a presence are also quite unique didn’t help.

In the five or six years before I came in, a lot of the focus in the company was on internal projects, such as creating common ERP systems across Europe. It seemed like a good idea and many companies did the same following acquisitions during that period. But we executed it poorly and failed twice. All of it meant an internal focus and a lot of investment that ultimately didn’t create a return, certainly not for the customer.

It’s also financial strength, of course. It’s easy to say you want to change and do this and that, but if you don’t put your money where your mouth is, that’s

December/January 2019

OPI: What was your brief when you joined?

DW: What appealed to me was Cerberus’ strategic vision for the business. The new owner saw that Staples in Europe hasn’t always had the strategic focus it needed from its previous parent. But it also recognised a company that could become a platform not just for office supplies, but for many adjacent areas that support our customers with everything they could possibly need to run an office – from furniture and breakroom supplies to safety equipment and personalised apparel.

The question was: how do we create a company that can win in a consolidating space; a financially strong player that can grow in the various adjacencies and become an all-round streamlined procurement and service solutions provider in a challenging marketplace? Figuring that out was really attractive to me.

OPI: Being a little critical here, venturing outside office supplies and into adjacent segments is not really revolutionary anymore…

DW: True, and most operators have realised that and moved in the right direction. A third of Staples Solutions’ revenues now come from these adjacencies, so we’re not new to the table either. My point is that it is not enough, and I don’t think we have accelerated quickly enough yet.

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Dolph Westerbos BIG INTERVIEW very hard to execute. As an independent company, you have to generate liquidity in case you need it and make room to invest for growth. We’ve created over €100 million of credit facilities with a banking consortium, so that we can invest that liquidity.

Overall, we now have a very strong balance sheet and no debt in the company.

OPI: It’s no secret that under US ownership, Staples’ European division struggled to make a profit pretty much since its inception many years ago.

DW: Correct.

OPI: And I believe Staples Inc has divested its remaining 15% in Staples Solutions?

DW: That’s right, there’s no equity relationship between the two companies anymore.

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OPI: What was the purpose of initially keeping a 15% stake?

DW: This happened before my time, so I couldn’t tell you. But the fact that we are totally independent is good. We have a great working relationship with Staples Inc on our joint global customers, of which there are quite a few, and both our accounts teams are very well aligned on that. That’s the only area where we still overlap.

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OPI: What are you doing differently that will lead to success and, importantly, profitability? Is the consolidation and harmonisation of the ERP systems done now, for example?

DW: No, and that was the easiest decision to make when I came. We’re not trying that again. Twice failed, let’s not do this. We now manage these ERP systems and the complexities through integration layers and common data.

Where we are investing is on the IT side into customer-facing technologies, meaning e-commerce, self-service, configuration, personalisation and so on. It’s a multi-layer IT and digital investment strategy which provides functionalities that customers really do need.

The biggest part of becoming an independent company from a management point of view has been our systems separation. That was completed in August 2018 and now we control, for the first time, our own e-commerce platform. What it essentially means is that everything is done so much faster. We’ve introduced rapid development cycles where we’ve already had two releases in quick succession, with new functionality for customers that, in the past, took us a very long time to build.

The other thing we’re doing is becoming much more aware of what the customer wants and needs.

The workplace and our clients have changed quite dramatically over the past few years and I don’t think we have changed enough with them. Work today blends into the home, the community, family life and into the office – all of this requires a different approach from us on products, services and, in fact, overall engagement. It’s about creating the right categories and the right offers around that changing workspace for customers.

I’m a big believer in the notion of ‘you’re in business to make your customer succeed’. We’re in 17 countries, the markets are different and relationships are personal. If you don’t empower the front line to be there for customers, then we’re not going to succeed. We’ve done a lot of work over the past 12 months in terms of moving the decision-making into the various countries, rather than everything being directed from the head office here. That’s been a big change for us.

OPI: Let’s go back to all these adjacencies you want to get into or be better at. Are you looking at acquisitions for some of these areas?

DW: Acquisition is a great way to accelerate or get a skill set you might not have. For us, segments such as furniture, promotional and facilities products are particularly interesting in that regard, and there will hopefully be some announcements soon.

As I said before, we’re already outside the ‘traditional OP’ box, with a third of our business coming from these other categories. But not across the board. Take a look at furniture, for instance. We do that very well in Germany and France, but not particularly well elsewhere. Promotional products are great in the Nordics, but not yet everywhere else, while hygiene is a good category in France.

In addition to looking at external opportunities, we want to accelerate the assets we have internally. It’s about breaking down the barriers that might have existed in the past and work much better across borders and within teams to learn from each other.

As such, we’re very much looking for organic as well as inorganic growth.

After we had spent more time on the [ADVEO] details and the funding needed, there were issues that were too much of a challenge for us to feel really comfortable with

OPI: In parallel, of course, Staples Inc in the US is looking to acquire Essendant. The model of a large omnichannel reseller owning a wholesaler that serves smaller independent dealers is something people would have been aghast at a few years ago.

Many still are. Is it just a logical step forward to solve some of the issues that we’re having in our industry, including overcapacity?

DW: Definitely. As the workplace is changing, a less rigid and more flexible model in terms of how we serve customers is necessary. As a result, our partner relationships need to change as well.

In my previous jobs, there’s been a lot of mix and match as to who sells to whom direct or via the reseller or wholesaler channel, etc, and it all seemed to work well together. You need clear lanes of play, good agreements, and concise and predictable ways of engagement, but we can easily operate in this industry in the same way. It will go a long way towards the issue of scale and relevance.

Staples Solutions is both retail and wholesale in the Nordics and here in the Netherlands, so we’re operating these models already and we don’t hear any negative noise about it from customers.

OPI: And if your bid for a pan-European footprint in wholesaling fails, you could quite possibly do something on a more local level? You’ve got someone already who’s had senior leadership positions in both of the established full-line wholesalers in the UK, of course...

DW: Robert Baldrey, yes.

OPI: Both EVO and SPOT have a direct selling arm and are owned by private equity firms which, at some point, will be looking to exit. Is that a conversation worth having?

DW: In the past – under public ownership – I don’t think we were the right player to be having those conversations. Now we are and that’s exciting, and we’re having many of them, both local and also at a broader, more regional level.

OPI: Let’s talk about retail. Is it part of your future business strategy?

DW: Well, the customer is part of the strategy, if that makes sense. We sold our Dutch retail business last summer. We sold it to a company that is an expert in this space and which brought a focus to the stores that we didn’t have. What’s great is that we are now the wholesale supplier to this operator with Staples-branded products.

Our customers are receiving good service from a retail expert and we continue to support the company and its customers – our previous customers – through this wholesale relationship.

OPI: Will you be looking at similar transactions in Portugal or Germany?

DW: We’re not actively looking, but what happened in the Netherlands was a real win-win for all parties.

December/January 2019

OPI: One of the potential acquisitions that recently fell through revolved around your discussions with ADVEO. Why were Cerberus and Staples Solutions interested in acquiring ADVEO debt and why have you ultimately pulled away from it?

DW: I still see ADVEO as an attractive company and in a number of its markets the wholesaler is running a good business. I’ve got to know the firm and its customers – both in the reseller and franchise retail space – quite well in this process and in my view it’s a good business model that I’m still very interested in.

That said, after we had spent more time on the details and the funding needed, there were issues that were too much of a challenge for us to feel really comfortable with, so we ended up not going through with a transaction at this stage.

OPI: Will ADVEO survive?

DW: Perhaps not in the way it has operated in the past. But as a business model? I hope so – I think it’s a good one.

BIG INTERVIEW Dolph Westerbos

OPI: With that in mind, what’s the function of this building we’re in now?

DW: You need some scale for scale purposes. You can’t have everything 17 times over, so we have excellence centres in various locations – not all necessarily here. We have a shared service centre in Gdansk in Poland, for instance, but the expertise for our furniture business is in Paris. Our promotional experts sit in Sweden, meanwhile.

I see this particular office as a virtual location where leveraged skill sets need to be. And all the boring stuff – governance, financial reporting and so on – needs to be done somewhere, so we’re doing that here as well.

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Dolph Westerbos BIG INTERVIEW

OPI: You’re putting a lot of emphasis on your customers. How do you figure out what they want?

DW: When I joined, my colleagues and I spent the first several months interviewing over 3,000 customers across most of our countries to establish first of all, before we set our strategy, what is important to them.

If we know what they want, then our employees can get excited about providing that for them and solving any issues. It’s less about paper and ink today, and more about the workplace as a whole. What makes customers productive, efficient, happy, etc – we spent a long time on that.

OPI: That brings me to Amazon, arguably the most customer-centric company of all. Amazon and Amazon Business are becoming a major competitor in Europe. It must be a concern as you try to implement your strategy.

DW: I like it when there’s a disruptor in town because it makes you sit up, re-evaluate your own business and become more nimble and innovative. There is no doubt that Amazon will be in every market and have a real relevance everywhere.

The market is big enough for a variety of players and there’s more to it than just the Amazon online model. We are taking a holistic look at the relationship with our customers and are aiming to offer them more service and support, account management where it’s needed, contract management in complex environments, and so on.

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OPI: Amazon Business is doing all of that as well.

It’s recruiting specialists, putting people on the street and is publicly saying it’s working with large private companies now, in the education sector, in government, etc – your customer base.

How do you get across the USPs of Staples Solutions when Amazon Business is knocking on the same door?

DW: I still think we win on service every day. Clearly, Amazon is making significant investments and is

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disrupting where it can. What I like about the business model is that Amazon remains focused on what it’s very good at, but it’s not trying to be everything to everyone; the strategy is a bit more nuanced than that.

We have an omnichannel model and we have to compete on intimacy and customer centricity. Yes, we share that space with other players and Amazon is one of them, but I think there is enough space for us.

OPI: Would you view Amazon as the greatest disruptive force in the market right now?

DW: No. Complacency is. We were very good at selling paper – we still are – but paper by itself is going down. Things change and as clichéd as it sounds, you have to change with it.

I like it when there’s a disruptor in town because it makes you sit up, re-evaluate your own business and become more nimble and innovative When I first arrived here, I had this big leather chair behind my desk. It looked impressive and created lots of hierarchy and distance between my colleagues and I. It was also really uncomfortable and gave me bad backache, so after two weeks I talked to one of our furniture experts who showed me all the options.

Now I don’t have a big fancy chair anymore, but I also don’t have any back problems and I’m delighted.

OPI: Across Europe, you’ve got four big players in the wider business products market at the top end – Staples Solutions, Office Depot, Lyreco and Amazon Business/Amazon. Is that too many – are we on the cusp of more consolidation?

DW: Consolidation is happening, is needed and is healthy I believe. But we mustn’t forget that the market as we define it is very different now. We talked about adjacent categories; if you factor all of those in, the market is much bigger than it used to be, so you’re consolidating from a different vantage point.

OPI: What about the dealer community?

Independents are terrified of the threats from a resurgent Staples or Lyreco on one side and from e-commerce giants like Amazon on the other. Is there a future for them?

DW: Dealers still have the edge on their proximity to customers. There’s real value in that intimacy and I believe there is always going to be a space. But dealers, just like Staples Solutions, have to move with the times too. Customers don’t want to sit at their desks anymore all day, they want to stand; they don’t want to be in a meeting room and do big video conferencing, they want to do conferencing on their mobile phone while they’re cycling to work.

I do it all the time. I’m half an hour on my bike on the way to work and I can still be productive. There are challenges, like reducing wind noise, etc, but there are solutions for all of these problems now; we just have to offer them and give the full service. This is what people are looking for now. If independent dealers can see that and act upon it, they will have a future too. It’s the same story for all of us.

BIG INTERVIEW Dolph Westerbos

OPI: As a pan-European player, are you concerned about Brexit and the possible impact that might have?

DW: No. We’re working in many countries that are not in the EU today. In that sense, it will just be another one of those countries.

From an operations point of view, we’re very localised and our business in the UK has its own distribution and supply chain solution, so we’re not dependent on any kind of central warehouse in continental Europe.

OPI: On that UK/Ireland topic, you sold off your Advantage business in Ireland a few months ago.

What was the rationale behind that move?

DW: We were not set up to support our customers well in that market, it’s as simple as that. We had no distribution centre in the country, but thought we could just support the Ireland business out of the UK. It didn’t work, so we tried to find another solution which was Codex.

This is a really good and established player in the market, with a great management team and excellent values as a company. It’s exactly the kind of operator I look for in partnerships. We have a great agreement on how we’re supporting our joint global and regional customers, and I believe they have benefitted from the service levels of this new solution. To me, that’s another perfect, customer-driven outcome.

OPI: What keeps you awake at night?

DW: Too much! That’s another example of how the workspace is changing – you don’t ever seem to switch off, with work migrating into the home and into ‘off’ time. To answer your question though: that we understand our customers well enough and that we are responding well enough.

If we get it right, customers will reward us with their loyalty. If we make them successful, if their space works well for them, if they become productive, they will recognise it. When I sat on this new chair I mentioned earlier, within hours I was a happier guy and I won’t forget the person who helped me. The idea is that our customers feel the same way about Staples Solutions when they deal with us.

If we succeed in making Staples Solutions a better run and more efficient organisation, then that will create its own exit strategy

OPI: Let’s go back to the beginning. Cerberus acquired the business and has obviously given you the liquidity and the rein to execute your strategic vision. What’s the exit vision?

DW: That’s one of the first questions I asked too, as you can imagine. The answer was surprising to me – there isn’t one.

Cerberus is an organisation that is focused on making the companies in its portfolio – and there are a lot of them – operationally stronger. If we succeed in making Staples Solutions a better run and more efficient organisation, then that will create its own exit strategy. We’re certainly talking more than a short-term, three-year perspective and I really like that.

December/January 2019

OPI: A tough job to get that kind of message right across an organisation of 6,000 employees.

DW: It is. My job, among other things, is ‘chief culture officer’. People enjoy working for a company that understands why they’re in business, not just to sell products, but to make your customers successful. By the same token, we also want our staff to be happy and successful, and we’re offering them the same positive working environment that our customers demand – sit-stand desks, a productive working environment, electric bikes to get to work or to get

their groceries at lunchtimes rather than late in the evening – all the things we’ve talked about.

If you have the right spirit in an organisation, it will create its own success, and we’re beginning to see that now. In the second quarter – we’re in Q4 now – our core contract business returned to growth after many years. This trend is continuing and, seeing that we’re winning, creates its own momentum. We’re on the right track.

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HOT TOPIC

Creative DISRUPTION

It’s difficult to have a conversation in the office products industry without the subject of Amazon and/or Amazon Business cropping up. OPI takes a look at some of the main talking points...

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he growth of Amazon Business in the past three and a half years has been impressive by anyone’s standards, including Amazon’s. Official figures are not released often, but the most recent numbers published in mid-2018 point to an annual sales run rate of more than $10 billion. That’s a tenfold increase in just two years, although since then, of course, Amazon Business has expanded out of the US and into seven more markets, including Germany, the UK and France.

The Amazon Business ethos is built on the same customer-centric and ‘Day One’ approach that is a common trait across all parts of the Amazon ecosystem. The decision to pull the plug on Amazon Supply in 2015 and launch Amazon Business instead also demonstrated another company trait: to try out new ideas, but to then move on swiftly when things aren’t meeting expectations. It's something that,

by CEO Jeff Bezos’ own admission, has resulted in “billions of dollars of failures along the way”.

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HEALTHY DIALOGUE One thing that sets Amazon Business apart from the regular Amazon platform is the presence of a sales force. Or, more accurately, two sales teams – one targeting end-user organisations and the other focused on adding third-party sellers to the Amazon Business marketplace.

Until recently Head of Seller Marketing, but now in the expanded role of Head of Awareness Marketing, is Colin Puckett. One of Puckett’s responsibilities

is to drive third-party (3P) seller participation on Amazon Business and he has been actively involved in industry conferences and events – including OPI’s own Global Forum in Chicago, US, in November 2018 – as he looks to increase Amazon’s visibility within the trade.

Puckett says it is “interesting” for him to learn from others what Amazon intends to do next, but on a more serious note, he is aware of the scepticism that exists in many industries about the role of Amazon Business.

“We are eager to engage potential sellers in a healthy dialogue about our ability to bring incremental business to them, and I would be open to suggestions about how to do that,” he adds.

3P is a big deal for Amazon Business, with over 50% of its $10 billion in sales coming from marketplace sellers. Eamon Kelly, Partner and Senior Research Analyst at Edgewater Research, expects this percentage to grow over time due to a number of factors, including: higher margin levels of 3P versus commoditised first-party (1P) sales; Amazon’s increased focus on private label which might leave some products locked out of 1P sales channels; and the online player increasingly looking to drive revenue and profits through 3P advertising.

We are eager to engage potential sellers in a healthy dialogue about our ability to bring incremental business to them Selling on the Amazon marketplace is a controversial subject for office products dealers. According to Dani Attard, co-founder of UK-based e-commerce platform provider Comgem, the resistance shown by these resellers to sell on Amazon is higher than in other industries. However, she recommends that dealers at least look at the possibility of selling on Amazon –

Independent dealers need to redeploy their capital resources from traditional sales expenses to a balanced sales and technology approach Colin Puckett

claims that it is empowering small businesses around the globe. For example, in its 2018 Small Business Impact Report, Amazon said that more than 20,000 SMBs worldwide surpassed $1 million in sales in 2017 while – as mentioned before – more than 50% of Amazon Business’ sales come from 3P sellers, many of whom are SMBs. Jay Mutschler, Partner at consultancy firm ESG and an industry veteran whose roles have included President of Corporate Express North America and Managing Director of Staples Australia, notes that there are instances of dealers partnering with Amazon Business to fulfil contract business.

“It’s essentially a ‘last mile’ service, but a bit more complex than that,” he explains. “In cases where Amazon is awarded a contract that requires dealer-type services, it is partnering with independent dealers to supply those services – for example desktop delivery, cost-centre reporting, etc.

Amazon then pays dealers a percentage of revenues for these services.”

However, Mutschler warns that this is “not a good long-term strategy” for dealers. “It’s only a matter of time before Amazon perfects these service skills itself.”

But what is the alternative? Mutschler believes that dealers need to focus on their skills and continue to provide customers with the personal, high level of touch and service that can’t be found at Amazon and other large competitors.

“Quite frankly, dealers can’t replicate the Amazon product and service model,” he argues. “Trying to ‘out-Amazon Amazon’ is a losing proposition.

That being said, it’s critical to invest in improved technology to more effectively interact with customers. Independent dealers need to redeploy their capital resources from traditional sales expenses to a balanced sales and technology approach.”

He continues: “However, I believe that most small independents won’t have the necessary resources and must depend on their wholesaler partner to provide these. If I were advising wholesalers, I would suggest bringing a technology solution to their dealer customers, giving them state-of-the-art mobile ordering platforms, high-resolution product imaging, easy-to-understand product descriptions, track-and-trace shipping technology, and an easy-to-use 3P sourcing solution. Stop focusing on product price and give dealers tools that will allow them to grow and retain clients.”

December/January 2019

SMALL BUSINESS FOCUS Which segments of the office supplies channel have been hardest hit by Amazon Business? Edgewater’s Kelly has been closely studying the impact of the platform in the US. “Amazon Business growth appears to remain confined to gains at the SMB level, with limited progress in large enterprise,” he notes.

Kelly puts this success down to factors such as the low-touch/self-serve model – which more closely resembles the B2C buying experience – favoured by these types of customers and which makes Amazon a convenient purchasing destination.

For other customer profiles, results would appear to be mixed. “We do not expect the impact on sales in the delivery/contract segment for Office Depot or Staples to be overly significant, with Amazon Business

HOT TOPIC Amazon Business

“because that’s where their customers are” – as part of a balanced e-commerce approach.

Two independent dealers in the US – coincidentally both from El Paso, Texas – have been in the public eye over their decisions not to partner with Amazon Business. Both Sandy Grodin of El Paso Office Products and Teresa Gandara of Pencil Cup Office Products had been courted by Amazon Business to become 3P sellers. Grodin went so far as to open up his company’s books to his local schools district to demonstrate the impact working with Amazon in this way would have on his bottom line. He faced the prospect of servicing an existing contract, but losing a significant chunk of margin to Amazon – margin he could not afford.

Meanwhile, Gandara has recently appeared on local television to speak out against the city offering the Amazon Business platform as a purchasing vehicle. El Paso purchasing officials argue that Amazon Business is an optional purchasing tool and that businesses which are members of a local initiative called Hire El Paso First will get priority rankings in search results.

On another Amazon Business contract – at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland – a local independent dealer has been designated as the “preferred” supplier of office products on the e-commerce platform. This ties in with Amazon’s

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Amazon Business HOT TOPIC

showing little willingness to work at cost (or lower) on high-volume items, which is often necessary to acquire new contracts,” states Kelly. “Amazon lacks a credible service component which is a limiting factor relative to its office/industrial counterparts.”

The company also seems to have little appetite for writing (p)rebate cheques, which would further limit its ability to compete in the contract space.

However, that doesn’t mean the company is ignoring enterprise customers. Far from it. It says in the US it's doing business with more than half of the Fortune 100 organisations; it's a similar ratio with FTSE 100 companies in the UK.

It is important for dealers to get in front of these purchasing managers who are often ‘starstruck’ by the Amazon name

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Rather than being the contract holder of choice, Amazon is scooping up long-tail/non-contract spend. Indeed, it has been said that Amazon Business is pitching itself as “everybody’s number two supplier”, picking up the lower-turn, higher-margin off-contract items where contract holders have traditionally offset the very low margin or loss-making core basket of products.

This type of arrangement can be found, for example, in the state of Washington via its Amazon Business programme. State purchasers are reminded to use Amazon Business only to purchase items that aren’t currently on state master contracts,

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Jay Mutschler

and that these master contracts must be used before purchasing from Amazon Business. How this is monitored is not clear – state buyers are required to “check” master contracts first, but there is no indication that they are blocked from buying duplicate products that are listed on Amazon.

Mutschler predicts that this type of arrangement “will definitely disrupt the traditional supplier/dealer model”. As he explains: “The first part of market share to fall is the non-contract items, which is similar to what happened when the superstores came onto the scene in the 1990s.

But he also believes that it is “just a matter of time” before Amazon Business develops the abilities to serve the contract customer. “If dealers continue to use old pricing strategies and models, they’ll see dramatic declines in their margins. To protect these, they will need incentives and loyalty programmes to reduce leakage. Wholesalers also need to step up and provide innovative strategies.”

All that said, it’s not just a question of all take and no give. Resellers have long been taking advantage of Amazon’s breadth of product to service their own customers. One prominent US dealer, for example, told OPI that it spends in the region of $100,000 a year sourcing hard-to-find products on Amazon, and Edgewater’s Kelly notes that some of Amazon Business’ largest customers are other resellers that use the online player to fill inventory gaps, although this is a by-product of Amazon’s breadth of product as opposed to a deliberate move by Amazon to fulfil a wholesaling role.

BATTLEGROUND The local and federal government space is likely to be another key battleground for market share.

The US General Services Administration (GSA) is pushing ahead with its e-marketplace and Multiple Award Schedule reforms, with an important Federal Marketplace Industry Day due to take place shortly after this issue of OPI has gone to press.

Mike Tucker, CEO of US trade association NOPA, believes that Amazon could still run into compliance issues related to federal acquisition requirements and it appears that the GSA still doesn’t have all the answers. With local government, Tucker says that dealers “are fighting back” against Amazon and its US Communities contract that is open to municipalities, educational districts, non-profits, etc.

“Amazon’s dynamic pricing versus dealer fixed prices, better standard delivery terms from dealers and the message about keeping tax dollars in local communities are all areas where we have seen independents make progress,” he states. “However, it is important for dealers to get in front of these purchasing managers who are often ‘starstruck’ by the Amazon name.”

Predicting what Amazon Business will do next is always something of a guessing game. One thing is certain though – sitting back and waiting for things to happen is not an option. As Mutschler puts it: “If independent dealers don’t start defining their unique value proposition, it will be difficult to survive this new threat to their businesses. I’m confident they can, but I wouldn’t advise waiting too long: the competitive landscape clock is ticking.”

CATEGORY UPDATE

Spec HEA WEL

Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING

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Spec Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL Health and well-being in the workplace is a growing phenomenon that is

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creating entire new categories within the OP space – by Michelle Sturman

ealth and well-being in all its many guises has frequently made the front page of newspapers and magazines, the top stories section on newsfeeds, and trended on social media platforms over the past few years. Recent memorable headlines have screamed that ‘sitting is the new smoking’ or some such variant. The point is that all of this has brought to the fore some of the more pressing health issues that affect the global population.

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Today’s workers are at a desk all day, resulting in a very different set of safety, health and wellness needs

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Says Michel Spruijt, General Manager EMEA at ergonomic product manufacturer Ergotron: “Health and wellness in the workplace has always been around, but its focus has changed over the years, from being associated purely with regulation around hazards like slips and injury prevention, to becoming a board level discussion encompassing physical, social and intellectual considerations.

Today’s workers are at a desk all day, resulting in a very different set of safety, health and wellness needs. The key here, though, is that it is not a ‘trend’, but an important issue that evolves with employees’ changing circumstances.”

UNFORESEEN ISSUES As the world’s workforce culture has changed to one that is predominantly desk-based, it has affected our health in ways that were previously unforeseen.

This has led to a rethinking of the workplace which encompasses not only ergonomic office furniture, but has branched into all aspects of working life – from the building itself, to what we eat and drink there and the air we breathe, our mental health, and the furniture and accessories that provide musculoskeletal benefits.

“Health and wellness in its simplest definition is a company’s ability – through the use of internal programmes – to keep staff in a healthy environment and therefore avoiding excessive sick days. This then equates to business opportunities in the form of increased productivity for employees and cost savings for the employer,” says Tom Hoffmann, VP of Purchasing for US-based dealer group TriMega.

opi.net poll

Is health and well-being an important category for your business? n Yes, growing strongly (38%) n Yes (19%) n No (22%) n Not yet, but looking into it (22%)

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GLOBAL WELLNESS ECONOMY MONITOR OCTOBER 2018 The latest report from the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a research and education resource for the international wellness industry, estimates that the global workplace wellness economy in 2017 was worth $48 billion, with a projected CAGR 2017-2020 of 6.7%. The increase in growth is motivated by employers’ wishes to lower healthcare costs, improve morale, employee retention and recruitment, as well as improve productivity and competitiveness.

WELLNESS CONVERGENCE According to GWI, wellness sectors are no longer isolated industries, but are increasingly converging as we integrate wellness into our homes, communities, work and travel. Significantly, the workplace wellness market is a drop in the ocean compared to the huge economic burden and productivity losses associated with a sick workforce and employee disengagement, which GWI estimates constitutes 10-15% of global economic output.

Instead, just 9.8% of employed workers (or 322 million) have access to workplace wellness programmes and services globally. Unsurprisingly, it is concentrated in the wealthier economies of North America, Europe and Asia, with the largest country market being the US with a sector estimated at around $15 billion in 2017. Next is Japan at $4 billion, followed by Germany at $3.5 billion, the UK at $2.55 billion, and France at $2.23 billion.

A future shift in wellness in the workplace will focus on thriving at work in terms of enhancing motivation commitment, creativity, etc. This ‘revolution’ will see employers tying to cultivate more conscious and caring worldviews and increased workplace diversity, while mental wellness and individualised well-being will help to reduce stress and promote productivity through personalised diagnostics and well-being solutions.

CATEGORY UPDATE Health and Well-being

It has generally been firms like Google, Amazon and Bloomberg that have led the health and well-being revolution in the workplace – starting with the construction of the building to biophilic interiors, vending machines, running tracks, gardens and much more. While the vast majority of businesses don’t have the financial resources to create those kinds of working environments, small, incremental changes can be achieved.

There are a variety of disparate but interlinked reasons for the increase in health and wellness in the workplace. The first is a growing awareness of health-related issues such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, etc. The second is the cost of employee illness – whether they are life-threatening illnesses or musculoskeletal disorders related directly to the sedentary working lifestyle – and how to mitigate these effects. In recent years, the focus has also expanded to include mental health.

Neil Basham, Purchasing Director of UK dealer group Integra Business Solutions, believes that more companies are adopting well-being initiatives or are forced to implement schemes that benefit employees.

“Staff now work longer, more unsociable hours, with smartphones being the main culprit. With this comes an increased level of sick leave and, in some cases, mental health issues that often lead to long periods of absenteeism, costing businesses money and reducing productivity.”

Additionally, health and wellness programmes are becoming increasingly popular as recruitment tools for millennials. As Hoffmann points out: “Millennials have the greater influence on certain areas and categories of wellness. As a group, they are a driving force for the sit-stand category as office landscapes transform from the traditional ‘sedentary’ cubicle set-up, to a more open, collaborative ‘moving’ environment. And let’s not forget the healthy breakroom that they also command.”

For the full report, visit https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/ industry-research/2018-global-wellness-economy-monitor.

Millennials have the greater influence on certain areas and categories of wellness

December/January 2019

EXPANSIVE RANGE The majority of office furniture manufacturers offer a range of ergonomic desks, seating and accessories such as anti-fatigue mats. While sit-stand desks have garnered the most attention, according to Basham, key partners have said that sales of these desks have been slow to take off. “In time, we believe they will become part of the norm, but the price point is potentially still too high, resulting in a ‘nice-to-have but not a necessity’ attitude.” However, he adds that chairs, backrests and desktop accessories are readily available at competitive prices and normally form part of the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessment in the UK. Tina Russell, Director of Purchasing for fellow UK dealer group Nemo, agrees, adding that furniture has long been the lead in this area with versatile chairs and stools, and now the recent surge of new sit-stand desking and accessories. That said, while businesses want to get the maximum benefit from their investment in sit-stand desks, the real need for associated ergonomic accessories is often overlooked.

Although the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting have now been widely documented, the latest research also warns that the consequences of standing for prolonged periods of time can be just as harmful. “For users to get the maximum benefits from stand-up working, they need the correct ergonomic support. Anti-fatigue mats provide the optimum combination of bodily support and comfort while incorporating features to encourage regular movement and adjustments to the standing position,” says Floortex Marketing Manager John Barker.

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“When specifying standing or height-adjustable desks in particular, dealers should offer a complete solution to clients rather than just the headline products,” he adds.

Office products manufacturer Fellowes, which continued to drive into the ergonomics category last year, also believes furniture should be sold as a solution. “When it comes to healthy working furniture, it needs to be even more of a holistic offering. The consultative sales solution approach can answer questions and reservations, educate and inform buyers, and reassure customers that they are getting the best proposal for their needs,” says Fellowes President EMEA/Asia Pacific Michel van Beek.

Indeed, Integra encourages its members to sell themselves as a solutions provider and make use of access to key partners that can deliver support in terms of carrying out assessments and helping with product recommendations. Fellowes, for example, provides trade customers with market insights, attitude and usage studies, buyer personas and behaviour, along with sales training toolkits and days, catalogue pages and brochures, white papers, digital marketing collateral, as well as support for trade shows.

Thanks to the increase in interest by employers in health and well-being in the workplace, this ‘solution’ now extends much further than just furniture and accompanying accessories. “Health and wellness is a ‘solution sell’. A fully integrated programme of surface disinfectants, hand sanitisers, air cleaning products and what we call ‘out of the chair’ daily movement items all add to a complete company strategy,” says Hoffmann.

SOLVING THE FRUSTRATION Staples Solutions recently surveyed 7,000 European office workers for its report Vocation frustration – Europe’s office workers on the brink.

The study found that many office workers are regularly on the verge of handing in their notice at work, seeking escapism or a different environment altogether. To help mitigate this, a vital connection needs to be made between employees and the physical workspace surrounding them, including lighting, areas to unwind or think in, or simply having easy access to stationery supplies or technology that works. The report found that: • 77% agree there is a link between how fulfilled people are at work and the quality of their office workspace.

• 80% are of the opinion that a well-functioning and attractive office boosts employee productivity.

• 81% say that an office which is efficient and appealing is important for the mental health of staff.

• 76% believe that staff retention can be encouraged by a well-run workplace.

As Professor Sir Cary Cooper, an expert in organisational psychology at the Alliance Manchester Business School, explains: “Most people spend more of their waking hours at work than at home, so the workplace is extremely important for the health, well-being and performance of employees. As this report finds, 89% seek fulfilment at work, and the physical and psychological environment is critical to achieve this.”

December/January 2019

INNOVATION TO THE FORE Additionally, in an ever-expanding category, as Basham points out, dealers should be thinking outside the box – healthy eating and drinking options for the office in the form of fruit or water coolers, for example.

“This can also lead to a regular discussion with a customer and may open up other doors,” he notes.

There is no shortage of innovative products available to ensure employers provide a healthy workplace. At the 2018 Orgatec show in Cologne,

CATEGORY UPDATE Health and Well-being

Dealers should offer a complete solution to clients rather than just the headline products

Germany, for example, trends focused on redesigned offices which incorporate lounges, quiet zones and collaboration areas with attractive and comfortable surroundings and furnishings. This lends itself to new ideas such as living walls, acoustic solutions and meeting pods. BuzziSpace, for example, has introduced ‘BuzziMood’ wall panels that not only reduce background noise but can be upholstered or combined with biophilic surfaces.

In the ergonomics space, Fellowes has added the Levado height-adjustable desk to its collection, while Ergotron recently launched the JŪV Wall worksurface, a panel or wall-mounted desk that reclaims space by flipping down when not in use. With no floor supports, it provides ample legroom and additional space for storage or accessories.

Integrating technology such as USB ports into ergonomic desks is fast becoming standard.

German furniture components firm Kesseböhmer Ergonomietechnik has taken this one step further with the introduction of its new YOYO smart ergonomics platform. YOYO is an intelligent furniture system that optimises office space through a flexible reservation system. Additionally, it provides biodynamic workspace wellness for employees through the use of an app that automatically adjusts the desk, chair and lighting at each workstation based on each individual’s personal preference.

With the multitude of creative products being continuously launched in this sector, along with the breadth of available sub-categories, there is plenty of scope for growth. Concludes Ergotron’s Spruijt: “It’s a cliché, but we believe the future will bring evolution, rather than revolution. Right now, although health and well-being is increasing in importance for most firms, it still sits on the periphery of the organisation and viewed very much as an ‘add-on’ or ‘nice to have’.

Moving forward, we believe companies will adopt a ‘total worker’ health approach by moving health and wellness to the very core of the business.”

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Health and Well-being CATEGORY UPDATE

IS THE SHARED OFFICE REALLY THE HOLY GRAIL? POTENTIAL PITFALLS With my sceptical mind firmly in overdrive, I have to question whether – despite all the apparent positives – co-working spaces are indeed the pinnacle for business productivity and progression.

Gary Melton, Managing Director at UK recruitment agency Novo, debates whether shared office space is the answer to greater efficiency, profit and productivity, and if co-working is right for everybody When I hear exaggerated statistics being thrown around such as 142% of people using co-working spaces are more engaged and motivated, with a further 231% reportedly enjoying the “best day of their lives” because of it, I find myself trying to battle the tide and gather reasons not to like it. I mean, who wants cost-effective office space solutions with beautifully-designed communal spaces, micro-roasted coffee, craft beers on draft and fruit-infused water on demand anyway?

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WEIGHING IT UP There is something quite liberating about the thought of a co-working set-up, leaving the traditional office environment behind while not having to suffer the distraction, loneliness or lack of networking opportunity associated with home working. On the surface, there certainly seems to be a lot to like.

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• Effectiveness and satisfaction: while people are all working independently on their own projects, occupants can still benefit from the energy and vibe that can only be generated as a collective.

According to Allwork.Space, 84% of those using co-working spaces are more engaged and motivated; 83% claim to have benefited from these new work environments; and 89% of people that co-work are reportedly “happier”.

• Networking opportunities: working in a traditional office space limits your direct networking to those also employed at the same business. However, being alone or at home almost completely eliminates your networking potential. Co-working can put you in the vicinity of individuals and businesses offering a vast and diverse range of services, skills and solutions which you would otherwise have little exposure to.

• Freedom/flexibility: finding a suitable workspace is one thing; powering that office from an infrastructure, logistics and financial perspective is altogether different. Co-working spaces go a long way to solving many of these problems, incorporating a rental space on flexible terms/ durations, with all the infrastructure thrown in – all at a fixed monthly premium.

Gary Melton

• Diminished productivity? For all the positive statistics and figures around increased productivity, I would argue that in some situations the co-working dynamic could have the exact opposite effect. It can be crowded and noisy, and I wonder how distracting this could be. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen in a traditional office space, but it does make me wonder if productivity statistics may be somewhat inflated.

• Privacy and security: Would you let a direct competitor walk in to your office and start looking around and listening in to your conversations?

Absolutely not. Security and privacy must be one of the main concerns when considering moving into a co-working environment.

• Annoying neighbours: There is always ‘that’ person who wants to be your friend. The kind that always appears just as you are about to take the first bite of your sandwich at lunchtime. For me, half the appeal of working in a shared office space with ‘strangers’ would be to avoid these exact kinds of encounters.

Whether a shared office space is going to work for you and if indeed productivity spikes as a result depends on what kind of individual you are and what sort of business you are running. Personally, I don’t think a shared office space works. My main sticking point is about culture or, more specifically, feeling like you have to embrace an existing one within a shared space and somehow fold it into the way the business works rather than creating your own.

Perhaps I am wrong.

Personally, I don’t think a shared office really works

FEATURE

Changes in the way we work, coupled with significant advances in technology, are driving innovative new lighting systems, both inside and outside the workplace – by David Holes

specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses – allow data to be displayed via an intuitive dashboard and app, giving business owners easy oversight of energy usage. This enables them to make informed decisions on how to manage their electricity consumption.”

he days of one-size-fits-all fluorescent office lighting, with little more than an on/off switch or, at best, a dimmer control, are on the wane.

They are being replaced by technologicallyadvanced, connected solutions that provide a more flexible approach. Many of these are targeted at visual comfort and functionality, and allow individual work areas to be illuminated using specific light fittings or ‘luminaires’ tailored according to their use.

PERSONALISED ILLUMINATION Hot-desking and open plan offices are becoming ever more commonplace as they meet the demand for dynamic working areas, while also offering a more efficient and flexible use of available space.

However, although employees may enjoy being able to work anywhere around the office, they can miss having their own personal workspace. Dynamic LED solutions can mitigate this effect by offering staff the ability to personalise the area they occupy to their own preferences. Connected applications coupled with location-based technology can be used to automatically adjust the above-desk light conditions to an employees’ favoured setting as they move about the building.

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THE LED EFFECT The increasing availability of LED light sources has opened up an opportunity to deliver very specific light outputs and distributions using compact configurations and customisable designs. LED performance and colour quality – and colour choices – have also improved, with costs declining as the technology has matured.

“We’re seeing two key drivers behind the demand for more advanced workplace lighting products,” says Steve Meadows, Commercial Director, Office, Industry, Healthcare & Education, at UK LED specialist Signify (formerly Philips Lighting). “First is the issue of sustainability. With businesses under increasing pressure to be more environmentally friendly, every aspect of the workplace comes under scrutiny. Lighting is no exception, and this is driving the adoption of more energy-efficient LED alternatives.

It all contributes towards meeting the UK government targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment by 50% before 2025.

“Second,” he adds, “there’s a demand from companies for simple, easy-to-control, connected systems. Products such as Signify’s Interact Pro –

Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL

With businesses under increasing pressure to be more environmentally friendly, every aspect of the workplace comes under scrutiny.

Lighting is no exception…

“Alternatively,” says Meadows, “workers can modify their immediate illuminated environment using an app on their own smart device, even in an open plan environment. Adaptive lighting can also be used to help wayfinding around a building, or to automatically modify the luminance in meeting rooms according to the needs of the person that has booked that space.”

FEATURE Lighting

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Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING

LIGHT AND WELL-BEING Unsurprisingly, simply having bright light is in itself not a guarantee of obtaining good vision. This is particularly significant when making a comparison between people of different age groups. A 60-year-old, for instance, requires at least twice the strength of light required by somebody in their mid-twenties to achieve comparable vision. Such individual age or health-related needs should not be overlooked by companies with diverse workforces.

The impact that luminance has on other aspects of employee well-being is also increasingly being considered, with ‘circadian lighting’ promising to be a major trend in the future. Human circadian rhythms – the 24-hour body clock that governs natural cycles of activity and rest by managing hormone levels – are heavily influenced by variations in natural light throughout the course of the day. Natural levels are warmer and lower in the early morning, rising to much higher, cooler ones during the day before returning to low, warm levels in the evening.

“Humans have evolved from a time when the sun dominated the daily routine,” explains Steve Stark, Sales Director Trade UK & Ireland at Germany-based specialist Ledvance. “The advent of artificial light has freed us from these primal constraints, but there can be negative connotations caused by isolation from continuously varying natural daylight. Replacing it with prolonged exposure to unchanging artificial light can cause unwanted effects such as fatigue and depression.

“Fortunately, the controllability of LED now makes it possible to replicate the varying characteristics of natural light throughput the day to better support our biorhythms, which should allow workers to be happier, healthier and more productive. This human-centric approach requires higher luminance levels than standard LED systems, together with increased spectral content at blue wavelengths to achieve the desired biological effects, but experts believe the gains in productivity will outweigh the costs of increased energy consumption.”

Circadian solutions are often used in hospitals and other medical settings where they aim to have a positive effect on patients’ sleep cycles and assist with their recovery. They can also help staff who work irregular day/night shift patterns.

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In addition, these solutions are being employed in educational settings where technologies such as Philips SchoolVision provide bio-adaptive lighting to help students concentrate and perform better.

High-intensity LED products are also being used across all types of educational establishments – from primary schools to universities – in both indoor and outdoor areas to help students feel safe on site.

December/January 2019

FUTURE ILLUMINATION Over the past few years, the Internet of Things has gone from a catchphrase to a reality and lighting systems are playing an important role in this transition. In a smart home, lights can be connected to all manner of different systems and devices, from door alarms to thermostats.

Street lighting is now being used in conjunction with other digital technologies. Lamp posts, for example, can also house small 4G/5G mobile phone base stations, helping to declutter the urban environment and providing higher-quality phone services.

Another technological advance is the development of what is known as Light Fidelity or ‘LiFi’. This is a two-way, high-speed wireless technology similar to wi-fi, but it uses light rather than radio waves to transmit data while providing illumination at the same time. “LiFi-enabled luminaires are already on the market and they provide a fast internet connection without compromising light quality,” says Meadows. “Such technology has huge potential for connecting many devices at once, particularly as the wi-fi radio spectrum becomes increasingly congested.”

All of the above indicates that technology is having a huge impact on the lighting sector. Modern solutions are creating opportunities not just to save energy, they could also generate extra benefits such as enhanced productivity and well-being in the workplace.

With regard to immediate relevance and potential in our sector, however, OPI’s research suggests that, by and large, wholesalers and resellers in the OP community haven’t yet taken the plunge into this dynamic category in any meaningful measure, and are currently leaving it to specialists operating in this area.

“In its infancy” is the term that best sums it up, with a steep learning curve ahead before knowledgeably being able to sell products and solutions to customers.

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Special Issue HEALTH & CASE STUDY WELL-BEING Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING Special Issue

Putting EMPLOYEES FIRST

first, that’s the mantra of good and successful businesses.

VENDORCustomers But progressive companies are also moving the well-being and happiness of their employees right to the top of the agenda SPECIAL

Special Issue CASE STUDY 1: JOINT STAFF AND CUSTOMER JOURNEY

VENDOR SPECIAL

OPI spoke to two companies that have embraced this ethos – one the customer of an independent dealer in the US, the other a well-known manufacturer from our industry. The first is Adapt Community Network, an organisation based in New York City (NYC). Jacqueline Conley, its SVP for Program Development and Community Partnerships, explains Adapt’s aims, philosophy and the programmes it has initiated.

OPI: Tell me about Adapt, its mission and aims?

Jacqueline Conley: We are a large organisation that’s now 72 years old and we provide support to children, adults and families with all types of disabilities. We have over 3,500 employees and our services are offered to people of all ages across the whole of the NYC area.

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OPI: How do you run the company from an HR and staff wellness point of view?

JC: Essentially, our philosophy is that we don’t make a distinction between our employees and the people we are trying to help – we are all in this journey together. As such, all the facilities that are available to our clients are also available to staff. For example, two of our locations have therapeutic swimming pools and exercise equipment that everyone can use free of charge.

Our staff develop strong bonds with the people we’re trying to support. This can turn into lifetime relationships that make what we do much more than just a regular job. As such, we like to reward employees in every way we possibly can. We have lots of social events and staff recognition ceremonies throughout the year, so we can show just how much we value their contribution.

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OPI: Can you elaborate on specific activities?

JC: We offer our customers lots of trips outside of the NYC area, visiting different cities and engaging them in new activities. Our staff accompany them

and as such, they get a lot out of these excursions too.

When we take people adaptive skiing, for example, our helpers are right there on the slopes beside them. The same goes for waterskiing, surfing or dog-sledding – there’s plenty to try.

We don’t make a distinction between our employees and the people we are trying to help – we are all in this journey together We also have a softball team that’s a mix of both staff and the people we support. Plus we run a basketball team which competes in a league for people with disabilities. Our employees act as coaches and cheerleaders, so they’re fully involved. Additionally, we have two exercise physiologists on site who offer their services to both staff and clients, and we run a meditation programme in-house that’s available to all.

OPI: How do your staff respond to your rather unique approach?

JC: Informal feedback is extremely positive, but we also conduct regular staff satisfaction surveys to ensure that we’re getting it right and see whether there’s anything else we can offer.

It’s important to realise that everyone is an individual and we really tailor the activities we offer to the interests and wishes of our clients coupled with the skill set of the people we employ. For instance, one man recently joined us who used to row for his college team. With our support, he has now set up an adaptive rowing club for the people we help.

This ethos of recognising a person’s particular passion and, ideally, incorporating it into their job really enhances staff satisfaction – the working day is always much nicer when you’re doing the things you really love.

For an example of an operator within the OP industry that has invested considerable resources in staff well-being, look no further than German adhesives manufacturer tesa. OPI spoke to Falk Butterwegge, Head of Office Supply, Food & Digital Sales, International Sales Consumer & Craftsmen, about the initiatives the company has introduced at its new corporate headquarters.

OPI: How long have you been in your new HQ? Falk Butterwegge: It’s been three years since tesa moved to its new location in Norderstedt, a city that forms part of the Hamburg metropolitan region in northern Germany.

It was a big move that took place in three phases.

The technology centre – with around 50 people – first began the transition in July 2015, followed by the main body of 750 staff members in September. The remaining 300 employees who work in the research centre completed the move in December of that year.

OPI: What are the core highlights of the new building?

FB: The main advantage is that the HQ houses all company operations under one roof which facilitates quick, direct communication. The marketing department can now easily liaise with colleagues in product development, for instance. Each floor offers a balance of closed office space mixed with open plan areas for collaborative work, and the layout can be adjusted as project needs vary.

As you may expect, we have furnished the new HQ with the latest equipment – all desks are height-adjustable and chairs are individually adjusted by our ergonomic advisor to suit individual needs. The climate control system is also state-of-the-art and maintains temperature and humidity at ideal levels.

OPI: What other aspects of the building’s design and its associated programmes have been included to keep staff happy and healthy?

FB: Right from the design stage, tesa was keen to integrate sports and leisure facilities into the layout of the new building. The sports club is located in the basement and has a comprehensive gym area, plus additional space for activities such as yoga, pilates and spinning. Massages are available and a physiotherapist visits throughout the working week.

There’s also an outdoor playing field where staff can play football and basketball, together with a boules court and a BBQ area where they can socialise.

We offer company health care insurance and a doctor and counselling service is available on

the tesa campus. In addition, we’re very proud of our specially designed ‘parent-child’ office area which employees can use if they need to bring their children to work with them at short notice. For those who cycle to work, we have plenty of roofed bike racks for storage and there’s an adjoining changing room for them too. We also have a bike rental station on site.

OPI: What about catering and entertainment facilities – what do you have?

FB: We have a restaurant that offers an extensive menu and changes every day. The layout is based on themed food islands which include traditional, Asian and Mediterranean cuisines, plus an area devoted to healthy choices with a fantastic salad bar. A barista coffee area is also provided where staff can relax and chat. On each floor within the main building, we provide ‘communication zones’ where employees can congregate and enjoy a range of free beverages.

From an entertainment point of view, our HQ includes a large auditorium which can accommodate up to 280 people. It’s used both for internal information meetings and informal events – such as the ‘Culture in the Company’ programme whereby various artists come from across all genres to entertain staff.

Falk Butterwegge, Head of Office Supply, Food & Digital Sales, International Sales Consumer & Craftsmen, tesa

CASE STUDY Employee Well-being

CASE STUDY 2: NEW HQ, BETTER WAYS OF INTERACTIING

We’ve noticed a new culture of innovation emerging OPI: What impact do you think all these facilities are having on staff happiness and productivity?

FB: I already mentioned better communication. We’ve noticed a new culture of innovation emerging as the building’s layout has facilitated greater engagement between senior management and staff. Five months after all departments had moved to the new site, we conducted an in-depth survey to gauge staff satisfaction and identify what could still be improved.

The feedback overall was very positive and where there were any issues, we made sure to address them swiftly. We now have an ongoing system whereby employees can air problems or make suggestions to the facilities team that manages the building, and this is proving highly successful.

All of what we’re doing is a work in progress, of course, and we will continue to invest in the tesa infrastructure and add new facilities and programmes in the future.

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HOW TO...

Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING

Cracking the wellness

DESIGN CODE

O

A deeper understanding of the drivers of current business change can help resellers explore new sales opportunities in commercial interiors, says Josh Kerst

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ffice design has never played a more vital role in the success of a business than it does now.

Successfully navigating the complex maze of rapid changes influencing today’s office can be a challenging and at times overwhelming task as new technologies are implemented, younger generations enter the workforce, and modern design trends are adopted in office spaces around the world. As such, when, where and how people work is persistently changing the business landscape, leading to exciting office design opportunities and sparking an ongoing workplace evolution.

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MATCHING WANTS WITH NEEDS Innovation is part of any winning business strategy and a crucial element of growth. Successful companies always look for new, game-changing ways to gain a competitive advantage while improving their bottom line. Modernising a company’s office area through application of innovative workplace designs can be that game changer.

In parallel, there has been an influx of cutting-edge office products to support these new designs, which have helped boost employee morale and wellness. Adjustable sit-to-stand desks, mobile collaboration tables and active ergonomic seating along with a variety of healthy workplace accessories all help to fuel sales growth for resellers.

There’s a realisation that having the best and brightest team to compete is vital to business performance. In this hyper-competitive workplace environment, attracting and retaining top talent has become a key driver of success.

But meeting this business need is no simple task. Recent research by Goldman Sachs demonstrates that recruiting top talent is the leading barrier that prevents small businesses from growing quicker and thriving.

Data indicates that 70% of small businesses struggle to find and retain skilled talent, so it’s more important than ever to grasp what potential recruits are looking for at work, while also taking into account the expectations of current employees.

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LISTEN AND LEARN An essential step in decoding workplace needs is to start with appreciative enquiries. This activity focuses on leveraging an organisation’s strengths – assessing what it already does well and listening carefully in order to correct the problems or negatives. When initiating a new office project, be sure to include discussions of issues that need correcting through the design process, but also ask customers what workflows are successful, what culturally makes their company strong and unique to uncover each organisation’s positive core.

The internet has democratised information, so staff are increasingly aware of the new ways of working that technology now makes readily available. They know they can work anywhere and in different ways that suit them and their lifestyles to provide improved work-life balance.

Why should they commute for two hours or more each day if the destination workspace is uninspiring?

Today’s employees want to work for a business where they can experience the benefits of a collaborative community, wherever they are, without wasting hours of their day. Like it or not, employers are being judged by the look and feel of their workspace.

Research shows that over one fifth (21%) of millennials admit to rejecting a potential employer because of the poor look of the workspace. Almost half deem co-working to be a favourable way to network with others, while nearly one in three (31%) workers find their current office environment uninspiring and boring. And as we know, a poorly designed work environment can have a detrimental effect on staff productivity and mental health: 25% connected their workplace to feelings of fatigue and exhaustion and 20% stated that it leads to stress.

In response to all of this, organisations are looking for ways to give employees the autonomy to do the

WORKPLACE CERTIFICATIONS As health and wellness are becoming more and more important to people, a major trend today is green construction. Emerging building certification programmes have sprung up to guide the way, including the WELL Building Standard, introduced by Delos in 2014 and based on medical research that shows how our surroundings affect our health.

The WELL Building certification system has criteria in ten categories that promote the health of a building’s occupants. Other standards such as Fitwel developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been designed to improve health and wellness. Building occupants of either certification system can expect enhanced employee wellness, productivity gains, lower healthcare costs, lower rates of absenteeism and better overall employee performance. The results speak for themselves: recently, the American Society of Interior Designers said it had realised a 16% productivity gain after moving into its WELL-certified headquarters in Washington DC after two years of occupancy.

Scientists from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, constructed the Well Living Lab in 2016 to study the relationship between the quality and pace of employees’ work and their overall workplace environment. This research lab represents a new breed of high-tech office simulator where researchers can manipulate workspace conditions and measure the impact on the test subjects’ productivity and performance.

Results suggest that the ideal productive office may consist of up to eight different zones, each offering one aspect of the working environment, with options for employee choice throughout the workday:

The core features of these ideal workspaces share the goal of maximising productivity; supporting collaboration, creativity and flexibility; and promoting

ACTIVE, ENGAGED AND PRODUCTIVE Attractive office spaces aim to develop overall wellness, cultivate happiness and community-building, and boost morale for everyone from interns to executive-floor executives. To achieve this, here are my top tips to help keep employees happy, active, engaged and productive: • Consider active sit-stand furniture options. Be sure to provide a complete solution and include supporting products such as anti-fatigue mats, mobile storage, task lighting, flexible ergonomic seating or even lockers for free range environments.

• Free up valuable office space by strategically using furniture and high-density storage.

• Provide access to natural sunlight with lots of glass and include plants and greenery.

• Design team-specific space layouts based on needs and atmosphere. Use planned foot traffic paths to encourage ‘random encounters’.

Josh Kerst is an ergonomist and workplace wellness expert with over 30 years of experience working in corporate, educational, manufacturing and medical settings. He is an experienced leader in the field of ergonomics, with an emphasis on activity-permissive designs that positively transform the way people work. Kerst’s background includes developing well-being initiatives, supporting injury prevention programmes, and creating product designs to improve human performance.

Like it or not, employers are being judged by the look and feel of their workspace • Offer a range of collaborative spaces – mini to mega – and the ability for teams to customise work areas with equipment as they see fit, whether it be video conferencing units, electronic whiteboards, movable marker boards, portable wall dividers, mobile meeting supply kits, mobile storage or even phone booths for privacy.

• Provide dynamic, multi-use meeting areas that can be used for a variety of purposes, including meetings and team-building initiatives. Offer options for stand-up meeting areas as well as sit-down spaces and provide the ability to easily arrange an ‘all-hands space’ for employee gatherings.

• Include comfortable couches and chairs that have a look and feel of residential living for informal meetings and break-out areas.

• Create unconventional creative spaces and destinations for employees to visit, such as a living biophilia wall or partially hidden refuge areas that encourage exploration and provide a private break from everyday stress.

December/January 2019

1. Home base – a quiet area for concentrated, focused working 2. Open plan – open workspace supporting communication 3. Meeting room – for conferencing, workshops and training sessions 4. Break-out area – for informal working, break time and chat 5. Touchdown – for spontaneous, flexible working 6. Refuge area – for confidential conversations 7. Resource room – equipment and stores 8. Inter-zone corridors – space to reactivate and focus body and mind

innovative ideas. Using the eight zones can help spark idea generation and attract millennials while still supporting baby boomers and other generations.

HOW TO... Office Design

job in their most productive way. Increased flexibility of working hours, providing options for more active sit or stand adjustable-height workstations, offering more comfortable resimercial work settings for collaboration, and ultimately giving employees the opportunity to choose the work environment that best fits their tasks. The bottom line is that workplaces are morphing into employee engagement centres which serve as a centralised hub of a company and its workforce. They are becoming places where people gather, share and connect, while work often happens elsewhere.

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RESEARCH 100 80 60 40 20 0

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from the

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PREVIEW: THE STATE OF THE OP INDUSTRY 2018-19

o say 2018 has been another interesting year in the business supplies industry would be an understatement. Some of the broad concepts – from a macro as well as industry-specific perspective – haven’t changed fundamentally, while other developments are set to substantially alter the make-up of our sector.

Overall demand for traditional OP is steady at best, and in decline in many countries. As a result, distributors continue to report increasing sales of alternative product categories and services, particularly facilities supplies and business gifts. This in itself raises several questions: what is the current value of the core OP market, how has this changed in 2018, what is the forecast for 2019, and which of its sub-categories are faring the worst and best?

And talking of sub-categories, what is the estimated size of the available market for facilities supplies? In which of the segments that this group encompasses are distributors seeing the most growth at present? What impact does all of this have on margins – which types of OP distributors are bucking the margin-pressure trend and why?

STRUCTURAL CHANGES Every year, the structure of the supply chain and its various channels changes a little, much of it due to e-commerce as a preferential OP ordering method.

What channels won and lost share in 2018 and which are most expected to benefit in 2019?

Linked to that is the debate around Amazon. What has been the reaction in Australia to the arrival of the e-commerce firm, for instance? The online giant’s B2B

Amazon Business operation, meanwhile, is now firmly established in many countries and widely recognised as a fast-growing player in this market. What share of the core OP market is Amazon Business now believed to have, and where is it most successful?

Some of the broad concepts [‌] haven’t changed fundamentally, while other developments are set to substantially alter the make-up of our sector Finally, there are very specific questions around some of the operators in our industry. From a North American point of view, for example, what has been the reaction in the USA and Canada to the likely acquisition of Essendant by Staples Inc? Over in Europe, what are opinions about the future survival of ADVEO, and how will the wholesale landscape look if the company doesn’t survive?

The State of the Industry 2018-19, published in April 2019 by MWA and OPI, is available for ÂŁ599 ($800) if ordered before 31 January 2018, and for ÂŁ850 thereafter. To order your copy, please visit www.opi.net/soti2019.

RELIABLE YARDSTICK Who can answer all of these questions and many more and provide a reliable yardstick against which senior executives in our sector can assess their own perceptions and strategies? Martin Wilde Associates (MWA) – specialist researchers to the global OP market – and OPI are working together again for the sixth edition of their annual research report, The View from the Top: The State of the OP Industry 2018-19. Some of the core elements of this must-have authoritative sourcebook for the OP industry include: The state of the OP markets in the US, Canada, Benelux, France, Germany, UK and Australia, based on data collected from in-depth and online interviews with senior OP industry executives in these countries. l The 2018 financial performance of the key 15 OP distributors in the US and Europe, as well as the main industry events of 2018. l Analysis and commentary from Martin Wilde, supplemented by data and analysis from OPI.

December/January 2019

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VENDOR PROFILE

Writing is not a lost art. In fact, it’s becoming more artful

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The ART of WRITING

any find it surprising that even in the digital age people are still writing by hand. They find it even more surprising that the pen category is over $1.1 billion and that sales have been increasing every year for the last five years1. They then wonder why anyone would choose to write by hand with so many digital communication options available to them. The reasons are both clear and simple – handwriting delivers benefits that no other form of self-expression or communication can.

Numerous scientific studies have quantified the tangible benefits of handwriting in learning and memory, in goal achievement, and in health and well-being. Writing connects us physically and emotionally. Each person’s handwriting is as unique as their fingerprint and few things are as closely tied to our identities as our signatures. We can instantly recognise a loved one’s handwriting and feel the emotional connectivity. We will always be intimately connected both to and by writing... and to the instruments we write with.

We clearly handwrite less often than we once did.

When we do choose to write, the instrument that we select is that much more important. This mindful selection process has fuelled growth in the more premium pen types ranging from gel ink pens, with their smooth writing and vibrant ink colours (+7%), to fine writing pens with metal accents, striking designs and finishes (+4%.)1.

At Pilot Corporation of America (Pilot Pen), we are proud of our 100-year heritage of crafting the world’s finest writing instruments. We are passionately committed to bringing high-quality, innovative writing instruments to the market that will delight our

consumers and inspire their creativity. In the US, Pilot Pen is the market leader in the premium gel ink, rolling ball and erasable pen categories.

THE BENEFITS OF HANDWRITING The brain fires in a fundamentally different way when you are handwriting versus keyboarding. More neurons are engaged through the act of writing by hand and there are also fewer distractions. The benefits of writing by hand can be experienced across many aspects of our busy, stressful, modern lives.

The brain fires in a fundamentally different way when you are handwriting versus keyboarding Enhanced memory One area where these benefits have been observed and measured is in the classroom. Recent studies of learning and memory in college students concluded that in-class notetakers who used a laptop retained significantly less information compared to those using pen and paper. The students who handwrote their notes had to process and reframe the information, actively engaging more areas of the brain. This process led to deeper comprehension and greater retention of the information versus the verbatim transcription the students employed when using a laptop2.

This is an example of the ‘levels of processing effect’ observed across dozens of studies and across

Enhanced creativity Handwriting can also have an important effect on our creative processes and abilities. Creative ideas need time to take shape. The multiple strokes required to form each letter, paired with the more complex brain engagement, appear to give the brain valuable extra time to process and create. Many famous authors write out their novels by hand. Truman Capote reportedly wrote by hand, as do Neil Gaiman (a Pilot Pen fan), Stephen King, Erin Hildebrand and JK Rowling.

The act of drawing and doodling while writing can serve to further enhance the creative process by simultaneously engaging the analytical and artistic parts of the brain. This can help lead to innovative creative solutions, breaking through writer’s block or coming up with completely new ideas6.

MERGING DIGITAL WITH ANALOGUE Surprisingly, the analogue hand lettering trend and the digital world appear to have reconciled via social media. Calligraphy and hand-drawn typography are hot topics on Instagram and Pinterest, with over 300,000 posts and mentions receiving more than 350 million impressions year-to-date.

Dollar sales in the art and colouring market total over $1.5 billion, greater than total pen category dollar sales1. Given these consumer trends and feedback from our loyal ‘penthusiasts’, Pilot Corporation of America has launched the Ensō Collection, a curated selection of fountain, calligraphy, brush and lettering pens inspired by the timeless art of writing.

Ensō is a Japanese word meaning ‘circle’ and symbolises enlightenment, strength and elegance. The collection is inspired by this idea and Pilot’s 100-year Japanese heritage. Each kit provides individuals with the tools they need to create stunning calligraphy and hand lettering, and is well-suited for creators of all skill levels. Each includes exceptionally-crafted writing instruments and top-quality inks, along with instruction booklets linked to inspirational online content.

Pilot Pen remains committed to bringing exceptional-quality, innovative writing instruments to a new generation of pen and ink enthusiasts. We believe in the power of the written word, we believe in the power of a Pilot pen.

Pilot Corporation of America

We believe in the power of the written word, we believe in the power of a Pilot pen

drawn letters, a sense of accomplishment and, often reduced perceived stress levels. Decreasing stress has been shown to increase serotonin, the body’s natural mood-enhancing chemical. With these benefits in mind, it seems clear why this form of writing is core to the digital detox trend.

VENDOR PROFILE

all age groups over the past several decades3,4. This effect has even been seen in children as young as five in early literacy acquisition5, and in senior citizens working to maintain their mental acuity.

According to a new study, we can further enhance the benefits of writing by combining it with illustration.

“Drawing to-be-learned information enhanced memory” and this was a reliable, replicable means of boosting performance6. We use both sides of our brain when writing and drawing, engaging it in a more complex manner than when writing alone and helping us to learn, retain more and achieve more.

Enhanced sense of well-being The modern world is fast-paced and stressful, and we are always connected by our digital devices.

This has resulted in a sense of digital overload.

Many have begun to embrace the idea of ‘digital detox’ – refraining from using electronic devices and embracing physical interaction and analogue communication. Journalling and expressive writing, whereby a person writes down their thoughts, feelings, aspirations and details of their emotional state, have been linked to reduced stress, enhanced mood and even faster healing when done regularly.

There has also been a resurgence in hand lettering and calligraphy. The unhurried process of creating hand-drawn typography causes the brain to work in a complex manner, combining writing and illustration and tapping into both sides of our brain. The results for the writer include beautifully

December/January 2019

1) NPD Group Point-of Sale Data – Total Market includes Retail B&M, E-commerce, Drug, Grocery and Commercial. Latest 52 weeks through 3 October 2018. 2) Mueller, PA, & Oppenheimer, DM (2014) – The Pen is Mightier than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand over Laptop Note-taking. Psychological Science, 25, 1159-1168. 3) Craik, FIM & Lockhart, RS (1972) – Levels of Processing: A framework for Memory Research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11, 671-684. 4) Craik, FIM (2002). Levels of Processing: Past, Present... and Future? Memory, 10, 305-318. 5) Kersey, AJ & James, KH (2013). Brain Activation Patterns Resulting from Learning Letter Forms Through Active Self-production and Passive Observation in Young Children. Frontiers in Psychology, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00567. 6) Fernandes, MA, Wammes, JD, Meade, ME (2018). The Surprisingly Powerful Influence of Drawing on Memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, Volume: 27 issue: 5, page(s): 302-308

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VENDOR PROFILE Pilot Corporation of America www.opi.net 42

Artful Ensō

From beginner to expert, Pilot Pen has the artful writing tools to help you make your mark The Ensō Collection comprises several writing experiences. No matter which kit users choose, the ability to create artful writing is within reach. l The Kaküno Fountain Pen Set is ideal for those who are just starting out with a fountain pen and exploring the world of hand-drawn typography.

Kaküno means ‘to write’ in Japanese and that’s just what this fountain pen helps you to do. The Kaküno pen features an appealing smiley face on the nib which, when oriented upward, ensures perfect nib position for writing. The kit contains two complementary nib sizes and ink colours, so novices and seasoned fountain pen users alike will be able to explore a range of writing techniques and create stunning artistic lettering. l The Plumix Fountain Pen Set features three italic fountain pen nib sizes and three ink colours, so users can create line width variations while practicing their hand lettering. The design of the Plumix calligraphy pen was inspired by the ‘plume’, or feather, that was used to create early fountain and calligraphy pens. Combining these elegant lines with transparent demonstrator barrels in vibrant colours, and paired with matching inks, the Pilot Ensō Plumix Fountain Pen Sets are a unique way to add calligraphic flair and striking colour to your writing. l The Ensō Brush Pen Set is designed to deliver colourful precision, control and limitless expressive writing possibilities.

This multicoloured collection features seven extra-fine brush tip pens ideal for more detailed hand lettering, and one bold tip black brush pen that delivers rich, dark, flowing lines. The brush

Pilot Ensō Collection – offering a comprehensive set of exceptional calligraphy and hand lettering writing tools

pen tips mimic the feel of a real brush, so users can create varying line widths, but still have the command of a felt tip. From novice to expert, the Ensō Brush Pens pens enable you to create artful hand-drawn typography. l The Lettering Pen Set includes three felt-tipped calligraphy pens of varying nib widths. They are the perfect tool for penning a beautiful handwritten holiday or thank you card using calligraphy, or making your journal entries more artful. l The Parallel Pens are designed to delight expert calligraphers who want to take their work to the next level. The smooth writing Parallel Pens are a major breakthrough in calligraphy pen design – the nib consists of two parallel plates which allow for sharp, monoline writing with the narrow edge, and expressive, calligraphic writing with the broad edge. It is the only fountain pen designed for the creation of colour-blended letters; by touching ink from one Parallel Pen to a second one loaded with another ink colour, you can create remarkable ombre colour effects.

Left: Colourful precision with the Plumix fountain pen; Above: Beautiful writing with the Brush pens Right: Stunning calligraphy with the Parallel pen

EVENT

GREAT expectations PAPERWORLD 2019 PREVIEW

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aperworld returns to Frankfurt, Germany, from 26-29 January 2019. The tradeshow will not only feature an amended hall concept that reinforces the division of the fair into two sections – the ‘visionary office’ and ‘stationery trends’ – but also a number of new ancillary showcase areas and seminars.

Hall 3.1 will become what Messe Frankfurt calls as a “comprehensive stationery platform”, combining the gift, wrapping and celebration categories that were previously in Halls 5.1 and 6.1 with other lifestyle categories in the stationery segment. The revised product arrangement, say the organisers, will result in a number of advantages: exhibitors can position themselves in their market setting with their competitors and have easier access to additional groups of buyers, while visitors can see supplementary product lines for their fields of business and make contact with the appropriate manufacturers.

Says Paperworld Director Michael Reichhold: “Paperworld is highly successful with its clear hall concept and transparent product arrangement. Now we aim to build on this and create more room for new exhibitors. At the same time, the restructuring opens up new perspectives that are decisive for fresh ideas and results in valuable business contacts.”

Also in Hall 3.1 in 2019 is the annual Paperworld Trends show where designers will discuss how current trends in fashion, architecture and art can be adapted to the paper, office supplies and stationery world.

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OFFICE OF THE FUTURE Product arrangements in other exhibition areas remain largely unchanged. Hall 4.0, for example, will feature writing and drawing instruments and school supplies, while Hall 3.0 will continue to be focused on the office with all office supplies, equipment, furnishings and promotional products in that space.

That said, Hall 3.0 was also expected to be the third Plaza year – an initiative between Messe Frankfurt and

MARK THE DATE Paperworld will take place from 26-29 January 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany.

German trade association PBS-Markenindustrie that sees the group’s members exhibiting at Paperworld every two years. As Messe Frankfurt confirmed to OPI, there will be no Paperworld Plaza in 2019, with these exhibitors instead being integrated into Hall 3.0 among many other OP suppliers. It seems unlikely that the concept will be repeated at future events, given that in 2017 – the last Plaza year – support was already rather subdued.

The complementary programme in Hall 3.0, meanwhile, will once again revolve around the ‘Future Office’ and include a wide-ranging speaker programme as well as exhibition space that is focused specifically on the issue of flexibility in the office.

Presentations will discuss what makes a modern office flexible, with themes such as versatile working hours, mobile workspaces, and furnishings in modern office landscapes all being covered.

Says Reichhold: “Design of office premises, zone concepts, clean desk and mobile devices are the answers to flexible working requirements. That is why companies are investing increasingly in new concepts, office facilities and in mobile terminals. The Future Office will be showing how this can be put into practice in the workplace.”

EXPANDED COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAMME Another new – and very current – addition, also to be held in Hall 3.0, will explore the concept of ‘New Envelope – Packaging for E-Commerce’. This exhibition area will showcase various packaging solutions for the shipment of online purchases, while specialist talks will be held on the topic of “e-commerce cleverly packaged”.

Over in Hall 4.0, a new knowledge forum called ‘Future Learning’ will concentrate entirely on pioneering concepts and lifelong learning. Topics include the digitisation and increased flexibility of learning, the design of attractive teaching rooms and networked learning. What new possibilities are there and what can the paper, office supplies and stationery sector do to help with the journey?

Remanexpo will take place in Hall 5.1, and visitors can once again attend the Remcon seminars to find out about developments in reconditioned printer consumables and hard copy components. Talks will include themes such as Brexit and its impact on the sector, digital marketing and social media strategies.

Aside from a wide range of new initiatives, there will also be many familiar events and awards, including Sustainable Office Day, the Business Matchmaking Programme and Paperworld Insider.

For an interview with Paperworld Director Michael Reichhold, look out for the February 2019 issue of OPI.

EVENT

One STEP at a time CLIMB OF LIFE REVIEW

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n 2 November 2018, another Climb of Life (COL) fundraising year ended with over 100 intrepid trekkers from the UK business supplies industry taking to the mountains of England’s Lake District to try and break another record.

The short-term aim? To raise another £100,000+ ($127,000) in order to reach a milestone £1 million over the past 12 years for the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). The long-term goal? To help cure cancer and rid the world of this dreadful disease that affects and devastates so many of us.

At the end of a long and gruelling day in the mountains – but for once occasionally sunny and beautiful, rather than atrociously wintery – the first objective was achieved in some style and to much celebration. COL 2018 raised a total of £103,000, beating all prior fundraising years and resulting in the resounding success of the £1 million challenge.

MAKING PROGRESS The second goal is clearly much more difficult and a long way off but, as Professor Paul Workman, CEO of the ICR who’s been taking part in COL for the past four years with his wife Liz, says: “The £1 million raised so far from COL continues to make a huge difference at the ICR as we work to achieve our mission of making the discoveries that defeat cancer. The support is especially important if we are to overcome our greatest challenge – the ability of cancers to adapt, evolve and become resistant to treatment. On behalf of the whole of the ICR, I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone involved.”

While the actual mountain climb is the culmination of the annual COL, much of the hard, non-physical work is carried out throughout the year, as many of the participating individuals and companies can testify to. This year again, OPI was the top fundraiser, with a sum of £27,000 raised, followed by Hamelin

MARK THE DATE

The next Climb of Life will take place on 8 November 2019.

Brands and its UK team. Long-standing supporter VOW, meanwhile, was the headline sponsor of the initiative, contributing not only much-needed funds, but also invaluable background help.

Part of Team OPI was once again CEO Steve Hilleard, who said: “We are all busy dealing with the challenges this industry is throwing at us and there are plenty of them for all channels in the supply chain. But what could be more rewarding than handing over another £100,000+ cheque to the ICR? It will hopefully go a small way towards aiding those who need it the most and create a brighter future for them. I feel privileged to be part of the COL community and, quite frankly, ‘business as usual’ can wait compared to what we can achieve as part of this fantastic initiative.”

‘Business as usual’ can wait compared to what we can achieve as part of this fantastic initiative Hilleard is not alone in his outlook and, indeed, COL founder Graeme Chapman MBE highlights the outstanding commitment, loyalty and determination of the many long-time supporters – both on the front line, so to speak, but also behind the scenes.

He also points out how COL still manages to recruit new people: “We had many of our usual supporters this year, but we also had 30 new faces who experienced their first COL. Bringing in new blood is terrific and I cannot overstate how important this is and how humbled I am by this joint effort of our industry. To exceed the previous year’s fundraising again and for the fifth year in a row raise over £100,000 is incredible and something I never thought possible. Thank you.”

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EVENT

TAKING

control OPI GLOBAL FORUM REVIEW

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t was against a backdrop of industry change and uncertainty that more than 100 business products leaders from around the world gathered in Chicago in mid-November for the seventh OPI Global Forum. While many of the delegates were from the US, senior executives from Europe, Australia, Canada and Mexico also flew in to network with peers, exchange views on industry challenges and opportunities, and participate in two days of high-level presentations, panel discussions and roundtables.

There was strong participation from representatives of the independent dealer channel, but not exclusively so, with senior figures from Staples Solutions in Europe, Amazon Business and many others also in attendance.

In keeping with the recent preference of OPI to invite figures from within the industry to moderate its forum events, John Givens of US dealer Source Office & Technology took on the role of conference chair. He rose to the occasion with a combination of enthusiasm, wit and insightful comment.

In his opening remarks, Givens urged delegates to “not be slaves to your past, but liberators of your future”. Indeed, the need to be an active participant in the changes taking place in the industry was one of the key themes running through the event, and there was a definite sense that industry leaders are ready to take difficult – and potentially controversial – decisions to ensure the continued relevance and longevity of their companies.

The acquisition of US wholesaler Essendant by Staples Inc – which had not been confirmed at the time of the Global Forum – was, of course, very much top of mind. Essendant’s Ric Phillips and Harry Dochelli were at the event but, for legal reasons, were unable to take part in the panel discussions – although Phillips did briefly address the audience.

A lively session did however discuss the future of wholesaling, and US-based members of the audience in particular were interested to learn about how a multichannel model has already developed in many

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY The next OPI Global Forum will take place in Chicago, US, from 17-19 November 2019.

Before that, OPI’s next European Forum will be held in Berlin, Germany, from 5-7 June 2019.

parts of Europe. The fact that entities in Europe own both wholesaling and reseller businesses was described as “a non-issue” in terms of competitive conflicts of interest and data firewalling. It was also argued that both dealers and wholesalers had become more profitable under this model.

THE A-WORD Such is the level of interest in and impact of Amazon on the office products industry that it is now referred to by many as the “A-word”. One of the many roundtable discussions at the event was hosted by Amazon Business and it was standing room only as the company shed some light on its go-to-market strategy and reiterated its “obsession” with focusing on what customers want.

That customer emphasis is something other resellers can learn from, delegates were told during another presentation. “Don’t underestimate the impact that Amazon has on your revenue streams,” was the warning, “but stay focused on what you are really good at [and] model your business to what your customer preferences are”.

At the risk of sounding a bit like a broken record (for those of you who even still know what that is), the current pace of change in the industry is unprecedented. But it’s hard to argue with it, said OPI CEO Steve Hilleard: “Who would have thought just over six months ago, for example, that we would now all be talking about Staples entering the wholesaling channel. Business leaders around the world realise things are changing fast and I’m very pleased that OPI can add value by providing not only world-class speakers to tackle many of the key issues, but also unique networking opportunities for senior industry executives in terms of the channel and geographical breadth represented at events like the Global Forum.”

GENERATION GAME

Employee WELL-BEING

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Special Issue HEALTH & WELL-BEING

in the MODERN workplace

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ust as elite athletes are required to remain in peak condition for their respective sports, so too should employees be encouraged to stay in the best shape, physically and mentally, to perform their roles to the best of their ability.

Indeed, ensuring employee well-being is more relevant than ever before. An increased awareness of mental health issues and research into staff productivity has led to more workplaces relaxing ‘normal’ work practices.

A recent YouGov study of more than 4,000 people in the UK states that only 6% work the typical nine-to-five work day. The most popular shift was eight to four, with 37% choosing these hours. Almost half the people surveyed work flexibly, job share or work compressed hours, allowing them to juggle other commitments to find the work-life balance that suits their circumstances. The benefits speak for themselves: those that work flexibly report an increase in motivation and productivity, and are encouraged to stay in a job for longer.

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MOVE WITH THE TIMES As the perception of ‘normal’ changes, employers need to move with the times and ensure their staff are happy to maximise their productivity. Stress in the workplace is a major cause of stress outside the workplace, meaning that employees are more likely to leave a job if they are unhappy during working hours.

Some of the practices that are now perceived as part and parcel of a well-being package are flexible hours, walking during the day and digital detoxes – all things that we, as members of the BOSS Leaders of the Future committee, are well aware of and as a group try to adhere to.

According to research by Fellowes Brands UK, 75% of managers are seeing a rise in expectations among their workforce, with a third prepared to change employer if the reality falls short of their expectations.

It starts with the basics which should be easy to manage. Hydration is key to well-being, so water should always be easily accessible, with employees encouraged to drink an appropriate amount throughout the day. Providing hot drinks such as tea and coffee is also seen as essential, with additions such as biscuits or more ‘luxury’ products being a bonus.

Physical well-being is also important, with 70% of workers thinking their employer should do more to proactively prevent health issues. A workplace that isn’t fit for purpose could make employees unproductive at best and sick at worst, driving up absentee costs. Issues often reported are back

or neck problems, headaches or fatigue, many of these attributed to long periods of time spent working at a computer or laptop. Some companies have stepped it up, so to speak, introducing discounted gym memberships, healthy eating options and free health checks, with the benefit of noticing an improvement in employee happiness and increased staff retention.

With more solutions readily available to help prevent health issues, it is the duty of employers to ensure risk assessments are carried out and employees are treated on an individual basis to create an environment suited to their needs. Uptake of sit-stand workstations is rapidly increasing to counteract the negative effects of sitting down for long periods during the working day, with 90% of workers in Sweden and Denmark, for instance, already adopting the practice.

Businesses elsewhere would be wise to consider following a similar path, as 51% of managers in the UK, for example, have admitted to losing good people because of their working environment.

Sp Scott Castle, Marketing Manager, VOW & BOSS Leaders of the Future Committee

Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL

A workplace that isn’t fit for purpose could make employees unproductive at best and sick at worst With people more aware of how many factors – from diet and physical activity to the amount of water they drink – affect their health, they’re simply becoming less willing to stick around at companies that systematically fail to take health seriously.

Employees can also help themselves, of course.

The simple things are often the most effective, like a ten-minute walk during the day to keep key muscle groups moving and refresh. Sitting at a desk all day can become monotonous, so if there is somewhere near the workplace to have a walk and change your surroundings, try it at least a couple of times a week.

We could also benefit from ‘being in the moment’ more often. Take occasional breaks from working for interpersonal contact. That doesn’t mean social media – leave Twitter and Instagram alone. Put the tablet or smartphone down and set time aside for colleagues and friends – maybe a digital detox one day a week could be helpful.

We might not be professional athletes, but it is still important to keep our minds and bodies in top condition, not just to reach maximum performance, but also to ensure our well-being.

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9 PRESENTATION DINNER 5 MARCH 2019 The winners of the 18th annual European Office Products Awards (EOPA) will be announced at a glittering industry dinner on 5 March 2019 at the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam, Netherlands

BOOK NOW

To reserve your seats at this unmissable networking event or for more details

visit www.opi.net/eopa2019 or email awards@opi.net

5 MINUTES WITH...

Gavin Ward

CAREER Q&A Describe your current job.

As CEO of dealer group Office Brands, my job is to be the central interpreter of members’ needs, the objectives of our suppliers, and the guardianship of shareholder assets.

I find all of these aspects demanding and yet rewarding challenges.

What scares you?

A failure to keep our group moving forward.

If you aren’t advancing, then you are falling behind, and it is too easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day rhythm of business.

What’s your life philosophy?

Always treat others as you would expect to be treated yourself.

Your worst ever job?

I can’t say I have ever really had a bad job. All have had issues, but the process of dealing with those has been what has developed and shaped the career I have enjoyed.

What’s your specialist subject?

In my private life, my passion for sailing. In business, I would say marketing.

What are you most proud of?

My family.

Best compliment you’ve ever received?

When my son had a major achievement in his job and he told me that his success was due to what I had taught him.

What would you cook for a dinner party?

Paella. It’s meant to be shared with friends.

Done well, it’s a taste explosion.

Your favourite gadget?

My iPad. Best way to spend the weekend?

Boating: either working on my boat, spending time with my family on it, or racing.

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If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be?

Australian yachtsman James Spithill. Despite losing the 2017 America’s Cup, he has grown from a school boy sailor to the peak of

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performance on outstanding new boats.

It would be amazing to understand the thrill and passion of working with such awe-inspiring teams.

If the world had a President, who would you vote for?

Barrack Obama – the man has long-term vision and passion.

What kind of music do you like?

My music is very varied and depends on what I am doing. Currently, I would say Mumford & Sons. I like their mix of pop and bluegrass which makes them unique.

If you could have the answer to any question, what would you ask?

How do you get people to understand the concept of working together for the common good, supporting each other’s growth?

Your childhood ambitions?

A passionate and happy life. I have pretty well ticked most of that.

What’s your favourite place to visit in Australia?

Hamilton Island. It is one of the great wonders of the world and fantastic for a holiday. It also hosts Australia’s largest offshore sailing regatta.

Which industry figure do you most admire?

I have a lot of people I hold in high esteem so it’s hard to single out a particular figure. At the moment, I particularly admire founder and CEO of Complete Office Supplies Dominique Lyone. I have spent a large part of my life supporting independent businesses and Dom is a man who started with very little and made it into an empire.

I regard him as a fierce competitor and a man of strong ethics. A number of members in our own group exhibit similar tendencies, but I think Dom is an outstanding competitor.

Your best piece of advice to someone who has just joined the OP industry?

Don’t bury yourself in what the industry has been or is today. Look to where it’s going and make sure you allocate time and energy to move towards that direction, by picking a new market or channel and focusing on it to get it right. Then do it again.

Use the resources you have to find mentors that can help you move ahead with these new tasks.

What personal item do you have on your desk?

A barometer. It reminds me of the sea, which has a very calming influence.

FINAL WORD

No time like the present

– ACT NOW

W

hen I started in the office products sector in 2005 at Swiss reseller iba, I was asked by one member of the company’s advisory board: “Christa, you worked in fashion before. How will you bring the sexiness of that industry into our business? Won’t you be bored?” My answer was: “I’ve always loved working with people, developing a business together and bringing joy to customers.

This is the same everywhere, whether it’s fashion or business supplies. Apart from that, I’ve always liked office products.”

My beliefs haven’t changed over the past 13 years, but, of course, there have been significant shifts in the purchasing behaviour of consumers as well as in the type of products used. And I’m convinced this evolution will continue as millennials become a big part of our working economy, and digital migrants are discovering the convenience of e-commerce, home office working and social media.

As a result of all this, it is necessary that we speed up the implementation of new products, solutions and business processes. As another year draws to a close and 2019 is upon us, I have some observations for our industry. These are made from the vantage point of the time I spent at Office World and iba, and my new position as owner and CEO of the CF Synergie consultancy:

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• Important categories are declining – archiving & filing, copy paper, ink & toner. In the meantime, digital services are substituting physical products.

• Artificial intelligence (IoT, bots, robotics) will seriously affect processes and organisations.

• Customer expectations – the notion of “I want it now, in the place and hour I decide” is growing.

• Worldwide competition – Amazon Business (and also Amazon Prime) and Alibaba are fast-moving and growing.

• B2B retail shifts strongly over to e-commerce and the profitability of stores is a challenge.

• Price sensibility of consumers is increasing.

• The attention of management to change and implement new business models is limited and often too slow.

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OMNICHANNEL ESSENTIAL Several of the above topics are particularly prevalent. None more so than digitisation and e-commerce. Today, a user-friendly online shop with all the processes that are taken for granted is vital.

What is really important to note in my opinion is that the notion of e-commerce means online-only. It’s simply not a case of on- or offline anymore; it’s not

enough – a combination of both and a true omnichannel approach is essential.

Experience has taught me that the most successful way to engage small- and medium-sized companies is still with printed catalogues and mailshots. Or take Digitec-Galaxus in Switzerland: it’s the biggest online retailer in the country, but it’s also still going strong offline with advertising and several stores.

As digitisation progresses, e-commerce competition becomes more ferocious, with price wars on tenders continuing. As such, it’s very important to establish a clear positioning and to find your USPs. On that note, sometimes it is also necessary to step back from services that are no longer required by customers.

Christa Furter, Owner/CEO, CF Synergie; former CEO, OfficeWorld/iba

It’s very important to establish a clear positioning and to find your USPs KEEPING UP WITH AMAZON Talking of clear positioning, this brings me to another point: Amazon. As a starting point, as entrepreneurs, we have to look at Amazon in the same way we looked at other competitors in the past. Will the online giant ‘eat’ our business model or is it still possible to grow our companies sustainably in the future? I firmly believe in the latter, but I am also very impressed with Amazon for a number of reasons.

Its total customer focus is one of them. As stated by CEO Jeff Bezos: “Start with the customer and work backwards.” Many will remember when, about 20 years ago, Viking was the king of customer service, with “fanatical customer service” at its very heart. Now it’s Amazon’s turn.

And even after 24 years in business, this operator still has the same ‘Day One’ culture.

The most important advice I can offer, however, is this: just do it! Looking ahead, here are my top five tips for businesses in our space to remain successful: 1. Anticipate customer needs 2. Go beyond mobile first 3. Join the conversation to build relationships 4. Seize social commerce 5. Focus on emotions – this is our chance to differentiate ourselves from global platforms

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