OPI 291 JULY/AUGUST 2019 A

BIG INTERVIEW

Connecting the

business products world

Laurent Proy, Groupe Alkor July/August 2019

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Special Issue

UK wholesalers hit by 2020 date switch l Big boxes bank on co-working l NeoCon trends l Tech solutions in action l Invest in the cloud l Bridging the technology gap l NAOPA preview

SOLUTIONS

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TECHNOLOGY

Special Issue

CONTENTS 16 Big Interview Navigating change 24 Hot Topic A look at the new ISG 50 How to... ...retain the best talent 54 Preview: NAOPA 2019 NAOPA under the spotlight 58 Preview: BSA Annual Forum 2019 US vendors come together 60 Preview: Ride of Life Why get involved?

62 Review: European Forum 2019 The core takeaways 64 Review: UFIPA Conference 2019 The French market reviewed

Big Interview: Laurent Proy, Groupe Alkor

Laurent Proy has been at the helm of Groupe Alkor for the past 13 years and has overseen the steady modernisation of the organisation. It’s certainly a group that is no stranger to change.

In its history spanning over 60 years, Alkor has had three different names and evolved from early beginnings as a retailfocused bookstore network into a multichannel operator in the office products and school supplies sectors. What has not changed is the cooperative structure and an ability to adapt to new trends and opportunities in orderSpecial to remain Issue relevant.

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

HOT TOPIC: OUT OF THE STARTING BLOCKS

Special Issue

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS 28 Feature What the tech experts say

Special Issue

36 Focus Dealer case studies

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

40 Feature Ready for disruption?

44 Opinion The need to invest

Special Issue

46 Feature Partnering for success

VENDOR SPECIAL

REGULARS 5 Comment 6 News

Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL

Special Issue July/August 2019

Ultimately, everything we want to achieve should be beneficial to the IDC. There are programmes TriMega had that benefitted its group of dealers and the same is true for ISG and Pinnacle. What we’ve accomplished so far with the merger is to take the best of the best from all three groups and make it available to all dealers. There’s also sincere hope that the gravitational pull of a group this powerful should create more unification in our channel.

In terms of cost savings, there will be some heavy lifting in the first year, with appreciable savings and efficiencies. By the end of 24 months, I believe we will be on course to reduce cost by at least $2 million annually as a result of the merger.

66 Review: Clerkenwell Design Week A decade of design

VENDOR SPECIAL

68 5 minutes with...

Alex Bonarius 70 Final Word Daniel Noble

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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 News Editor 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 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 Amy Byrne +44 (0)20 7841 2950 amy.byrne@opi.net Finance Kelly Hilleard +44 (0)20 7841 2956 kelly.hilleard@opi.net

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

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The power of collaboration

nce a year, we have an issue of OPI that delves a little deeper into the world of technology solutions, essentially the backbone of how resellers in our industry address and deal with their customer base. And this is it, as you can see from the purple sticker that you will find throughout these pages.

The need to be ‘up there’ in technology terms has never been greater. I can’t recall the number of times I’ve heard the phrase ‘digital transformation’ of late. It can mean so many things – from the very tangible to the conceptual and abstract – but what it most certainly means is that doing nothing and hoping for the best is not an option anymore.

For a first glimpse at the new [ISG], a look back as well as forward, see this month’s Hot Topic The reality is that Amazon and other online platforms and marketplaces are much better than your typical OP reseller at being at the forefront of the technology revolution – they’ve built their very businesses on that premise (and have the financial resources to boot). It’s a different story for independent dealers – they are often having to completely reinvent the wheel and are quite evidently out of their depth much of the time (see page 28). The need to listen to, learn from and partner with the experts is a thread that runs through several of our features this month. Progress is being made (see page 36, for example), but rising to the digital challenge remains a perennial theme.

Talking of perennial issues, here’s one that has recently reached its conclusion: the coming together of the three largest dealer groups in the US. The new Independent Suppliers Group (ISG) began operations on 1 July. With so much at stake – having finally succeeded in bringing under one umbrella about 900 US dealers – it’s no surprise that the key protagonists are somewhat cagey and reluctant to discuss the nuances of the merger in too much detail.

With that in mind, I was hugely appreciative to be given the chance to talk to two ISG spokespeople recently – David Guernsey and Ian Wist – so for a first glimpse at the new entity, a look back as well as forward, see this month’s Hot Topic (page 24). A work in progress indeed and another rousing endorsement of the power of collaboration – and perseverance.

As the summer holiday season gets into full swing here in Europe and the northern hemisphere, I wish all our readers a happy HEIKE DIECKMANN, EDITOR and relaxing July and August.

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Connecting the

business products world

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

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No part of this magazine may be reproduced, copied, stored in an electronic retrieval system or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with provision of the copyright designs and patents act of 1988. Stringent efforts have been made by Office Products International to ensure accuracy. However, due principally to the fact that data cannot always be verified, it is possible that some errors or omissions may occur. Office Products International cannot accept responsibility for such errors or omissions. Office Products International accepts no responsibility for comments made by contributing authors or interviewees that may offend.

July/August 2019

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NEWS

Analysis:

Holiday switch hits UK OP industry Stockpiles of products now show incorrect date for May 2020 public holiday In June, the UK government announced that the public holiday originally scheduled for Monday, 4 May 2020, would be moved to Friday, 8 May, in order to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. When a similar switch was made in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of VE Day, the decision was made about 18 months ahead of time, giving plenty of warning to any industries that might be affected. This time around, the notice period of just 11 months has come too late for many manufacturers and suppliers of dated products such as diaries and planners.

Two companies hit by the government’s order are the leading UK office products wholesalers Spicers and VOW Wholesale.

While both agree with the switch to commemorate the VE Day anniversary, they are disappointed by the government’s timing.

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It’s important that both wholesalers help dealers to communicate this to the end user to ensure that we don’t lose sales

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“It is a shame that the decision to make the change for the right reason was not made earlier since the knock-on effect will be that many consumers will receive diaries with incorrect dates,” said Robert Moore, Group Purchasing Director of Spicers’ parent company SPOT. “While the UK government has stated that it considered the practical implications of the change, it does not appear that any discussions took place with the relevant industry bodies such as the British Printing Industries Federation, which represent thousands of companies in the sector, including calendar and diary makers.”

Academic diaries for 2019/2020 were printed and shipped months ago and have been – or are being – supplied to reseller customers in

time for the back-to-school season. Calendar year 2020 diaries and planners have also been printed and are en route to the wholesalers’ distribution centres. There may be some scope for local manufacturers in the UK to reprint or rebind some products, but for the vast majority of items this is not going to be feasible.

REPRINTING “IMPOSSIBLE” “Both time and cost make the reprinting of diaries impossible,” said Debbie Nice, Merchandise Director at VOW Wholesale. “Office products wholesalers still sell a massive amount of dated products to businesses, and the planning and manufacturing process starts in the previous year.”

Likewise, while Moore said that Spicers sympathised with resellers that may have diaries which are incorrect, he confirmed that the cost to either reprint or scrap existing products was just too high. “This is especially true on commercial diaries which have been commoditised over recent years, with cost becoming a key factor,” he noted.

Obviously, sales forecasts and orders for next year had been made well in advance of the government’s public holiday date switch announcement and time will tell if consumers are reluctant to purchase these ‘incorrect’ products.

Moore admitted this was a concern and that any reduction in sales would end in stock – and therefore cost – being written off at the end of the diary selling season.

To try and prevent this from happening, Nice recognised that effective communication to end users will be important. “Consumers will be disappointed with the problem as I think they won’t understand the complexities of the supply chain for a ‘simple’ product like diaries,” she said.

“However, there is plenty of information in the national news on the reason for the date change, so this will help with communication.”

She added that the VOW Wholesale sales team “will be prepared” to answer dealers’ concerns about their dated products for next year, saying: “It’s important that both wholesalers help dealers to communicate this to the end user to ensure that we don’t lose sales.”

In mid-June, The Mart in Chicago, US, once again played host to NeoCon, the premier industry showcase for all things in the field of commercial office design. The three-day event attracted what the organisers called a “robust attendance”, although to some, numbers appeared to be slightly down on last year. That said, exhibitors were quick to praise the quality of those visiting the show, with a good number of high-level decision-makers reported on the show floor.

This year saw the introduction of the NeoCon Plaza, an ‘experiential outdoor environment’ sponsored and outfitted by Haworth, where attendees could relax, network and enjoy a variety of refreshments in a space overlooking the Chicago River.

Organisers hailed it as a “direct example of the movement of incorporating the outdoors into the workplace”.

Other trends that could be observed at the show included the continued move towards the ‘resimercial’ – the blending of the home look into office areas – a focus on ancillary and amenity spaces, the use of phone booth-like structures to provide private areas, and greater use of acoustic panels and materials.

The next NeoCon will be held from 8-10 June 2020, again at The Mart in Chicago.

Paper distribution consolidation

There was news of three major international deals in the paper distribution channel at the beginning of July. In Europe, the German competition authority approved the merger of merchants Papyrus Deutschland and Papier Union, owned by OptiGroup and Inapa respectively. Originally announced last October, the transaction had been expected to close by the end of 2018, but was delayed by the antitrust investigation in Germany.

The deal should now be finalised in the coming weeks, creating an entity with sales of around €900 million ($1.02 billion) and employing about 1,000 people. The merger comes following a 2018 in which paper consumption in Western Europe was estimated to have fallen by almost 7.5%.

In the UK, the country’s second largest paper merchant Premier Paper was acquired

by Japan Pulp and Paper (JPP) in a deal worth ¥5 billion ($46 million). Premier Paper – which employs around 480 staff in the UK – achieved sales of £233 million ($291 million) in 2018 and operates out of 18 facilities. Its current operational management team will stay on following the change of ownership.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Spicers, the distribution company that remained following the collapse of PaperlinX in 2015, was sold to Japan’s Kokusai Pulp & Paper (KPP) for around A$147 million (US$103 million). The acquisition involved Spicers’ operations in Australia and New Zealand, the former subsidiaries in Asia having been sold off to JPP at the end of 2018.

KPP – which listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018 – was founded in 1924 and has annual sales of approximately ¥380 billion. Its acquisition of Spicers is part of its strategy to grow in the Asia-Pacific region.

IN BRIEF Amazon expands Business Prime to UK As of this July, Amazon Business customers in the UK can sign up for the e-tailer’s Business Prime programme.

Already available in the US, Germany and Japan, Business Prime members qualify for a range of shipping benefits, account management and spend visibility tools.

NEWS

New trends highlighted at NeoCon

Ex-Fiducial CEO heading French mega dealer The former CEO of French contract reseller Fiducial Office Solutions Laurent Bertrand has been appointed to run the country’s largest independent dealer Lacoste-Dactyl Buro Office (DBO). The entity was formed at the end of 2018 when private equity-backed Lacoste completed its takeover of DBO. Hargreaves joins Nemo/Office Club UK industry veteran Graeme Hargreaves has been named as the Group Head of Merchandising at UK dealer groups Nemo and Office Club, effective 15 July.

New name for Winc NZ Winc New Zealand was recently rebranded to Net Xpress Procurement, several months after it was sold by Platinum Equity to locally-owned group Tiri.

Platinum was forced to sell the unit last year in order to complete its takeover of OfficeMax New Zealand.

As Platinum also owns Winc Australia, a rebranding was always on the cards.

July/August 2019

Manutan acquires Benelux-based distributor Workplace products reseller Manutan has acquired a 100% stake in Netherlands-based online storage and material handling distributor Kruizinga.

With annual sales of about €25 million ($28 million), Kruizinga operates out of a large facility in Wapenveld in the centre of the country and serves clients in Belgium and Germany as well as its home market.

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NEWS

Analysis:

Will co-working save the office superstores?

Office Depot and Staples are both turning to co-working in the US as a way to optimise floor space in their retail outlets According to co-working app provider Proximity Space, by 2020 there will be nearly 65 million location-flexible workers in the US alone – half of the nation’s workforce. Another statistic from leading office brokerage Office Freedom points to the opening of almost 1,000 new co-working spaces in the country in 2018.

It’s against the backdrop of this workplace trend that both Staples and Office Depot have opened a handful of co-working spaces in stores in Canada and the US in the past few months: Depot launched a pilot in California back in August 2018, expanding what is now called Workonomy Hub to several other markets recently; Staples Canada opened its first Studio concept store in Toronto this January; and Staples Retail in the US announced its own co-working move in June, a few months after ending a partnership with Workbar.

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WIDER RETAIL STRATEGY The co-working areas are part of a wider strategy for retail aimed at making stores a focal point for small businesses in local communities. They are strongly linked to new service propositions in the form of Office Depot’s Workonomy offering and Staples’ Pro Services and Solution Shop brands in the US and Canada respectively. “[We are] shifting from a store that sells supplies to one that really builds and fosters community environments for small businesses, freelancers and other professionals,” Stacey Helbig, Director of Studio at Staples, told OPI. “This community

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style paves the way for better networking, shared learning and business building. Staples saw a need for this type of environment after speaking to individuals at small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups and on-the-go business folks.”

On the face of it, Staples and Office Depot’s propositions are quite similar: total space of about 4,000-5,000 sq ft (400-500 sq m); a choice of hot-desking or private office space; daily rates and monthly membership offers; conference room facilities; kitchen/cafeteria amenities; access to in-store services; regular networking events and guest speakers.

A closer look, however, suggests that Staples has made the greater investment: the furniture and décor have a more modern, premium feel, and extra features include a podcasting studio and a mini auditorium area called Spotlight. Staples is also offering 24/7 access to the Studios, although Office Depot says this is “coming soon” to its Workonomy Hubs.

It would seem a natural progression to further tap into this market and expand their proposition from a place to shop into a place to work also Office products industry consultant Doug Ramsdale – who recently visited a Workonomy Hub near Chicago, Illinois – believes the concept is primarily a real estate strategy. His understanding is that negotiations with landlords played “a big part” in the shared office layouts as resellers asked themselves what they could do with underutilised space – remember, the average size of an Office Depot store is still around 22,000 sq ft.

As Office Freedom President Richard Sexton MBE noted: “It’s been evident for some time that retailers and mall owners have been turning to co-working to utilise some of the estimated two million square feet of retail space that’s closed or expected to close in the US from 2017. The success or otherwise of co-working within retail depends on a host of different factors, notably: price, location, facilities, terms, convenience, community, etc.

“Both Staples and Office Depot have a ready-made audience of shoppers who are predominantly small businesses in the market for business supplies. It would seem a natural progression to further tap into this market and expand their proposition from a place to shop into a place to work also. The retail footfall and database of customers provides a large quality pool of target prospects.”

Refurbishing stores to include serviced office areas does not come cheap, and whether Staples and Depot have the resources to convert a meaningful number of their 2,800 North American outlets is, at best, questionable. Nevertheless, Ramsdale said he could see the potential of the concept – albeit with a few tweaks – although he questioned the “prohibitive” cost of walk-in hot-desking ($40 at Office Depot) and wondered if the competition from local coffee shops had really been taken into consideration.

HP Papers.

What printers dream of. Š2019 HP Development Company, L.P. and International Paper Company. All rights reserved. HP and the HP Logo are registered trademarks of HP and are used by International Paper Company under license from HP. The HP Papers office paper range is manufactured and marketed exclusively worldwide by International Paper under license from HP.

NEWS

T3L acquires Jalema

IN BRIEF

Further consolidation has taken place in the European office supplies vendor channel after French/Danish group T3L announced its takeover of Netherlands-based Jalema. The acquisition became effective on Joan Westendorff (l) with T3L CEO Kim Berg 1 July and brings together two regional manufacturers that appear to be a good fit for each other.

T3L was founded in 2008 with the merger of Tarifold and 3L Office – with the Probeco brand added a couple of years later – and has manufacturing sites in Denmark and France. With a presence in over 60 countries, it offers a wide range of products, including office supplies, signage solutions, custom-made items, graphic solutions, retail accessories and industrial products.

Jalema – whose main shareholder was Director Joan Westendorff – was founded in 1947 and produces document management and office supplies out of two manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands. In addition to its eponymous brand, it is known for the Atlanta and Dataplus ranges in northern Europe. As well as having a similar cultural identity, the two firms will be hoping to leverage their respective market strengths to develop cross-selling opportunities – Jalema, for example, could benefit from the strong presence of Tarifold in France, while the relationship could work in the opposite direction in the Benelux countries.

Office Depot names new CompuCom President

Mick Slattery

Office Depot has turned to Mick Slattery, the former CEO of road toll and transport services giant Conduent Transportation, to lead the turnaround of its CompuCom IT services division.

Slattery is the third President at CompuCom – which Office Depot acquired for around $1 billion in 2017 – in just over a year. Dan Stone, CEO at the time of the Office Depot takeover, left in June 2018, while his successor, Greg Hoogerland, has also left the organisation as an Office Depot spokesperson confirmed to OPI. CompuCom is regarded by Office Depot as a key asset in its strategy to become an integrated business services and supplies company, but has not lived up to its potential since the acquisition. In its most recent quarterly results, it posted an operating loss of $15 million as sales fell by around 4%, a performance that Office Depot CEO Gerry Smith described at the time as “completely unacceptable”.

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SOFEA to close down

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The members of the Sustainable Office European Association (SOFEA) have voted to close down the organisation.The group, which was making headway on a product rating measuring system for the European business supplies industry, has said it will be officially dissolved by 31 August.

The offices in Venlo, the Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium, shut on 1 July.

The recommendation was made at the association’s general meeting held on 25 June after a member vote. The following were cited as the main reasons for the decision: the association didn’t function properly and meet its objectives; it was no longer possible to manage it; and there were insufficient financial resources. SOFEA also said that the support from manufacturers was strongly related to the commitment of resellers, which was “missing because of various reasons”.

“In the current situation, it is impossible to drive the association and its goals forward,” concluded SOFEA Managing Director Anita Gunther-Singh.

The group is now looking for interested parties for a possible methodology transfer for the rating system tool.

Chinese firm buys Swiss furniture maker Switzerland-based office furniture company Lista Office Group (LO) was acquired by Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang Henglin Chair Industry.

LO said the sale formed part of its international expansion and growth strategy.

Acquisition for Egan Reid UK independent dealer Egan Reid has taken a majority stake in TODDS Group, a Lincoln-based office supplies, furniture and fit-out specialist. Egan Reid said the transaction represented “a significant step” in its growth strategy.

Richardson named Identity Group CEO Former Fellowes Brands and HP executive Sam Richardson has been appointed as new CEO of Identity Group, a US manufacturer of commercial signs and visual décor.

Acquisition for Ricoh Ricoh has announced a definitive agreement to acquire German office automation solutions firm DocuWare. The two companies already have a long-term existing partnership.

Quad-LSC tie-up blocked The US Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the proposed acquisition of commercial printing company LSC Communications by Quad/Graphics.

NEWS

Administrators confirm end of Office Outlet

The winding down of UK office supplies retailer Office Outlet has been confirmed by its joint administrators from Deloitte. The former retail business of Staples UK went into administration in March, and the hope had been to find a buyer for the 94-store chain, but this outcome failed to materialise. “Despite undertaking a focused marketing process built on an extensive marketing process that had been run by the directors ahead of our appointment, there was very limited interest in a sale of the business and assets of the companies, in whole or in part,” the administrators wrote in their report.

Office Outlet entered into a company voluntary arrangement in September 2018 in an effort to alleviate its store rental costs. Despite this and a £27 million ($34 million) debt write-off by minority owner Hilco, tough trading conditions on the UK high street and continued underperformance of the business put further pressure on credit lines.

Efforts to find further sources of investment were not successful and, unable to meet its debt-repayment obligations, the company was placed into administration.

It continued to trade as Deloitte sought a buyer and was still operating as of the end of April, although 40 stores had already been closed by then and its main distribution centre had been vacated.

One offer was received to acquire the business as a going concern, it was revealed, but this was deemed not to provide sufficient value. The winding down process will result in the closure of all remaining stores and the loss of 1,176 jobs.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH

Lyreco makes Asia acquisition In what it described as a “first step in its new development strategy” for Asia, Lyreco has acquired Singapore’s second-largest contract stationer DeskRight.

The two companies said they will work together to capitalise on their complementary strengths and increase market share by improving the customer experience. Lyreco believes it will benefit Andy Koh from DeskRight’s relations with local businesses and government agencies while, in turn, this B2B client base will be able to take advantage of Lyreco’s international scope, logistics expertise and global purchasing power.

DeskRight was incorporated in 1996 but has its origins in a manufacturing business called SD Systems that was founded a few years earlier. Long-time owner Andy Koh has now taken on the role of Managing Director of Lyreco Singapore.

Lyreco CEO Hervé Milcent commented: “Asia is a priority market for Lyreco Group. We know there is room for us in the market and we are determined to become the regional leader.

We will make the investments and take the steps needed to consolidate our presence in countries where we already operate as well as to expand into the region’s main countries.”

Bowerfind expands role at ECi Brian Bowerfind, ECi Software Solutions’ President of the US Distribution and Net1 divisions, has also taken leadership of the firm’s European Distribution business for the wholesale and retail channels.

The division includes ECi’s Horizon, Progress, Acsellerate, EasyOrder and JumpTrack products. ECi said the appointment brings its European business in line with the rest of the company’s global operations.

Bowerfind commented: “We’re making a significant investment in Europe, which is strategically important to ECi’s global business. Our mission is to provide the technology that small and medium businesses need to grow, and I’m looking forward to getting to know our customers in Europe and understanding how I can build on the excellent work of the European team to date.”

Bowerfind joined ECi in 2017. His prior experience includes senior executive positions at Softbrands, Radiant Systems and NCR Corporation.

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Brinkmann takes over at Stabilo

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In June, OPI CEO Steve Hilleard took part in the annual London to Brighton 54-mile (87 km) bike ride in support of the British Heart Foundation. Steve completed the challenge in a very credible time of under four hours despite the wet and windy weather conditions on the day.

He also raised £11,452 ($14,250), the highest figure out of 30,000 participants. A big thank you to all OPI readers who helped Steve to raise this amazing amount of money.

Horst Brinkmann has taken on the role of CEO at writing instruments manufacturer Stabilo following a group reorganisation.

His appointment, effective 1 July, comes as the unit’s former Managing Director Sebastian Schwanhäußer focuses on his function as CEO of the wider Schwan-Stabilo Group. Brinkmann has been with the Germany-based firm for the past 23 years, including 17 as International Marketing Director and the past six years as a member of the management board. He will remain on the five-person board.

SOCIAL SPY Social media highlights from the business products industry around the world Tork

On a mission to improve the public washroom experience! Essity’s Tork brand partners with One Hundred Restrooms flagship store in Stockholm – a washroom concept that actually improves health & hygiene.

Brenda Craig Account Manager, Nespresso

This is a fantastic example of what your used Nespresso capsules can be recycled into... #sustainability #nespressoprofessional.

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Tom Domen Global Head of Long Term Innovation, ecover + method

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We launched our first automated refill station in Waitrose, very exciting. The start of our refillution! Part of a great new Waitrose store in Oxford that has a full offer in refill (food and non-food). #refillution, #reuse, #noplastic.

Michael Leone Director at DEX Imaging (a Staples company)

We were very proud to welcome our new #staples colleagues into #deximaging for a few days of training. The week started with a kick-off at the Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a long-time DEX partner. Steve Griggs, CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning, welcomed the group. Our chairman, Dan Doyle Sr, our CEO Dan Doyle Jr and our COO Paul Natale addressed everyone as well. Afterwards everyone had a little fun taking some slap shots. A great week of training followed. The new DEX Managed Print Solutions team is armed and ready to transform the industry.

Commercial‫@ ‏‬commercialgroup There was an emotional welcome home for our #500infive team, who cycled 500 miles in five days to raise money for the charity @VersusArthritis.

Jennifer Smith President /CEO, Innovative Office Solutions

What an amazing event HNI put on raising money for City of Hope and Spirit of Life Honouree Brad Graves.

Thank you HNI! #amazing #HNI #COH #HON #3M.

Yannick Cuijten Online Marketing Specialist, Office Depot Europe

Thanks Office Depot for this year’s (1st) Hackathon in Venlo. It was a fun and inspirational day. Plus I am very proud that we as team ‘Vikings & Queen’ got the award for Best Presentation.

BIG INTERVIEW

A GUIDING

The name of French multichannel group Alkor is derived from a star that in ancient times was used by navigators to locate the North Star.

Appropriately, the mission of the cooperative is very much seen as helping its members smoothly navigate the changing world of office products

star

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lkor is a group that is no stranger to change. In its history spanning over 60 years, it has had three different names and evolved from its beginnings as a retail-focused bookstore network into a multichannel operator in the office products and school supplies sectors. What has not changed is the cooperative structure whereby its members are shareholders, and an ability to adapt to new trends and opportunities in order to remain relevant.

Laurent Proy has been at the helm of the group for the past 13 years and has overseen the steady modernisation of Alkor’s highly regarded distribution network, the development of its digital capabilities and the launch of two go-to-market brands. OPI’s Andy Braithwaite caught up with the Frenchman at the recent annual conference of trade association UFIPA (see also Event, page 64).

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OPI: I went back through our archives, and this is actually the first major interview that we have done with you. Perhaps you could start by giving our readers a brief overview of yourself and your career to date.

Laurent Proy: Of course. I’m 60 years old, come from Saint-Quentin in the north of France and have two daughters. My educational background is in finance and business, and I started my career at a chartered accountancy firm where I held a number of roles. I then ran a manufacturing site for a packaging board company in Saint-Quentin that had around 200 employees. Through some of the customers we had there, I first came across the stationery sector.

In 2000, I made the switch to a large corporate entity with Yamaha in France. Six years later, I took on the role of Managing Director at Majuscule, as our group was then called.

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OPI: What attracted you to Majuscule?

LP: Sometimes things just fall into place in terms of timing, location and opportunity. I felt I had achieved all I could in my job at Yamaha, and Majuscule represented a nice challenge for my career. And here I am, 13 years later!

OPI: Tell us a bit about the group.

LP: Majuscule was established in 1958, originally under the name of SCOOL (Société Coopérative des Libraires, which translates into Cooperative Company of Booksellers). Historically, it was a group consisting mainly of booksellers and stationery retailers. As such, before evolving into B2B, it was very much retail oriented. From that, it progressed into areas such as educational products and school stationery. The cooperative continued to grow and the Majuscule brand was launched in 1978; this then became the group name in 1987, operating both in the OP and school supplies categories.

In 2012, we launched a brand of office supplies resellers called Burolike which developed out of a need from some former members of the BuroPlus network [Editor’s note: BuroPlus was a reseller brand of the defunct SAFCOM cooperative]. In order to avoid any ambiguity between our legacy members and the new network, and because there was a degree of overlap between the Majuscule and Burolike resellers, we decided to change our cooperative group name to Alkor.

Why Alkor? Well, Alcor is the name of a star that travellers used to locate the North Star. A guide, located in the north – that seemed to fit nicely with our mission and our location.

BIG INTERVIEW Laurent Proy

We strongly believe in a future in retail where consumers will need advice and a personal touch OPI: You now have three brands, haven’t you?

LP: Yes, in 2018 we introduced a banner called IOBuro. This is our new specialised retailing proposition because we wanted to make a clear distinction between retail and B2B.

OPI: Your members are also shareholders, is that correct?

LP: Yes. New members that join are attributed the same number of shares under the principle of one-member one-vote. They also have a distribution contract, which is our equivalent of a franchise agreement elsewhere.

July/August 2019

OPI: Some OPI readers outside France may be surprised by the launch of an office supplies retailing brand in 2018!

LP: We are simply responding to market demand and we strongly believe in a future in retail where consumers will need advice and a personal touch. We plan to develop the brand from existing members that want to grow in the retail space and from entrepreneurs in other networks who don’t want to be part of a franchise group model. We already have seven IOBuro stores in place for this year’s back-to-school

(BTS) period – these are shops that existed within the Majuscule or Burolike brands. The full concept has been adopted by them all and we are extremely proud to show this fresh and modern ‘selling spirit’ in France.

The aim is to have more than ten outlets by the end of this year, a similar number of transitions next year, and then step up external recruitment.

As I mentioned, the strategy is to provide a professional service proposition in the retail channel. This model is completely distinct from our other two B2B brands; we want to avoid any ambiguity or incompatibility with our marketing approach or pricing.

We know that we are the ‘challenger’ in this segment, but there is a demand to which we have responded that still functions within a cooperative model. In fact, we are the only industry player of a national stature with a retail cooperative option and a centralised, automated warehouse.

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OPI: One-member one-vote. We have seen issues with that system elsewhere, particularly in respect of larger versus smaller dealers.

LP: At Alkor, we have experienced that ourselves with our biggest dealer Lacoste [Editor’s note: a large dealer in the Majuscule network that recently acquired another large – non-Alkor – reseller]. In the end, its national size rendered it incompatible with our cooperative structure and the departure from the group was a logical decision taken together and by mutual agreement. Everything has been dealt with in an intelligent fashion and Lacoste will officially leave the group at the end of 2019.

OPI: Can you provide a few figures about the size and financial performance of the group?

LP: We have 130 members, with 97 from Majuscule and 33 from Burolike – we don’t count IOBuro yet because it is too new. Last year, we achieved sales of €167 million ($188 million), of which €114 million were from our logistics platform, although in total our members represent end-user sales of around €450 million.

OPI: I assume they have to commit to a certain level of purchasing from you.

LP: Yes, there is a requirement of 75%, but they can buy products which are out of our scope elsewhere.

In general, though, our members are loyal and items that are available from our catalogue are purchased from us or through supplier contracts that are centrally linked.

Our dealers are also loyal because we guarantee them the most attractive prices and because there are no fees levied on the direct business they do. In addition, the cooperative’s profits are reinvested for the benefit of its dealers and its own reserves.

OPI: The catalogue is still a key selling tool then, it would appear.

LP: We print more than 200,000 copies of our school catalogue. It is something that is highly anticipated by teachers and acts as a kind of purchasing ‘bible’ which they can flick through and select products. It’s also used as a sales tool by field reps as part of our three-pronged sales approach – a physical printed catalogue, face-to-face contact and digital tools.

OPI: How important are school supplies in your overall sales mix?

LP: It’s between 42-45% of total sales. The school market in France is fairly stable, but we estimate that we have a third of the market and are taking share.

We print more than 200,000 copies of our school catalogue OPI: I know Alkor prides itself on its distribution capabilities. What is your logistics set-up?

LP: In the Saint-Quentin area, we have three sites totalling 42,000 sq m (420,000 sq ft) in space. There are two peripheral warehouses and a large base stock facility for order picking. We are set up this way in order to handle seasonal peaks that occur during the BTS season.

Each day, we work around the clock in shifts so we can deliver throughout France – for orders placed before 7pm we deliver next-day in the Paris region and the north of France, and in two days for the south of the country.

In general, products that we feature in our catalogues are always in stock. Therefore, if someone orders an item, it’s highly unlikely that it will be unavailable. Excellent fill rates are our first rule. As an example, out of more than 18,000 SKUs, fewer than 100 will be out of stock at any one time.

Obviously, it requires considerable investment to manage this; at the moment, we are holding almost €30 million in inventory in our warehouses to prepare for the BTS season to guarantee we will not have any stock shortages.

July/August 2019

OPI: How many SKUs do you offer?

LP: We stock almost 18,500 items which are split between the three catalogues and retail sales.

Our Majuscule school catalogue, for example, has 1,084 pages this year and offers 9,500 SKUs; the Majuscule office catalogue has more than 10,000 SKUs as does Burolike. Of course, there are SKUs common to all three, but the total is almost 18,500.

BIG INTERVIEW Laurent Proy

One way of looking at it is to say we are the back office and they are the front office. The goal of the cooperative isn’t to make money; it’s to ensure that the members are the best equipped possible – in terms of prices and service levels, for example – to be competitive and successful in their markets.

With regards to how we operate, there is the executive management committee headed by me and then we have, as in any commercial company, a board of directors with a chairman who governs the cooperative. Major strategic decisions and investments would usually be proposed by myself and our team, and then validated by the board.

Our board of directors meets periodically and an annual general meeting of all our dealers ratifies the main strategic decisions by means of a vote.

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Laurent Proy BIG INTERVIEW

OPI: Who is your target end-user customer?

LP: Our members can cater to all types of customers: self-employed tradespeople, small businesses, schools, local authorities, and major national public and commercial accounts. I believe this is one of our strengths. Very small businesses that don’t need a catalogue can use IOBuro or go online, while at the other end of the scale, we can compete for large tenders in the public sector.

About 15 of our members are servicing a contract worth several million euros for the Ministry of Armed Forces, for example.

OPI: Let’s turn to the state of the French office supplies market. What are your thoughts?

LP: As you know, we are not in a growing market; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Some traditional products are decreasing a little each year; others, such as IT consumables, are declining faster, while school supplies, for instance, are holding up reasonably well.

Of course, we’ve asked ourselves many questions about our mission and raison d’être.

Ultimately, what we need is to be creative and operate differently so that our dealers always remain competitive. To give a specific example: in 2018, the drop in cartridge sales – a very low-margin product – was more than 10%. But our revenues were up 2% that year because we offset this decline with better margin volume. This is a key factor in our success.

From our point of view, we must remember that we are here to serve members that are located in different regions. We are not like a national sales organisation, but a network of independent businesses with their own sales people, linked by common brands and shared resources. Our goal is to help them thrive and evolve positively.

www.opi.net

OPI: How do you do that?

LP: One way has been to diversify our product offering into categories such as personal protection equipment, safety, hygiene, packaging, breakroom products, games and toys, and teaching supplies. This is the reason we have gone from 14,000 to 18,500 SKUs in five years.

We have also strengthened our office furniture offering, and improved in areas like health and well-being at work. That’s how we have thought about ‘reinvention’ and responding to market forces.

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OPI: Has this product diversification been enough to offset declines in traditional OP? LP: Each year, we have been growing by 2-3%, so I think that speaks for itself.

OPI: I was intrigued to see figures at the UFIPA conference that showed a low market share for Amazon in the French office supplies market.

How do you view the potential competitive threat of Amazon?

LP: Firstly, we firmly believe in our model and that our national network, strong local foothold and personal client relationships can provide a product and services offering to compete against Amazon.

Of course, we do not have Amazon’s financial, human and technological resources and we must certainly remain vigilant in the face of the online giant’s growing importance in France. That is why we have been investing a lot in our digital tools and capabilities. We have recently launched a new e-commerce solution called Alkorshop which runs on an Intershop platform. It’s actually two online stores, one specialised in office products and the other in school supplies.

OPI: How does it work?

LP: It operates on what is called a B2B2B structure between the group, the member and the end user, whether that be a school or a business.

It sounds complex, but is an ultra-configurable e-commerce platform that is easy to use for our dealers’ end customers; they have a customised web store with their own specified product listings and pricing, and then there are a number of administrative tools for ordering, setting permissions, managing spend, reporting, etc.

Workflows are all automated via EDI and our members can handle orders themselves or send them to us.

OPI: Amazon spends billions on R&D. How do you compete with that?

LP: We cannot compete with Amazon in that way, but the productivity gains we have made over the years, even though they are not billions, run into the millions. We have funnelled these savings back into the organisation: we have invested around €10 million in less than ten years in our logistics platform; made upgrades to our e-commerce websites and our IT in general, and have a programme whereby we have been spending more than €2 million a year for the past three years.

We have a roadmap of where we want to get to with the resources we have at our disposal – even if the goals evolve, as they should do, over time. We have been able to rationalise costs and improve the quality of our service to members to ensure they stay relevant to their customers.

Laurent Proy BIG INTERVIEW

As I like to remind people, as a cooperative, any profits are always invested in our capital reserves, and either redistributed to members or reinvested in the business. They don’t go elsewhere in the form of dividends.

OPI: There have been widely documented issues at one of your main competitors, ADVEO. Has this situation benefited Alkor?

LP: I don’t like to speak about specific competitors, especially if they are experiencing difficulties, because it’s not ethical. All I will say is that I have great respect for the management in the face of the challenges it encountered.

OPI: But ADVEO’s problems can’t have done you any harm.

LP: I won’t go into details but, generally speaking, independent resellers that want a long-term solution and a certain level of service know what we are capable of. Some dealers have approached us recently, it’s true, but there hasn’t been too much movement overall in the market, and it appears the situation has stabilised and that is something we are happy about.

OPI: Do you think the French office products market needs further consolidation?

LP: The number of players is shrinking year on year. Smaller dealers are being swallowed up by larger ones, that much is evident, and there is the ‘baby boomer effect’, with dealers looking for a business exit.

We have been fortunate in that Majuscule members wanting to sell have generally been acquired by another dealer from our network.

And we do provide assistance in these types of acquisition or expansion projects via a subsidiary called Alkor Invest – it’s another thing that sets us apart from the competition.

OPI: Do you have any international ambitions?

LP: Well, we already have operations in Belgium, Luxembourg and in France’s overseas departments and territories. As for further expansion, it is something we have been considering; there are some emerging markets where the school category, for example, has very good potential.

OPI: In North Africa, maybe?

LP: Why not?

www.opi.net

OPI: You also have international contact and exchange through your BPGI membership.

LP: Yes, and this is a sign that we are not closed in on ourselves, or just operating in a bubble.

It helps us have a broader vision and allows us to benchmark ourselves against our European peers. Of course, the purchasing programmes are beneficial as well.

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OPI: What are the main projects you are currently working on?

LP: We have just invested in a next generation, multisite warehouse management system. This

Smaller dealers are being swallowed up by larger ones, that much is evident enables things such as remote stock management and drop shipment, and is a very powerful tool. It’s the first ‘pillar’ of our development strategy that we are calling Alkor 3.0.

The next step is a new MRP (material requirements planning) system based on demand-driven stock management. This will help us calculate our inventory needs, be predictive, and better determine our stock requirements in terms of seasonality.

The third IT project is a totally new ERP system.

The current one will be ten years old in 2020, so it was something that needed looking at.

In terms of logistics, we have ambitions to increase our coverage in the south of France, following the departure of Lacoste at the end of this year. As such, we are looking at our strategy for this region and have been having local meetings with members to see how we can reassign markets.

I can’t say too much about this, but we will be looking to grow with either new dealers or existing members that want to develop in the region. Our objective is to have a distribution centre in the south of France. This is a medium-term project, and we have the human and financial resources available.

OPI: Finally, what keeps you awake at night, professionally speaking?

LP: I’ve never been asked that question before! I think all business leaders have similar preoccupations. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s fear or anxiety, but it’s to do with how we can ensure the longevity of a multitude of independent businesses that provide jobs for hundreds of people. How do we make the right decisions that enable this network to evolve in a positive way?

At the end of the day, I get a sense of satisfaction when we best serve our dealers. The most important thing is to help them progress.

HOT TOPIC

Out of the STARTING BLOCKS

Years in the making, much debated and finally over the line. Here’s a first glimpse at the new ISG – obstacles overcome and ready to unite the US dealer community

I

www.opi.net

n January of this year, the three leading dealer groups in the US announced an intent to merge their organisations into one entity. What followed were several months of talks and negotiations, all participants being cautiously aware of the fact that any previous attempts of a coming together had failed despite a consensus that it would be for the betterment of the US independent dealer community (IDC).

On 18 June, the last piece of the puzzle – the final vote in fact – fell into place: the merger of Independent Suppliers Group (ISG), TriMega Purchasing Association and Pinnacle Affiliates was complete. The new group – named ISG – became effective on 1 July, combining approximately 900 dealers and therefore the vast majority of the independent community in the US business supplies sector under one umbrella.

It’s early days yet for ISG, but OPI’s Heike Dieckmann took a rare opportunity to speak to two of the group’s board members, David Guernsey and Ian Wist (formerly of Pinnacle and TriMega respectively), to find out a little more about why this merger is so important, why it’s taken so long to become a reality and what some of the first steps will be in the weeks and months ahead.

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OPI: It’s done – ISG, TriMega and Pinnacle have finally made it happen and achieved what seemed impossible for many years. Can you describe the new entity as of 1 July 2019?

Ian Wist: The new ISG consists of approximately 530 shareholders and about 900 dealers in total when you include affiliates. Between them, they generate over $600 million in direct buy revenue and over $2 billion in combined wholesale volume.

OPI: Just as a recap, what’s the core premise and objective of ISG? David Guernsey: Scale – to achieve better programmes, lower cost and more complete interaction and collaboration between everyone in the IDC. OPI: Ian, TriMega referred to a rousing endorsement when it revealed 291 of the 294 members that voted for the merger said yes.

That’s obviously great news as the group’s bylaws required a two-third majority in favour of the merger. But what happened to the remaining 84 dealers – out of TriMega's total 378 members – which didn't vote?

We had to find the right model that made everybody comfortable and that we could move forward with IW: I don’t know is the simple answer, I can’t speak for those 84 dealers. There was obviously a deadline they had to meet and perhaps they didn’t do that.

DG: I wouldn't read too much into those non-voting members. We see that all the time in voting procedures. Even a non-vote can almost be interpreted as an endorsement. Dealers that really aren’t happy would have voted against the deal and made their voices heard rather than do nothing.

OPI: So no chance of a splinter group of disgruntled dealers emerging at some stage?

DG: I can’t see that happening. My view is that dealers will give the new ISG a chance. What we’re doing hasn’t been done before and it will hopefully be of significant value to independent dealers across all spectrums – large, medium and small. Giving it a chance is an easy call and in my mind it’s the correct call.

OPI: With respect to other groups, what is the situation with Office Partners and DPCG? Is there an intention to include these as well in the ISG fold?

DG: Essentially, we would like all dealers to come under the ISG banner and we will be reaching out to these two groups to gauge their interest.

OPI: In terms of timing, how related is the merger to the coming together of Essendant and Staples Inc earlier this year? Was it a ‘now or never’ scenario?

DG: No, although it might have given it a slight boost in urgency. These things take time and we’ve been talking about it for years, not just since the merger intent was announced in January and certainly longer than this Essendant/SP Richards or Staples/Essendant craziness came about.

As you know, we kept running into roadblocks along the way but finally got it over the goal line. We had to find the right model that made everybody comfortable and that we could move forward with, factoring in everybody’s objections and the various challenges.

OPI: David, you referred to these objections in a white paper you wrote in November of last year and which was widely distributed among the dealer community and the three former groups.

In summary, what were the concerns?

DG: What I said in the white paper was that IS – so-called before its rebrand last October – required a merger of equals which meant Pinnacle had to be involved. Pinnacle, the group my company Guernsey is in, meanwhile, had wanted a bolt-on approach to what we always referred to as Newco, similar to the prior arrangement with IS. Pinnacle also objected to a competing large dealer group. Accordingly, the DSC dealers that qualify David Guernsey

ISG FAST FACTS: Founded: 1 July 2019 Headquarters: Rosemont, Illinois, USA Combined dealer members: approx. 900 Leadership: CEO Mike Maggio, President Mike Gentile Board of directors: From TriMega: Ian Wist, George Wood, Thomas Jordan, Gary Ables, Yancey Jones Sr From ISG: Tonya Horn, Jordan Kudler, Brian Kerr, Tim Triplett From Pinnacle: David Guernsey, Bruce Eaton, Kevin Johnson, John Leighton

HOT TOPIC US Dealer Group Merger

As for a splinter group, that’s a very difficult thing to do. It can be done, of course, and I know that because I’ve done it with Pinnacle back in 2008 when it split from TriMega, but it’s hugely involved and you have to have one hell of a good reason to march off in that direction. I can’t see any sense in doing that before giving the new entity a chance. Before you rule anything out, you need to have the capacity to rule it in.

– under an agreed upon definition – would need to join Pinnacle. However, TriMega has always insisted that its DSC remained intact.

Pinnacle has historically not been comfortable with joining Newco as a member. The key sticking point was that out of almost 900 dealers, it would have merely 45 votes in a typical cooperative one-member, one-vote scenario. While that represents a favourable tax structure and is the only sensible way for the rebates to flow through the organisation, it’s a potentially unfavourable voting set-up for the large dealer contingency.

Imagine if the new group was to grow in a direction that penalised or somehow disadvantaged larger dealers – there would be little they could do about it under that format.

Consequently, we had to come up with a mechanism whereby everyone was happy with the way the organisation was structured, allowing the small amount of large dealers to have measurable influence over outcomes. I believe this has been achieved now.

OPI: How so?

DG: It will ultimately all be revealed I’m sure, but I can’t really go into the details of the programme now. Suffice to say, all Pinnacle dealers – and Ian will say the same about TriMega’s DSC dealers – voted 100% for the new entity, with no exceptions whatsoever. To me, this is emblematic of the larger dealers saying: "Yes ok, we feel good that our interests are covered, despite the one-member, one-vote structure."

July/August 2019

OPI: A case of the advantages outweighing the potential negatives?

DG: Something like that. There’s always a trade-off when you do something like this. The obvious value and upside is pulling together virtually the entire independent dealer community in the US.

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US Dealer Group Merger HOT TOPIC

There’s always going to be doubt in people’s minds when something new and groundbreaking comes along that their interests are going to be supported not just by what the group does, but by how it is governed.

OPI: That doubt applies to the manufacturing community too, surely. Are vendors going to be predominantly happy?

DG: The hope is that it’s going to be a win-win across the board. That said, there will be manufacturers that are going to be on the outside looking in because the reality is that we don’t need multiple suppliers for a lot of products; what we do need is suppliers getting behind the right programmes. It’s what Staples does, what Office Depot does and I assume what Amazon does.

The large dealers especially buy a lot direct from the manufacturers and aggregately as the IDC we buy a huge amount, so we’re talking about some significant volumes here. We’re hoping this bodes well not just for dealers, but also for the vendors we partner with.

www.opi.net

OPI: You’ll be working with the two large wholesalers I’m guessing. What stage are you at with talks in that regard?

IW: Generic negotiations are happening as we speak, but who works with which wholesaler is a dealer-by-dealer decision that very much depends on the different markets and the varying service propositions available to them. These are not talks that will get wrapped up into ISG.

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OPI: You’ve covered some of the staffing arrangements in your PR communications before. There have obviously been some redundancies and some relocations which is always a difficult topic in any consolidation activity. You’ve also announced that the two Mikes will be in charge of the new ISG – Mike Maggio as CEO and Mike Gentile as President.

Has that come as somewhat of a surprise, ie to effectively have two leaders in what is combined a relatively small organisation?

DG: I don’t think it has because, while the new entity may be small, the job in hand is enormous.

All of a sudden you’ve got about 900 dealers under one roof and there are some senior level tasks to be allocated. You want the best executives possible to lead the journey ahead and these two have shown in the past that they work well together, most recently on getting EpiContent launched.

Mike Maggio has done an excellent job with TriMega; the same with Mike Gentile at ISG, so I think keeping them together has not only dealt very well with the whole management function, but it also gives a sense of comfort and continuity to all of the dealers that are coming on board to what is a brand new organisation.

IW: As David says, they’re both very accomplished gentlemen and they both have skill sets that are necessary to pull us all together and make it work. We need them both, it’s as simple as that.

Ian Wist

OPI: When the dust has settled, what will be the fundamental benefits of or indeed changes to the new combined group?

IW: It’s really early days yet. We haven’t even had our first meeting yet, set out our top priorities or chosen our officers [Editor’s note: this was due to happen shortly after OPI went to press]. Of course, we fundamentally know what these priorities are, but they will also differ depending on the size and set-up of the many dealers.

[Mike Maggio and Mike Gentile] have skill sets that are necessary to pull us all together and make it work. We need them both, it’s as simple as that Ultimately, everything we want to achieve should be beneficial to the IDC. There are programmes TriMega had that benefitted its group of dealers and the same is true for ISG and Pinnacle. What we’ve accomplished so far with the merger is to take the best of the best from all three groups and make it available to all dealers.

There’s also sincere hope that the gravitational pull of a group this powerful should create more unification in our channel.

In terms of cost savings, there will be some heavy lifting in the first year, with appreciable savings and efficiencies. By the end of 24 months, I believe we will be on course to reduce cost by at least $2 million annually as a result of the merger.

DG: We’ve seen tremendous change in the past couple of years, really groundbreaking change.

Much of what has happened we may have seen coming, but quite a few things we most definitely haven’t. Who knows what might happen next, but we’re convinced that by being united we have a much better chance of addressing it rather than through three separate and fragmented organisations. It’s a start and we’ll work from there.

FEATURE

Special Issue

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

TECHNO

SOLUT

Special

OPI takes a look at the main technology issues independent dealers are facing today. The results are a cause for concern

PULLING

no punches

I

Special

VEND SPEC

Special

Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL

ndependent dealers need to up their game in terms of their e-commerce prowess – that’s the broad message from some of the industry’s best-known software solutions providers OPI spoke to for the purpose of this article. Yes, some operators have picked up the gauntlet and are now making good, even excellent, progress, but too many are still failing to react and adapt quickly enough and, as a result, are putting their businesses at considerable risk.

JOHN EVANS, OWNER, SSI

www.opi.net

OPI: What are the main technology challenges independent dealers are facing?

John Evans: Moving forward, dealers will have to adjust to new ways of carrying out traditional business activities, particularly when it comes to marketing. Traditional sales techniques are proving increasingly ineffective, due to changes in customer demographics and habits. People aren’t responding to phone calls anymore, so dealers need to find different ways to reach out to prospective customers. There are also external factors, like import tariffs driving higher prices on many products, that will be a challenge for the entire industry.

Dealers will need additional technology to meet customer expectations. For example, we’re seeing an ever-increasing number fielding customer requests for PunchOuts – a direct connection between their web store and a customer’s procurement system – something that only the big guys had to deal with in the past.

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OPI: Are independents well suited to compete in the digital commerce age?

JE: Now they are competing against Amazon as well as players like Staples, dealers definitely have to up their game, managing e-commerce

with the same attention as their other sales channels. This means learning new skills around digital marketing and SEO to ensure prospective customers can find them online. They should also be watching analytics related to site traffic and

Dealers definitely have to up their game, managing e-commerce with the same attention as their other sales channels abandoned carts, and ranking search returns to make sure customers see the items that give them the best margin. SSI has partnered with companies like Apjax (SEO), Remarkety (e-marketing) and Stratus Business Solutions (web design) to provide dealers with expertise in all these areas.

OPI: Mobile B2B – are dealers where they need to be in your opinion?

VEND SPEC

OPI: Is Amazon Business an existential threat?

JE: Dealers certainly need to be watching what Amazon does as it has the technology and resources, plus it’s very good at expanding its business. But Amazon also has vulnerabilities.

Pricing is one. It’s a perceived strength, but when it comes to office products prices aren’t that good overall, especially when you factor in shipping as well.

We work with Item411.com and highly recommend its pricing plans to help dealers get the best return from their items. We regularly see independents that are worried about Staples or Amazon actually pricing products too low and giving away margin dollars.

When it comes to Amazon specifically, dealers should consider showing its prices on their

sites and highlighting that they will beat them.

Of course, for this to work, they need to invest in their sites to provide a professional look and deliver the kind of features that Amazon has led customers to expect.

FEATURE Technology Providers

JE: Unfortunately, many are still behind the curve when it comes to mobile. Even if they believe their customers aren’t placing orders from their phones, they must understand that they will be using them to search for suppliers, research products and look up pricing. Several years ago, we decided to incorporate responsive design into our e-commerce products so that end users – the dealer’s customers – get the best possible experience no matter what device they are using.

Sadly, too many still have sites that aren’t friendly to mobile devices. It’s not only important for convenience and user experience, but search engines now prioritise responsive sites, adding another barrier to potential customers finding independents online.

OPI: Is effective use being made of data?

JE: Dealers are starting to pay more attention to data, but there are still too many missed opportunities. This is an area where competitors like Amazon excel so OP resellers need to focus on it, though most are going to need help here.

A couple of years ago we partnered with Zoho Corporation to help independents mine the data that’s already in their systems and analyse it to improve profitability.

Regarding data security, dealers always need to be careful and we work with our customers on establishing internal security procedures.

We also watch over them externally, monitoring router hits and closing suspicious URLs from other countries, etc.

OPI: What’s been the main focus for SSI over the past year?

JE: Our emphasis has been on SSI Edge, the new dealer system that we’ve just introduced.

Its reception since rollout has been phenomenal and we’ve been adding more features to help dealers optimise their performance. For example, we’ve added on-demand price updates with SP Richards – dealers can refresh their pricing as often as they want by just clicking a button, without interrupting normal business operations.

STEPHEN MCLAUGHLIN THE ISSUES

It has been a difficult past few years for independent dealers, both in terms of disruption from direct vendors, but also because of the lack of opportunity to invest in affordable software that would allow them to react to these threats by identifying new opportunities. Such software should provide options for integrated marketing and automated CRM, delivering a better digital presence and improved service for their customers.

The B2B digital commerce opportunity is huge and still growing. Digital commerce products must provide attributes that allow dealers’ customers to control their spend or carbon footprint and provide ‘self-help’ features for tracking purchases or providing management information. They just want to get on with running their own businesses and a professional, intuitive B2B shopping cart is a key prerequisite that will help independent dealers compete and grow.

MOBILE AND BIG DATA

Use of mobiles and tablets has grown to become part of everyday life. However, many software companies in the business products sector do not provide integrated mobile solutions, or if they do, they provide a poor experience that rapidly falls into disuse. Prima offers mobile B2B, integrated POD and mobile CRM, so that information about customers can be captured, updated and synchronised to their back office software for the benefit of the whole firm. Additionally, we have committed to long-term investment in mobile B2B, as we believe software integration in this sector will become crucial for future growth.

Big data is all around us and offers limitless potential. Independent dealers have access to a range of standard reports for everyday business

July/August 2019

A professional, intuitive B2B shopping cart is a key prerequisite that will help independent dealers compete and grow

CEO, Prima Software

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TRANSATLANTIC FOCUS

FEATURE Technology Providers

requirements, but they seldom have easy access to big data. Even if they did, they would often not have the resources to successfully make use of it.

Prima is now in a position to provide localised market data, built-in analysis and in-depth reporting. We have already started this project in the UK and Ireland, where it will be available to participating dealers early next year, followed by rollout in the US later in the year. Our customers will then have access to extensive visualisations, detailed analysis and regional information about many aspects of their business that will allow them to examine their own product ranges and sales performance against this big data.

While our main focus is always to look after our existing dealers and grow our customer base, over the past year we’ve been concentrating on strengthening the current features and introducing US-specific requirements (US tax, wholesaler EDI).

Prima Software has been serving UK and Irish dealers since 2000, but we’re relatively new to the US market. We’ve created a US company based in Atlanta, Georgia, that will provide customer care and on-boarding service to those dealers that have expressed an interest in moving to our software.

DONNA SNYDER OVERVIEW

Technology continues to evolve more rapidly every year. One of GOPD’s key priorities is identifying and harnessing emerging technologies that will strengthen independent dealers and continue to drive their future success. Independents choose the combination of technologies that best fit their dealership. The customisation features of our package mean that e-commerce sites can be specifically configured according to individual customers when they log in.

Mobile B2B got off to a slow start [...] but that’s changing, with rising demand now driving it to the forefront of our customers’ needs

MOBILE AND SECURITY

Mobile B2B got off to a slow start in the business products industry, but that’s changing, with rising demand now driving it to the forefront of our customers’ needs. The GOPD package offers a mobile-friendly shopping cart that automatically adjusts to whatever device is being used, creating a seamless experience with both the mobile and desktop versions, including the same features.

It’s a frightening statistic but 43% of cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses, with some hackers perceiving them as easier prey. GOPD now offers hosted private servers which allow business applications to run securely offsite. Employees can safely access their data and applications from any browser-enabled device, regardless of location, with each system automatically backed up daily to help mitigate the threat of malware and ransomware attacks.

President & Co-owner, GOPD

JENNIFER RAE STINE THE ISSUES

I am going to take a step back here and say that technology is not the only major issue facing dealers right now. The industry is evolving and consolidating at a rapid pace and dealers are discovering that they need to diversify their portfolios and, in many ways, reinvent themselves.

Gone are the days of the traditional office products dealer – the workplace is changing and so are the products and services required. The questions dealers need to ask are these: how am I different? What makes me stand out? How am I more marketable than my competitors? We help them find those answers and act accordingly – be

that with a complete rebrand or simply leading with something other than traditional OP. The workplace of today needs so much more, and that’s what dealers must strive to deliver. With that, of course, comes the need for technology to support this – everything from a great website, a scalable and flexible e-commerce platform, a robust back-end system and a strong online presence – from SEO through to social media.

July/August 2019

The questions dealers need to ask are these: how am I different? What makes me stand out? How am I more marketable than my competitors?

President, Fortune Web Marketing

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Technology Providers FEATURE

DIGITAL COMMERCE REALITIES

Technology providers in the OP space are making rapid strides, bringing a mobile-friendly as well as a more user-centric approach. We work with these systems daily and have seen much progress, especially over the past year.

However, still more needs to be done when it comes to the user experience (UX).

We advise our clients to stop thinking of marketing to the B2B and B2C audiences separately and focus more on the P2P (person-to-person) or H2H (human-to-human) perspective. No one wants to be ‘merchandised’ to anymore, they just want what they want when they need it. Above everything else, this requires a good UX. THE MOBILE PERSPECTIVE

I really hope that next year we can finally stop having to focus on mobile – we should have moved past this years ago. With Google’s move to mobile-first indexing, non-mobile sites are dead in the water. 90% of online searches

now begin with a smartphone – if that doesn’t convince you of its importance, then not much will. If dealers don’t yet have a responsive, ie mobile-friendly, website, it’s long overdue.

Similarly, they need an e-commerce provider conversant in SEO techniques.

BIG DATA

Big data is the subject we should really be focusing on right now. Firstly, in today’s world everyone must be concerned about data breaches, whether you’re a business or an individual. Secondly, we must use big data to drive marketing forward, especially when it comes to personalisation of the e-commerce experience. All major online retailers do this to some extent and, from a user standpoint, it’s almost expected these days.

Done properly, it can really help refine the UX and there are several players in the industry that are making serious moves with this now – I’m excited to see what they are going to offer over the next year or so.

BRIAN BOWERFIND THE ISSUES

The main technology issues facing independent dealers centre on omnichannel commerce, security and ease of use. Today’s sophisticated shoppers want the buying experience to be seamless and predictable, plus they want to view rich content online or via their mobile devices. The ability to easily compare products and pricing, coupled with simple access to safely-stored credit card details, are also important.

Consequently, dealers want to make sure this can be presented to their customers in a secure, up-to-date environment. The challenge is to bring all of this together at a price point that makes sense, both for independents and their technology provider.

DIGITAL COMMERCE REALITIES

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Some dealers are doing well in terms of competing in the digital commerce age, having invested in this channel from both a technology and human resource perspective. They understand that the larger bricks-and-mortar and digital retail companies spend tens of millions of dollars in this area and have reacted accordingly.

However, mobile B2B progress continues to lag in our industry – too few dealers offer this technology and some that do still aren’t leveraging this channel effectively. Extending your business through a mobile platform is fast becoming a must-have option, with omnichannel

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commerce continuing to grow in the business products industry.

ECi’s core competency is developing solutions to help the SMB community manage their day-to-day business with effective technology.

Our customers are using our products to compete and win against big box retail and large online giants such as Amazon.

Smart independent dealers understand they are well placed to provide the value-added services to their customers in a way that a large retail chain never could. It’s what makes them excellent at what they do.

President of US & EU Distribution Division, ECi Software Solutions

BIG DATA

Big data is an area dealers really need to focus on. Some make effective use of their data, but unfortunately many do not. At ECi, a lot of clients use our data analytics programme Acsellerate. It’s such an important tool for delivering timely access to vital information that we now include it in all of our ERP solutions at no additional cost.

For data security, our software is hosted in a secure cloud environment. While nothing will ever be 100% impenetrable, of course, the chances of a data breach are significantly reduced by taking this approach.

Today’s sophisticated shoppers want the buying experience to be seamless and predictable

Plenty of challenges exist, but many independent dealers are facing them head-on, aware of the issues and ready to tackle them. See our case studies on pages 36-38.

Software FEATURE

Independent dealers, particularly in the US, have a wide range of software solutions they can choose from. Below are just a few on offer…

Software CHOICES

DDMSPLUS & RED FALCON DDMSPLUS from ECi Software Solutions is a complete, cloud-based business management solution for dealers looking to manage complex product lines and grow their e-commerce offering. It includes sales, purchasing, inventory, contracts, CRM, business intelligence, e-commerce, accounting and reporting capabilities. Being cloud-based, it’s accessible from any location, is always backed up and provides an increased level of data protection.

DDMSPLUS includes credit card processing, delivery tracking and optimisation, website expansion, predictive email services to target abandoned carts and can recommend complementary products to existing purchases.

Red Falcon, meanwhile, is designed for smaller dealers that need a business management system with e-commerce capabilities. Cloud-based, it features back-office management, point-of-sale for retail, integrated credit card processing, ordering and inventory tracking, plus built-in CRM with advanced analytics.

Additional capabilities help dealers promote their SEO rankings and enhance the e-commerce experience, with customised emails that encourage sales.

Find out more: www.ecisolutions.com

ONLINE MARKETING Fortune Web Marketing is an online marketing services agency that works closely with many software providers in the office products industry. Founded in 2008, its areas of expertise include search engine marketing, web design, social media, email marketing, content marketing and strategic consulting.

The company’s strategies constantly adapt to the changing OP industry landscape and the ever-evolving world of online marketing. They are driven by the latest trends in SEO and social media, together with the continuing technological shifts by giants such as Google and Facebook.

Fortune Web Marketing’s core aim is to drive brand awareness, leads and online sales, but it also covers everything from print to web design and branding. The company primarily caters for small to medium-sized businesses, in the traditional OP as well as the office furniture and jan/san sectors.

Find out more: www.fortunewebmarketing.com

www.opi.net

OP-24/7 SHOPPING CART

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GOPD’s OP-24/7 Shopping Cart system was designed specifically for office products dealers. The company has been working closely with dealers and wholesalers since 2005 to develop a user-friendly cart, designed to provide shoppers with the tools they need to research, browse and buy products quickly and easily. The system also helps dealers automate their business with extensive back office functions tailored to fit their specific requirements.

GOPD continuously adds new functionality to its system, and flexibility in the program means dealers can pick and choose what works best for their business. Recent features include increased cart customisation options, hosted work servers, domain hosting, SEO, and an enhanced mobile-friendly cart. GOPD offers an extensive interface to QuickBooks and the ability to interface with other accounting systems.

Find out more: www.gopd.com

LOGICBLOCK ECOMMERCE

TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLO

SOLUTION

The Logicblock eCommerce platform was first launched in 2007, but has undergone significant updates since then. The software aims to remove the restrictions that prevent online dealers from growing in a rapidly-changing technological landscape. It provides a full website and and e-commerce, cloud-based solution that integrates with the largest wholesale distributors over a range of different sectors, including the OP, industrial, educational and safety categories.

Logicblock’s user interface incorporates an SEO-friendly, mobile-ready storefront that is considered to be a B2X (ie B2B and B2C) solution since it can be tailored to work with any type of online shopper.

The back-end solution transmits orders electronically using two-way communication paths for processing orders, shipping and product inventory, and has the flexibility to integrate with other software solutions.

Find out more: www.logicblock.com

SOLUTIONS

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PRIMA EDGE & PRIMA CLOUD

The Prima Edge package contains the back office, an integrated B2B shopping cart, mobile app and Prima data service, hosted on Microsoft Azure Cloud.

Prima Cloud features include CRM, quotes, orders, invoicing, multi-depot inventory, purchasing, manifests, electronic connections to vendors and touchscreen POS. The integrated B2B shopping cart provides real-time control over all aspects of online sales, including a customisable interface, live pricing, multi-level access control, management portal, online history, contracts and favourite lists.

Prima’s mobile app has integrated POD and mobile CRM, so signatures or marketing information can be captured, updated and synchronised to Prima Cloud. The data service offers regular automatic updates from Essendant, SP Richards, dealer groups and vendors.

Users can import their own products and easily make them available for purchase online.

Find out more: www.primaedge.com

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VENDOR SPECIAL

SSI EDGE & SSI WEB

VibeNET – Thalerus’ cloud-based business management software solution – has been providing a time and cost-saving operating environment matched with leading-edge technology for over 18 years.

While some other software companies require a dealer to purchase a separate accounting system, VibeNET’s robust, comprehensive and built-in accounting system integrates with all modules. Additionally, its ‘Company Location’ dealer management tool handles billing, accounting and customer service functions for multiple companies under a single business brand.

The fulfilment module uses a seamless supply chain developed to leverage offerings from multiple wholesalers. Dealers set parameters that allows the supply chain to make decisions on which wholesaler to buy from based on price, availability and proximity in an entirely automated process.

Dealers and Thalerus developers have collaborated to provide a ‘Sales’ module that’s underpinned by flexible customer contracts and powerful product search tools. To further enhance sales, resellers can use product volume discounts, a rewards program, coupons and SEO. Thalerus’ web store gives dealers the tools to tailor the design and functionality of their e-commerce site – customising its look to support their brand – and create additional company pages, promotions and other messaging.

Find out more: vibenet.thalerus.com/thalerus

July/August 2019

SSI has two software packages aimed at the North American office products industry – SSI Edge and SSI Web. The former is the company’s new dealer business system, the successor to its SSIop system and a complete solution for managing the back office efficiently.

SSI Edge is a fully graphical product that provides OP dealers with an efficient business flow and runs on a modern, open-source platform. Released in 2018, the software has already received a number of upgrades and new features thanks to SSI’s aggressive development schedule. SSI Edge also interfaces with a number of different marketing and business analysis tools, including Remarkety, ZOHO reports, Zapier, Sugar CRM and BPM Online.

SSI Web, meanwhile, is a B2B web store that integrates with SSI Edge. It’s SEO-optimised and has features that allow dealers to compete with the big e-commerce sites, together with the tools to help them sell the products that make them the most profit. It also has a responsive design so it’s compatible with mobile devices. Like the company’s dealer software, SSI Web is continuously updated to provide the features required to keep dealers competitive.

Find out more: www.ssiop.com

VIBENET

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FOCUS

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

in ACTION

Trying to decide which software package is the right one for you can be tricky, especially given the many options available in the US market. OPI spoke to three OP dealers about the technology solutions they chose – and why BCOS OFFICE TECHNOLOGIES Established in 1959, BCOS Office Technologies was originally a business products retailer selling and servicing the early generation of office machines, such as typewriters, adding machines and calculators. As the needs of the office transformed, the company adapted to focus on providing customers with document imaging solutions and service support for connected, networked office equipment products.

As the business continued to grow, it reached a point where the owners realised they would need to make drastic changes to its internal processes in order to keep customers happy.

Hershel Haskins, VP of Operations at BCOS, recalls why he made the decision to adopt ECi Software Solutions’ technology package.

As VP of Operations, it fell within my area of responsibility to take the lead on this initiative. I began by looking closer at our day-to-day processes and noticed that client requests and sales demands were taking precedence over all other processes and were treated on a first come, first served basis. On top

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Hershel Haskins, VP of Operations at BCOS Office Technologies

of this, all tasks were highly manual, requiring us to hire more and more people to get everything done. We needed three full-time dispatchers to track and input every service call manually, spending more than two weeks every month contacting customers to get meter readings.

Internally, it required four full-time workers to take care of the billing and general accounting functions, dispatch and customer care.

After conducting some research, I determined that an ERP solution would be the best option for BCOS’s workflow challenges. We ultimately landed on e-automate, ECi Software Solutions’ business management solution for service-centric companies in the office equipment industry.

While we had little software experience, ECi’s commitment to small business and industry-specific solutions gave us the confidence we needed to move the implementation forward.

We began working with ECi’s support team in 2002 to move our manual processes to the new program.

Since implementing this more than 17 years ago, we have increased business by 400%, cut

FOCUS Dealer Case Studies

manual labour requirements by 50% and now only need three people to handle all the general accounting, inventory control and dispatch activities. The service contracts process, which consumed a huge amount of time before, is now entirely automated. As long as the contract routine is satisfied with the meter reading, invoices are created daily and sent out via email, saving valuable time that would otherwise be spent stuffing envelopes.

E-automate also readily integrates with our sales management software so that data is immediately shared with our business management system as prospects are added to the sales pipeline.

E-automate has further given us the ability to integrate our processes with those of our vendor partners, many of which use print services management software to remotely monitor the status of their on-site imaging devices. One that’s widely used is FMAudit, a package providing critical data. It, for example, measures the amount of toner left in a machine and predicts how quickly it will empty based on historical usage patterns.

After ECi acquired FMAudit in 2011, we were able to leverage that solution in concert with e-automate to determine when a toner resupply is needed. A re-order alert from FMAudit will automatically generate an e-automate supply quote detailing the correct toner cartridge, device location and customer contact information to complete the resupply process. This has made interaction with our vendors and customers much easier and more efficient for all parties.

Most recently, we have explored some of e-automate’s add-on product offerings – such as e-Info. This web portal lets our customers manage their equipment online – ordering supplies,

ECi’s commitment to small business and industry-specific solutions gave us the confidence we needed to move the implementation forward initiating service requests, monitoring account information and inputting meter readings.

In summary, the productivity gains e-automate has delivered for BCOS have played a critical role in our company’s growth, resulting in significant resource savings and allowing us to reinvest in the business to continue expanding.

OFFICE CITY EXPRESS receivable and payable – to purchasing, but it was the everyday website experience that truly won the day. The conversion was relatively painless too as the developer was familiar with the old system and knew how to bring us on board quickly and easily.

SSI put us in touch with a single contact person who handled the entire switching process and conducted all the training, making sure that everyone was fully up to speed before we went live. Crucially, they were physically on site when the system went live, something I would highly recommend to anyone looking to switch providers. Whatever system a dealer selects, there are inevitably going to be issues

Office City Express VP Andrew Ives

I’m always on the lookout for some digital way to differentiate our business from big box and online competitors and SSI helps in this regard

July/August 2019

Office City Express is a business supplies company based in Delaware, Ohio. From traditional OP through to furniture, jan/san, safety and breakroom products, it brands itself as ‘your complete source for office supplies’. Following several inventory problems with its previous ERP system provider and ever-increasing monthly fees, the company’s VP Andrew Ives realised it was time for a change of provider. SSI was the one he chose.

I had previous experience of a product showing up on our website that Office City Express didn’t actually sell and which should never have been there. To avoid this type of thing happening again it was important for us to have complete control over what was shown online.

SSI offered an attractive solution that would give us this autonomy and this was a significant factor influencing our decision.

Switching providers is always a big decision, but I know I made the right choice because my customers love the new website. SSI’s software runs the entire operation at Office City Express.

It does everything from accounting – accounts

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Dealer Case Studies FOCUS

at conversion, so having an expert in-house is always a real bonus.

SSI uses a web-based system which has streamlined many operations, purchasing in particular. It offers a tool called Automated Quick Buy where you can see all of your data and all your orders in one place. The purchasing routine is completely automatic and the tool reviews all orders and pulls out any that fall under the wholesaler’s minimum quantity and would incur a charge. These are then accumulated into a single purchase order to avoid additional costs which can otherwise add up.

Investing in technology has been essential for our dealership. I’m always on the lookout for some digital way to differentiate our business from big box and online competitors and SSI helps in this regard. For example, it shares data with a company called Automark, which offers an online ordering application that identifies abandoned shopping carts and then attempts to persuade the customer to complete the order. SSI suggested this application to us and it’s proved really useful. In instances such as this, the solutions provider acts more like a business partner than a vendor and it is always on lookout for other ways to make sure we are successful.

www.opi.net

ARKANSAS OFFICE PRODUCTS

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Arkansas Office Products operates out of Jacksonville, a suburb of Little Rock in Arkansas.

Over time, its product lines have expanded and now include a broad selection of over 32,000 SKUs, including office furniture, breakroom and jan/san supplies. The company has recently moved into promotional products, enhancing its service with new laser engraving equipment that’s used to customise items such as name plates, signs, plaques, trophies and gifts.

President Steven Pawloski realised some time ago that his business needed to expand and generate online sales, and went looking for a software solution which would make that possible.

We had to have a web presence and we picked GOPD. Right from the start it felt like we’d made the correct choice. The software provider got us set up and walked us through everything, but we didn’t go live until the experts felt our dealership was ready. They held our hand all the way through and haven’t let go yet – when needed help is always just a phone call away.

What impressed us most about the GOPD solution is its ability to treat customers individually. They could be shown different pricing, variable promotions and perhaps even a discount coupon, based on their individual log-in. What one buyer sees when making a purchase wouldn’t necessarily be the same offer or image the next visitor sees, even when looking at the same product.

The web store that GOPD created for us compares strongly against the sites put up by our big box competitors. Many of those have a ‘cookie-cutter’ sameness about them, especially on the product pages. This is where our web

Arkansas Office Products President Steven Pawloski

offering stands out – it’s more individual, more colourful and just looks better than the others. The search facilities have been expanded recently, with functionality now much better than our wholesaler offered previously. This capability is vital to the success of any dealer web store as it needs to bring up the exact products the customer is looking for.

The ranking order those products appear in is also completely under our control. If you want your house brand of toner to come up first, you can do that. Or if your customer is an HP dealer, then the HP toner will be shown first.

We’re not asking every person in the world to visit our website, but we want to give our customers a great experience The ease of making these sorts of changes for non-digital experts is one of the standout features of the GOPD offering. If something isn’t working, or you just want to try something new it’s easy to do. Updating the website – by adding images or banners, replacing items, or moving copy and images around – can be easily accomplished without specific expertise – it only took me two or three days to get the hang of it.

We’re not asking every person in the world to visit our website, but we want to give our customers a great experience. If you don’t invest in technology, you are absolutely going to get left behind.

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TECHNOLOGY

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The long path of (and to)

DISRUPTION

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VENDOR SPECIAL

Ours is an industry in a state of flux. But despite huge advances in

Special Issuewe mostly continue to do business using tactics introduced technology,

VENDOR decades ago. The gap which has developed between those tactics and SPECIAL technology opens the door for disruption, but who is motivated to embrace

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technology that will upset the apple cart, asks Ian Elliott

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usiness transformation and disruption are overused terms that we have become accustomed to hearing about on a daily basis. It is common for innovators to claim they’ve come up with the next big thing as they compare their concepts to widely recognised disruptions in other industries, such as transportation (Uber) and entertainment (Netflix) which have already been transformed.

It’s also quite common for innovators to believe they have created the latest technology for disrupting an industry when the reality is that they have done nothing of the sort. They may have developed a value proposition that facilitates incremental improvement, but it’s far less common for real barriers within the existing value proposition to be removed and for true disruption to then take place.

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WHO IS DISRUPTING? Disruptors are attracted to large, mature sectors because, typically, the players inside those industries cannot see or understand the threat until it’s too late. Usually, it takes an outsider, capable of taking a completely different perspective on an industry and its existing value proposition, to come up with an alternative and to successfully introduce it to the market.

It is my view that the office equipment and supplies industry is ripe for disruption. This is why:

• The most commonly used technology platforms independent resellers are operating on are built to support the way business has been done in the past – not for the way customers would be receptive towards in the future.

• These platforms do little to help independent dealers survive the onslaught from Amazon and other online competitors.

It has never been more important for independent resellers’ online content to become a destination for addressing the research of potential buyers • While some platforms may be evolving, there’s little evidence for any movement towards technology that’s designed to eliminate barriers built into the current value propositions.

• The platforms are incomplete solutions that do little to help owners with relatively unsophisticated digital skills improve their online presence or to convert raw data into actionable business intelligence.

With more than 70% of buyers searching online for answers to their questions before engaging with a salesperson, it has never been more important for independent resellers’ online content to become a destination for addressing the research of potential buyers.

Amazon is often viewed as a disruptor because it has transformed the shopping experience and is directly responsible for the downfall of many

Despite the shift in customer requirements, the channel that sells copiers has been slow to adapt because doing so would have a profound impact on its business model However, this value proposition is no longer appropriate for many businesses because, as mentioned, print volumes are down and there are fewer office-based staff. That said, despite the shift in customer requirements, the channel that sells copiers has been slow to adapt because doing so would have a profound impact on its business model. As a result, it continues to sell the value proposition that was established decades ago, based on brand-centric solutions from dealers operating within territorial boundaries tightly controlled by their OEM partners.

Consequently, many businesses continue to purchase or lease high-capacity copier machines and organise their office around a central print location. But consumers – B2C and B2B – are increasingly voting with their wallets and diverting their spend to Amazon. Although this has been more evident in transaction-dependent channels such as office supplies, where price comparison shopping is simple to do, it would be naive to think it won’t continue into the office equipment channel. While the bundling of services and multi-year contracts make comparison shopping more difficult, it may delay the threat Amazon poses, but will not eliminate it.

Dealers threatened by Amazon – and that’s all of them – tend to think their only options are to either try and copy Amazon or, worse still, enter its marketplace in a practice

July/August 2019

REMOVING BARRIERS – OVER TIME For sure, barriers have been removed. Just like it was for entertainment when we used to have to visit the local Blockbuster store to rent a movie for the weekend. Then Netflix transformed the service and delivered that film on demand directly into our homes. This eliminated the time it took for us to get to and from the store as well as removing the supply constraint that frequently occurred with popular movies.

Amazon has done the same thing: deploying technology to present the widest choice of products possible, at the most competitive prices and with the fastest delivery, so much so that it has become unnecessary to physically go to the store. Of course, some of us still prefer to do so, but even long-term loyalty and affiliation counts for little when a competitor repeatedly offers a more convenient experience.

While technology has already disrupted the way people work – Amazon or no Amazon – the underlying transactional process to provide customers with the products and services they need to operate their businesses has not changed. And by not changing, there is a failure to adequately account for the shift in how today’s workforce operates, where it operates from, and how businesses must adapt.

Technology at the heart of the evolution in work practices comes in the form of software solutions and the internet. Software has allowed documents to be ‘born’ digital (eliminating the need for printed output), while the internet provides 24/7 access to digital filing cabinets and facilitates remote sharing and collaboration in terms of content creation and approvals. These two factors combine to remove the shackles that previously tied workers to corporate offices.

As millennials continue to form an ever larger share of the overall labour pool, these trends get further exacerbated. Millennials typically have a different outlook for their career paths to those of previous generations – they choose to work more on their terms than those of an employer. If they are prevented from working flexible hours from their home, Starbucks or some other convenient location, they will choose a different employer that doesn’t impose those constraints. Eventually, business that fail to accommodate the lifestyle preferences of millennials will have no staff.

As a result of all of this, office requirements are changing. Instead of using the capital assets and services of employers – furniture, copier machines, office space, bandwidth and so on – someone else’s assets are dipped into, whether they be those of the employees themselves or a third party like Starbucks. This has profound implications on the future requirements of companies: they will purchase less furniture, lease less space, and buy

fewer technology products, business equipment and office supplies.

Although many of these products and services will still be required, more and more of them will be needed in remote locations rather than the corporate office. This complicates responsibility and accountability for expense control and is an entirely different ball game for the traditional structure established by corporate purchasing departments to cope with. Indeed, it forms one of the many friction points that underly employers’ resistance for allowing staff to work remotely.

When workers used to come into the office and just about everything was printed and copied, there was a strong argument for establishing central print and copy stations designed for low-cost, high-output requirements. This supported the business case for expensive copier machines and spawned the managed print, service and repair business model along with multi-year contracts and cost-per-page billing models.

FEATURE Disruptive Technology

bricks-and-mortar retailers that failed to respond to the competitive threat. But think for a moment about what Amazon has actually done, and then question whether it represents anything more than a series of incremental improvements to a transactional process that has existed for centuries.

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Disruptive Technology FEATURE www.opi.net 42

that ultimately results in handing over all their customers. Neither of these are viable strategies.

Amazon incurred 15 years of losses building its value proposition and even today, it doesn’t make its profits from shopping, but from Amazon Web Services (Cloud Hosting) and Amazon Prime (memberships and digital content). Copying Amazon is destined to fail. As such, unless technology is used to remove other barriers in dealers’ value proposition, Amazon will win the war and many local operators will be eliminated.

BEYOND REVENUE PROTECTION Why has the equipment channel resisted change in terms of taking the lead to reduce the total cost of ownership related to printing devices in an environment of ever-reducing print volumes?

The page-wide-array business inkjet printers from MemJet and HP have been available for years, but their market penetration is limited. Despite their vastly lower cost of ownership and their suitability for business print environments, their penetration is low because the revenue per device may only be as little as 25% of that generated from an over-priced, underused legacy copier device.

How many dealers are going to embrace a value proposition that generates a quarter of the revenue the current one does? Naturally, not many, so instead they continue to focus on rolling their customers into new equipment leases and service agreements expecting these tactics to continue to protect them from newly emerging threats.

However, this legacy offering is vulnerable to a new proposition that eliminates customer friction points such as complex, multi-year agreements, excess equipment capacity, and expensive service and repair. It’s even more vulnerable when taking into account all the aforementioned challenges that businesses now face, particularly in terms of managing a spend that’s taking place in locations outside the central office that is notoriously more difficult to control.

Before a value proposition can become disruptive it must be deployed on a platform capable of handling rapidly evolving circumstances: • It should leverage existing technology in terms of monitoring print volumes, cartridge reorder points, and authorised vendors for resupply but must remove friction points incurred with requirements for multi-year agreements and excessive sales complexity.

• It must go beyond helping a business manage its spend on traditional office equipment and supplies, to provide a scalable solution that helps manage the myriad of other issues surfacing when embracing and managing a remote workforce. These may include onboarding and off-boarding new and departing employees, their company-issued assets, and their company-related activities.

• It must enable customers to intelligently determine what their true requirements are and purchase what they need. Because each customer is unique, this means dealers

must facilitate flexible bundling of products and services configured in such a way that customers only purchase what is needed and only pay for what they consume. Furthermore, they must be able to accomplish this without having to get the CFO to sign on the dotted line after their law firm has advised him or her it’s okay to do so.

• It must allow resellers to present their customers with a compelling case for providing a broader range of products and services.

• It must provide seamless access to reordering portals using mobile apps designed to facilitate a dispersed spend that’s initiated by increasing numbers of remotely located employees, without corporate losing control over that spend.

Not every independent dealer can survive in a shrinking, changing market – that’s a given.

The question, however, is whether the ultimate survivor will be Amazon alone, or will it be Amazon alongside a community of healthy independents.

If the latter is to be the case, then the surviving independents will be those that have leveraged the technology necessary to match the logistics performance of Amazon, and who provide a range of products and services accurately configured to meet the wide range of requirements needed to satisfy their individual customers.

.

Ian Elliott works for E&S Solutions, a solutions and consultancy firm that aims to facilitate the digital transformation of independent office products dealers.

He has 35 years of industry experience as a strategic thinker with strong analytical skills and executive management experience.

The office supplies channel [...] may like to pull the trigger, but is not currently equipped to do so PULLING THE TRIGGER All this said, there must still be a trigger to start the disruption cycle and there must be someone who’s prepared to pull that trigger. This is unlikely to be the equipment reseller because the consequences are a potentially catastrophic reduction in revenue.

The office supplies channel, meanwhile, may like to pull the trigger, but is not currently equipped to do so. It hasn’t deployed the technology platform that’s required to win market share in its own channel, and it doesn’t have the service-based selling skills to sell into the equipment channel where the biggest capacity adjustment needs to take place.

These circumstances place a significant burden on the technology solution that’s needed before disruption will take place. The upshot is that disruptive technology solutions must be sufficiently intuitive and compelling they will be embraced by resellers in the office products channel and rapidly adopted by their customers in this transaction-oriented business model. Only then will they trickle down to be adopted by customers in the service-oriented equipment channel.

Once the process reaches this stage, equipment dealers will have no option but to also adopt this new value proposition or they will simply go out of business.

Special Issue OPINION

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

Special Issue

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

Get YOUR head in THE CLOUDS

Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL

Special Issue

VENDOR SPECIAL Investing in the latest cloud-based technologies will help independent dealers

C

compete successfully now and in the future, says Patric Timmermans

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hange is hard. It can be unsettling, costly, and generally upends the comfortable flow of daily routines. As such, it’s not surprising that dealers tend to resist tinkering with the technology that has been the backbone of their operations for several years. And they can cite plenty of good reasons for that resistance: security concerns, fear that it will disrupt their business, a perception that it will cost a fortune, or simply not knowing where to start.

The result is that a lot of independents need to be somewhat forced into upgrading to newer, cloud-based technology when they can no longer get updates or maintenance for their old systems.

This is unfortunate, as the misguided notion that they are saving money by not investing in the latest technologies may be costly – and dealers are paying the price with both lost revenues and even customers.

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TAKING ADVANTAGE It’s not just a matter of getting the same functions faster. Without the cloud, dealers cannot fully make the most of developments that drive greater efficiency and visibility. More significantly, the benefits of such potentially industry-changing technologies as advanced analytics, machine learning, the Internet of Things, or the solutions possible with blockchain, will not be realised. In other words, dealers won’t be as well-equipped as they should be to compete against the bogeyman of modern nightmares: Amazon.

Right now, the online giant is using technology many distributors haven’t even considered such as artificial intelligence (AI) tools that use past customer behaviour to predict buying habits and make real-time purchasing recommendations.

And rest assured, Amazon is more than likely hard at work on implementing technologies we haven’t even heard of yet.

Dealers that hope to keep up with – or even get ahead of – competitors like Amazon cannot afford to put off embracing upgrades any longer. Backed by modern, cloud-based technology platforms as their foundation, below are just a few of the next-generation solutions that could transform a dealer’s business: CHATBOTS Imagine how happy customers would be if they could simply pick up the phone, ask a digital voice assistant about the status of the company’s latest shipment and receive a response that includes not only a date but a time. That information would tell them whether to have employees stay late to unload that shipment or send them home because it won’t arrive until the next day, saving considerable time and money.

This technology makes their lives easier – and inspires strong loyalty. All this is possible with chatbots, which utilises AI to interact with a

MACHINE LEARNING Setting up cross-sell and upsell recommendations on an e-commerce website isn’t easy. It requires data mining and identifying connections between products (when people buy baby nappies/ diapers, they may also buy strained peaches, for example). It also takes manual programming so that when somebody buys nappies, it tells the salesperson to offer them baby food as well. If you’re selling tens of thousands of products, that kind of data mining and programming just isn’t feasible. With machine learning, it is.

Machine learning allows a system to learn as it goes, collecting data on which products are most likely to be purchased with others, for instance, and where upsell or cross-sell opportunities exist based on what other customers have bought.

And, if buyers are not accepting those offers, machine learning knows to stop offering them. It’s common for distributors to significantly grow total basket size and margin using this technology both online and offline.

Not investing in the latest technologies may be costly – and dealers are paying the price with both lost revenues and even customers

July/August 2019

AI FOR SALES AI capabilities can provide detailed customer data – the kind that allows the prioritising of leads and opportunities so that an outside sales team can be deployed to potential new clients who are most likely to buy, or to current customers who are predicted to increase their spending. The same features can also help maintain existing relationships by identifying those at greatest risk of taking their business to a competitor.

It may be an urban legend, but the story goes that video rental firm Blockbuster turned down an opportunity to partner with video on demand

service Netflix because leaders hesitated to embrace an unproven start-up. That mindset is common in the distribution industry – dealers all too often wait until the latest technology is “proven” before they invest in or take advantage of it. But that thinking won’t get you ahead of Amazon – it may not even keep you in the game.

While a single chatbot or virtual assistant may not be reason enough to rip out existing systems, having the full suite of technologies and the capabilities they can provide could be. Otherwise, the alternative is conceivably becoming the next Blockbuster.

OPINION Technology

user, whether verbally (through a digital voice assistant) or by text (for example, chat with customer service on a website).

Beginning his technology career as an ERP architect, Patric Timmermans has been a technology industry marketing leader for more than 20 years. Before joining ENAVATE as Head of Marketing, Timmermans worked for Microsoft in a number of roles. He has been named a Top 25 CRM thought leader by CustomerThink and InsideCRM.

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FEATURE

Going digital?

YOU’RE NOT ALONE

Special Issue

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

As long-established structures are called into question, channel boundaries are disappearing and change is accelerating, Nicole Speyer urges traditionalists to focus on future-proofing their businesses and leaving the specifics to the experts

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www.opi.net

e all know the buzzwords of today that everyone is talking about: disruptive technologies, digitisation and transformation, product innovation, data... These themes come up at every industry event when the core players talk about the latest developments and the challenges that lie ahead. What quickly becomes clear is that these challenges, broadly speaking, are the same for everyone.

Digitisation has become a global phenomenon.

It has revolutionised the way we look at the world, how we think and ultimately act. The impact has been ferocious not just on everybody’s personal lives – just think social media – but on entire industries, so much so that traditional businesses need to seriously rethink their long-term strategies to counter the disruptive innovations of the growing league of pure online operators. Well-known examples of companies that have been able to adapt or indeed change are Tesla, 3M, Uber, Airbnb, Netflix and Amazon.

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DIGITAL ONSLAUGHT The business supplies industry has been affected in a number of ways by these developments.

Firstly, the business processes of many operators had to be restructured and digitised. Secondly, the products themselves needed to be adapted or completely reinvented. The digital consumer

has moved from pen and paper to pads and tablets with handwriting recognition and speech-to-text apps to take notes; letters have been replaced by email or text messages; and business meetings no longer necessarily take place face to face.

Traditional businesses need to seriously rethink their long-term strategies to counter the disruptive innovations of the growing league Special Issue of pure online operators VENDOR SPECIAL Unfortunately, online operators tend to

understand and market that new reality and the need for hybrid and digital products better than their traditional counterparts. It can be argued that Amazon was one of the first to understand the demands of the digital consumer, billing itself as the “most customer-centric company on earth”.

Amazon’s relevance today highlights the threat it poses to the industry and aptly illustrates the need for many to step up their game. This notion was well expressed by Chairman Jean Codarini at the recent UFIPA event in Nice, France (see Review, page 64). In his opening address, he appealed to the association’s members in the

AUTOMATING PROCESSES PBSeasy was first introduced in the German market as an ordering and data hub in 1998.

Today, the platform is an established standard that is used by manufacturers and dealers across the country to have their daily processes run in a more automated way in terms of data upload, monitoring of data quality, data syndication, etc.

UFIPA’s decision to adopt PBSeasy as a centralised system for France was driven by the same challenges that Germany faced all those years ago: the need for standardisation and efficiency. The fact is that too many operational processes are still done manually or carried out using outdated technology: data management with Excel sheets, ordering through fax or PDF/text files – these old-fashioned methods are time as well as resource-consuming.

The demand for established standards is also apparent in other countries. Especially companies with an international outlook are eager to find one single solution for data distribution across Europe and to streamline processes that lower workloads and reduce costs. If and how fast other markets will follow suit and embrace platforms like PBSeasy remains to be seen. Change is always

Nicole Speyer is Business Development Manager at PBS Network. Having joined the company in 2017, she is tasked with driving the international expansion of its data and ordering platform in the OP industry.

accompanied by resistance and scepticism.

Entrenched structures and practices are difficult to displace and investments are more readily made when the ROI is realised quickly.

But there’s no doubt that change is accelerating, traditional structures are vanishing and disruptive technologies are shaking up the ‘establishment’.

Consolidation is rife and channel boundaries are changing if not disappearing. That puts pressure on all operators.

When UFIPA decided to partner with PBS Network, it wanted to outsource operational processes to external specialists that are well established in the market and can contribute the necessary know-how to allow individual players to move forward. As a result, office products companies will be able to let their IT teams focus on the broad digital transformation and support the strategic vision of the business, using them where they are needed the most: by innovating their products and maximising new technologies that are relevant to their customers.

FEATURE Setting Standards

trade and in industry and issued a call for action.

He said: “Imagine you’re sitting on the beach.

You look out onto the ocean and see a huge wave coming towards you. What do you do?

You have several options: stick your head in the sand, run away or pretend nothing is happening and continue with business as usual. All three scenarios are bad options.”

The alternative, he added, is to recognise that it’s really happening – embrace change, participate and even lead through it.

Actions, of course, speak much louder than words. What followed was the announcement that in the future some of the challenges would be tackled together – by UFIPA partnering with PBS Network to introduce its centralised data platform PBSeasy in France in order to improve data quality.

Too many operational processes are still done manually or carried out using outdated technology STRATEGIC FOCUS Trying to solve each and every challenge yourself only diverts from what is essential – your strategy.

Why spend time and money on developing something that already exists? Reinventing the wheel is not efficient in this instance. Partner with operators that have already established standardised, ready-to-use solutions, so you can free up resources and focus on what is really important: your core business and your products.

To quote Marc Bürkle, one of the speakers at the recent OPI European Forum in Berlin, Germany (see Review, page 62): “Don’t fly solo – reinvent collaboration.”

July/August 2019

Cartoon sources: Vincent Ithil, PBS Network

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HOW TO...

Treat them well & THEY’LL TREAT YOU BETTER There is no silver bullet to employee retention, but there are things businesses can do to maximise their chances of keeping their best staff, says Gordon Christiansen in this second part of our How to… guide to attracting and retaining talent

www.opi.net

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t’s highly frustrating as well as expensive when you lose the great people you’ve spent so much time and effort recruiting and training. The reality is that your best people are also likely the ones who find it easiest to get another job. But there are things you may wish to consider which could help in retaining your most talented staff.

Before we dive in, let’s destroy a myth. The Pew Research Center reports that millennials are actually just as likely to stick with their employers as Gen Xers were when they were young adults. In fact, among the college-educated demographic, millennials have an even longer tenure than Gen Xers did in 2000 when they were approximately the same age as today’s millennials.

As Forbes writer Rick Gillis points out, what is different about millennials is the size of their

generation. “The boomers began retiring at about the same time millennials began to enter the workforce, and therein lies the problem: there aren’t enough Gen Xers around to backfill the rapidly depleting workforce,” he explains.

“Hence, there’s a need to promote millennials beyond entry-level and into mid-management and senior positions that they may or may not be prepared for. The ‘job hoppers’ are reacting to a very rich and lucrative job market. The offers are coming in fast and furiously.”

In other words, young people are merely jumping at the opportunities that are presented to them – and there are more than other age groups enjoyed – but essentially their attitude to employer longevity is no different to any other age segment.

Source: 2018 Millennial Survey, Deloitte

GOOD MANAGEMENT In my experience, the two key factors for retaining staff are good management and providing opportunities for growth.

The old adage of people joining the company but leaving their manager rings as true today as ever. Any business that conducts exit interviews will see a common thread from (soon to be former) employees as to the reasons they are leaving the business. Usually, at the top of this list is the relationship with their manager. This may not be a problem – not everyone can get on with everyone. However, repeat offences should be cause for concern.

Good management means many things.

However, in the context of this article you may want to consider the following four practices as key to supporting employees, to make them feel not only recognised but genuinely thanked.

Staff Retention HOW TO...

Source: Jive Communications The need to be seen: Understand what is important to your staff. Consider their needs and fulfil them whenever possible.

The need to be heard: Their voice matters.

Recognise ideas that employees have. Use regular discussions to let everyone on the team share their perspective and ideas without wasting any time.

The need to be understood: Managers often break the connection with their employees because of growing misunderstandings. Don’t let that happen – fix them.

The need to be appreciated: Appreciate authentically, timely and in reality.

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EARN LOYALTY Most employees are not satisfied with being stagnant in their jobs. They want to excel and move into new avenues. As a result, staff crave opportunities for training and professional development. Data reveals that companies which offer comprehensive training programmes have a 218% higher income per employee than those that do not.

Employees want the chance to do better.

When they’re given the room to grow — and a path they’re passionate about following — they not only accelerate company growth, but remain engaged and loyal.

As a manager and leader, it’s imperative that you actively facilitate personal growth and development in your business for your employees.

Formal training will help, but it must have a purpose, a goal and be relevant to the individual.

Don’t just rely on formal training though. Timely constructive feedback should be part of the mix, as should regular reviews and appraisals.

Something else to consider is mentorship. Young and ambitious people will learn a lot from a senior person they respect. The mentor could be someone in your business or an external senior person from your network.

Put simply, if you put some work into your employees, they will reward you with their loyalty.

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CHANGING EXPECTATIONS Everything I’ve referenced so far has been true for some time, certainly for me as I was forging my career. For millennials, there are other factors that are important for them which seemed less essential 20 or 30 years ago.

Gordon Christiansen is COO of Highlands, a sales and marketing agency based in Atlanta, US, and with offices in the UK and Canada.

Christiansen doesn’t regard himself as a guru on the topic of staff recruitment and retention, but as someone aware of the issues and keen to address them.

Communications firm Jive surveyed 2,000 millennials and asked them about their workplace requirements and why they leave. 37% said that having a job with flexible hours was “essential”; indeed, a quarter of those reported that they had left jobs because they couldn’t work flexibly.

The ability to work remotely was also an important factor. 63% of millennials said they might not be interested in future jobs if working remotely wasn’t an option. Slightly higher still, 64% said that they would leave a job if it was too difficult to take sick or personal days.

Good pay and a positive corporate culture are most likely to attract both millennials and Gen Z, but to keep them happy businesses need to be on the ball with diversity, inclusion and flexibility.

Diversity includes anything from tolerance, inclusiveness and openness to respect and different ways of thinking.

According to an Ernst & Young survey, millennials are the most likely generation to say that they would change jobs or careers, give up promotion opportunities, move their family to another place or take a pay cut to have more freedom and better manage work and family life.

What employees do expect [...] is that you always question how you and your business can be better and maximise the investment you make in your great people

Source: Highlands

Any leader of a business has the responsibility to retain, not just attract, talent. Creating the right environment for your staff to thrive is critical. If things aren’t going as well as you would like, the first thing you need to do is take a look at yourself: are you still learning in your job? Are you doing all the right things for your managers and employees to enable them to succeed and thrive? Do you have the right policies in place and are these being communicated effectively?

As I said, there is no silver bullet and nobody expects perfection. What employees do expect, however, is that you always question how you and your business can be better and maximise the investment you make in your great people.

EVENT

NAOPA PREVIEW

The best of the best

NAOPA 2019

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t’s that time of year again when the US business supplies industry gets the opportunity to showcase its latest products and highlight the continuing innovation of the sector. The tenth North American Office Products Awards (NAOPA) will take place this year in San Diego, California.

Organised by OPI in association with US OP wholesaler SP Richards (SPR), the awards will be presented during the annual Advantage Business Conference (ABC) from 7-10 August. (For a preview of the ABC, see OPI June 2019, page 42).

While new and innovative products keep the OP sector moving forward, it’s the people that are the lifeblood of our industry

www.opi.net

All this year’s NAOPA entries represent some of the best new products available and reflect the increasingly wide diversity of categories within the office products industry. The shortlisted nominations for 2019 range from traditional core office products and adjacent categories including furniture and safety, to newcomers such as portable power supply items.

The shortlist for the two vendor award categories – Business Product of the Year and Innovation of the Year – is as follows:

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BUSINESS PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 3M – Scotch Flex & Seal Shipping Roll ChargeTech – ChargeTech S10 Power Floor Stand Charging Station ChargeTech – ChargeTech 8 Bay Pin Code Video Charging Locker Dri Mark Products – Flash Test Counterfeit Detector Fellowes Brands – Lotus RT Sit-Stand Workstation Kensington – LD4650P Universal USB-C Dock with K-Fob Smart Lock INNOVATION OF THE YEAR 3M – Scotch Flex & Seal Shipping Roll ACCO Brands – GBC Foton 30 Automated Pouch-Free Laminator Acme United – SmartCompliance First Aid Cabinet and FAO SafetyHub App Management ChargeTech – ChargeTech 124,800mAh Portable Power Station ChargeTech – ChargeTech S10 Power Floor Stand Charging Station ChargeTech – ChargeTech 8 Bay Pin Code Video Charging Locker With an overwhelming number of high-calibre entries received for NAOPA this year, the judges deliberated long and hard over the products to put forward for the prestigious People’s Choice award (all the finalists can be found on pages 55-57).

US-based readers of opi.net and attendees at this year’s ABC in San Diego have the chance to vote for their favourite product in this popular award category. The winners will be revealed during the Expo on 9 August.

While new and innovative products keep the OP sector moving forward, it’s the people that are the lifeblood of our industry, and the dealer awards celebrate this accordingly. The Young Executive of the Year accolade rewards the achievements of the next generation of OP members while the Professional of the Year award is given to someone who is making a real difference to their business, community and the broader industry. Lastly, the Industry Achievement award honours an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the office products sector over many years.

A full review of the ABC show and NAOPA will be published in the September issue of OPI.

FAVOURITE? Choose your winner of the 2019 People’s Choice award. You have two votes, so select your favourites online at www.opi.net/peopleschoice. For more details on the North American Office Products Awards, the products and voting information, visit www.opi.net/naopa2019

3M – SCOTCH FLEX & SEAL SHIPPING ROLL Scotch Flex & Seal is an easy packing solution that only requires three steps: cut, fold and press. These simple stages allow users to save up to 50% of their time and required supplies, in addition to taking up 50% less space compared to boxes.

The Flex & Seal process does not need filler or tape, and the unique three-layer durable outer shell construction is water and tear-resistant, while the built-in cushion sheet protects items.

Flex & Seal uses 3M patented adhesive technology that sticks to itself (grey on grey) and not the goods – guaranteeing the package stays sealed. The product is made of the same material as plastic bags and can be recycled once the shipping label has been removed.

ACCO BRANDS – GBC FOTON 30 AUTOMATED POUCH-FREE LAMINATOR The GBC Foton 30 addresses the key pain points users experience during every lamination job and was designed with the consumer’s productivity in mind. The Foton 30 automates every step of the process – from loading and laminating, to trimming and even cartridge threading.

The laminator is both time-efficient and cost-effective, resulting in a superior quality output at a fraction of the cost of an industrial machine. Proven to free up 98% of time spent compared to manual pouch loading and feeding, users can drop up to 30 documents in the tray, press run and save over 30 minutes that were previously spent dealing with the lamination process.

A sensor controls spacing to minimise film waste and prevent jams. Auto-deskew straightens pages so they feed evenly while additional features include auto shut-off, thickness detection and a low/empty film warning light.

July/August 2019

ACME UNITED – SMARTCOMPLIANCE FIRST AID CABINET AND FAO SAFETYHUB APP MANAGEMENT SmartCompliance First Aid Cabinets offer innovative refill options that allow customers to manage their inventory and spend by only filling what is needed. The SmartTab ezRefill system has a bright yellow tab in each item featuring the part number and a barcode. The SmartTab shows up three quarters of the way through, notifying users that it is time to order.

The barcode on each refill box can be scanned using the free First Aid Only SafetyHub App which then creates an order requisition, notes which boxes are full or half full, and keeps customers in compliance by keeping a record of the stocking maintenance.

SmartCompliance cabinets also meet ANSI standards, are OSHA-compliant and available in multiple sizes, general business and food processing styles, and with or without a selection of over-the-counter medications.

CHARGETECH – CHARGETECH 8 BAY PIN CODE VIDEO CHARGING LOCKER This ChargeTech product is an innovative mobile phone charging locker that safely stores all valuables such as wallets and cameras. A voice assistant guide is used for the storing and retrieving process while the pin code keypad eliminates the need for keys.

Each locker contains a combination of cables for Apple Lightning for iPhone 5 and above, micro USB for Android, and an USB-C for newer devices.

Providing security and charging in one unit, a hard drive or USB can also be used to easily display video or image adverts to users.

The Charging Locker is made with durable, industrial-grade materials to protect against frequent usage.

EVENT NAOPA 2019

Which is YOUR

CHARGETECH – CHARGETECH 124,800MAH PORTABLE POWER STATION ChargeTech’s 124,800mAh Portable Power Station is an innovative product in a brand new OP category. It fills a requirement for substantial amounts of power over prolonged periods of time where a wall outlet is inaccessible or in times of emergency where energy is in dire need.

The Portable Power Station is equipped with all necessary charging port essentials (USB, USB-C, AC outlet) which each put out a maximum wattage of 300W, for a total of 600W. The Station includes a multifunction light panel and Bluetooth speaker, eliminating the need for extension cords and bulky surge protectors.

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NAOPA 2019 EVENT

CHARGETECH – CHARGETECH S10 POWER FLOOR STAND CHARGING STATION The ChargeTech S10 Power Floor Stand Charging Station is a customisable branding unit perfect for any industry.

Featuring two 5V/10W Qi wireless charging pads for mobile phones, the Station includes eight industrial-grade braided charging cables – three Apple Lightning for iPhone 5 and above, three micro USBs for Android, and two USB-Cs for newer devices – LED lighting, and an easily changed billboard display. The unit can also be wall mounted.

www.opi.net

FELLOWES BRANDS – LOTUS RT SIT-STAND WORKSTATION With dynamic Tri-Motion technology, the Lotus RT Sit-Stand Workstation offers 180° base and worksurface rotation with 17-inch vertical adjustment. By offering a wide range of movement, the RT gives users a more flexible range of motion for working and collaborating.

Perfect for small spaces, the Workstation uses a micro clamping system that allows for minimal footprint installation and even works near cube walls.

The sturdy design securely locks into place and prevents sinking while typing.

The waterfall design enhances productivity with a distinctive flowing work area that moves with the user while the cord management system keeps computer cables under control with every motion. It also fits a variety of desk configurations.

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DRI MARK PRODUCTS – FLASH TEST COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR The Flash Test Counterfeit Detector breaks new ground in terms of size, speed, maintenance and training. The Flash Test is roughly the size of a small smartphone and therefore fits on the countertop next to the register for easy cashier visibility.

Speed is critical for the recognition of counterfeit money and three anti-forgery detections – ink, UV marking and watermark identification – are packed into one easy-to-use unit that takes less than one second to test a bill for ink.

The device has no bulbs or batteries to replace and uses reliable solid-state electronics for ruggedness and reliability.

Training can be undertaken by users at any time thanks to a QR code on the top of each Flash Test that links to a three-minute educational video.

KENSINGTON – LD4650P UNIVERSAL USB-C DOCK WITH K-FOB SMART LOCK The LD4650P Universal USB-C Dock with K-Fob Smart Lock combines USB-C docking technology with next generation encrypted digital laptop locking technology for Windows users.

Universal USB-C docking connectivity allows users to enjoy a full desktop set-up with a light and thin laptop. The docking station enables the transfer of data up to 10Gbps, video and audio while providing up to 60W of power to USB-C enabled laptops with PD function for a simple plug and play experience.

VICTOR TECHNOLOGY – DC475 ELECTRIC TRIPLE MONITOR STANDING DESK The Victor Technology DC475 Electric Triple Monitor Standing Desk transforms any sit-down desk into a sitting or standing desk. With the ability to support three monitors, the deep surface can be raised up to 20 inches above the desktop.

The electric motor design allows easy custom-height adjustment with the push of a button. The triple monitor holder is also height-adjustable with a range of 12.5 inches. A safety sensor stops movement when obstacles are detected under the desk and with no clamping or attachments of any kind, the workstation is easily repositioned.

EVENT NAOPA 2019

THIS SAVES LIVES – THIS BAR SAVES LIVES This Bar Saves Lives snack bars are crafted with clean ingredients, are gluten-free, kosher, low in sugar, high in fibre, have just 170 calories or fewer per bar, and are Non-GMO Project Verified. In addition, the owner of the brand, This Saves Lives (TSL), sends vital food supplies to a child in need. With every purchase, TSL donates a premium-quality nutrition packet to children suffering from malnutrition around the world.

ZEBRA PEN – PM-701 STAINLESS STEEL PERMANENT MARKER With a durable, stainless steel barrel, effortless refill process and a five-day cap off time, the Zebra Pen PM-701 Stainless Steel Permanent Marker means business. The marker offers a fine bullet point nib and is available in four different colours: black, blue, red and green.

July/August 2019 57

EVENT

MOVING

up a gear

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BSA ANNUAL FORUM 2019 PREVIEW

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or two days in early September, the Business Solutions Association (BSA) will be engaging with US manufacturers and manufacturer rep groups – about 140 delegates in total – at its BSA Annual Forum.

Aiming to discuss real-time issues affecting the business supplies industry, this year’s event will be held from 4-5 September at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot, in Minnesota, US. And there’s plenty to discuss, says BSA President Barry Lane: “The challenges facing manufacturers aren’t getting smaller, they continue to increase and intensify. Apathy is not an option. We’ve built an amazing amount of momentum and created interest from many new players over the past 18 months. As everybody’s getting beaten up in one way or another, I believe it’s a real luxury to be able to come together for two days to discuss the issues that exist for the OP manufacturing community. Collaboration – between all of us but importantly between channel players too – is the only way forward.”

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LISTEN, LEARN, ADAPT Andy Weiner is one of the speakers at the 2019 BSA Forum and he’s uniquely placed to guide attendees through the minefield of a rapidly changing – and highly fragmented – sector.

Coming from the toy industry, where 25% of the distribution channel was recently wiped out in one fell swoop with the demise of Toys R Us, his manufacturer rep group Toy’n Around has participated in the launch of several major toy brands, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tech Deck and Squinkies.

Over the past 30 years, Weiner’s leadership at Toy’n Around has resulted in long-term strategic partnerships for his vendors, for instance with the toy department at retail chain Target – a department incidentally that has ramped up and benefitted hugely from the liquidation of Toys R Us in 2018. Collaboration with the best companies in his sector, while adding value and driving solutions for his manufacturers, has been a cornerstone of Weiner’s and his agency’s success.

This year’s line-up of speakers also includes a number of well-known names and companies from the OP sector. Several of them will be discussing the threat of the biggest operators in e-commerce and the growth of online marketplaces. In his talk, ‘Turning the Table on Amazon’, NOPA CEO

Mike Tucker will provide details of successful challenges fought and won against the e-commerce giant. He will also give an update on recent developments at GSA and the positive impact this will have on the independent dealer and manufacturer channels.

The challenges facing manufacturers aren’t getting smaller, they continue to increase and intensify

Top: Barry Lane Bottom: Nick Aronis

Chris Hodson, Senior Research Analyst in Consumer and E-commerce at Edgewater Research, meanwhile, will explore the balancing act of industry consolidation and marketplace expansion, taking a look, for example, at the main variables of the Office Depot/Alibaba partnership and the ripple effects of Staples’ increased push towards private label.

With Office Depot in mind, Business Solutions Division SVP Bryan Wight will aim to give delegates a better understanding of the company’s Federation strategy and growth plans, and illustrate how vendors can benefit from that strategy.

TOWN HALL TALK In among the formal presentations, there will be plenty of opportunity to network and talk in detail about the current hot topics in our sector – the coming together of the three main dealer groups in the US (see also Hot Topic, page 24), the perennial need to make better use of data, and the ‘putting on hold’ of the much talked about Industry Week.

Nick Aronis, co-chair of the BSA Annual Forum, says: “We’re having a special session this year, a Town Hall-style event, whereby all the manufacturers and manufacturer rep groups will be in one room together to discuss some of the core issues they’re facing.”

He concludes: “It’s very easy to get caught up in the rumours, the innuendo and all the noise in our industry and obviously there’s been a tremendous amount of upheaval over the past 12 months. But there’s also a huge amount of knowledge in our sector and events like the BSA Annual Forum seek to jointly getting our heads down, applying that knowledge and working together for a better future.”

Ride FOR YOUR LIFE

EVENT

RIDE OF LIFE PREVIEW

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www.opi.net

he second Ride of Life (ROL), organised by the British office products industry in support of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), will take place on 19 September 2019, starting in the beautiful Surrey hills in the UK. One of the riders of this year’s ROL is Christine O’Donnell. With no specific links to our industry but a passion for cycling, she will not only take part in the day’s sporting activity, but also give a talk during the celebration dinner in the evening about why events such as ROL are so important.

Christine’s story is a sad as well as encouraging and inspiring one.

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I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2012. I should have known it was coming – my mother was diagnosed in her 50s, and my grandmother and great-grandmother in their 70s. But at the age 40, breast cancer was not top of mind for me – I was focused on my career and led a very active life.

It started with odd, intermittent chest pains and I thought I had pulled a muscle at the gym. I hadn’t.

Instead, it was a 7 cm breast tumour. I suddenly had a new identity I had to Google to even begin to understand the language – Grade II, IDC, ER/PR positive, HER 2 negative.

The eight months that followed were intense and completely out of my control. Chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiotherapy. Overwhelming as well as absolutely terrifying. Exercise was the thing

Why get involved in the Ride of Life – financially or in actual sporting terms?

Cancer touches all of us in one way or another, that much is certain. Christine O’Donnell’s is a story that deals with secondary cancer. The Institute of Cancer Research and its groundbreaking work is one of the reasons why this courageous woman continues to fly the flag for this type of the illness, which is not well understood and often poorly funded that kept me going throughout, however hard and tiring it was. I went to the gym nearly every day, even if it was just to do some stretches.

After a preventative mastectomy of the other breast in 2014 and ongoing hormone therapy, I had three, then six-monthly reviews with the

I’ve become very passionate about raising awareness of and funds for secondary breast cancer which is not well understood and seriously underfunded COMING UP… Look out for an interview with outgoing BOSS CEO and new Climb of Life organiser Philip Lawson in the September issue of OPI.

oncologist and surgeon. Life was relatively back to normal although, once you have had cancer, it is never completely absent from your mind. The fear is always there.

When I finished my treatment, cycling became a big part of my life. I was regularly doing 200-300 km a week and completed several long-distance cycling challenges, including London to Paris and Lake Como to Rome.

In February last year, I was cycling to a meeting in London. Next thing I knew I was in an ambulance and then in hospital. I was told that I had had a seizure and a scan revealed a brain

The Ride of Life – a sister event of the Climb of Life which will take place on 8 November – is coordinated by Sean Starkey, Managing Director of Durable UK. For more information on how to participate, volunteer or sponsor the event, email sean. starkey@durable-uk.com. Donations can also be made directly on the JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/teams/rideoflife2019 tumour. Again, I was blindsided – what did a seizure have to do with a history of breast cancer?

It turned out I had secondary cancer – five years after my initial diagnosis, the milestone when you start to think and hope that it might all be well and truly behind you.

Like most people, I knew little about secondary cancer. Breast cancer reoccurs in 20-30% of cases I learned. When it spreads to other organs, it’s still breast cancer, not brain or lung cancer, for example. And when you have secondary cancer, you’ll be on treatment for the rest of your life.

Psychologically, secondary cancer is a huge burden. What gives me hope is knowing that secondary breast cancer is no longer an immediate death sentence. There are many new treatments that mean more people are living longer, and with a good quality of life. I’ve had several of these treatments and thanks to some of the amazing technologies available, I could avoid other forms of radiotherapy with potentially serious side effects.

I also have a new drug regime – I changed my hormone treatment and started Palbociclib, a new targeted therapy that is much easier to manage than chemotherapy. The ICR has been very involved in the discovery of this drug and has also developed a new blood test to more rapidly identify which women are responding to this treatment.

As always, people respond differently to treatments. In my case, Palbociclib allows me to lead a relatively normal life. I can work part-time, and I’ve become very passionate about raising awareness of and funds for secondary breast cancer which is not well understood and seriously underfunded. Some statistics suggest that although it results in almost 100% of deaths from breast cancer, it attracts less than 10% of research funding.

EVENT Ride of Life

I’m still a keen cyclist, currently preparing for the Étape du Tour – Amsterdam to Strasbourg – in July. The Ride of Life and its support for the ICR is a perfect opportunity for me to combine the two. I am very grateful for support from initiatives like this which fund the much-needed research. Cycling is my escape – it allows me to forget – at least for a window in time – that I have advanced, incurable cancer and to measure myself not just by scans or blood tests.

RIDE OF LIFE

WHY TAKE PART?

Christine O’Donnell

COMMITTEE CHAIR AND RIDER SEAN STARKEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DURABLE UK “After last year’s wonderful response and with sponsorships amounting to almost £20,000 ($25,000) in 2018, the Committee and I are delighted to be able to re-run this event in September. I lost both of my parents and two of my grandparents to cancer, so the cause, like for so many of us, is very dear to my heart. The ICR does some wonderful work in helping to eradicate this terrible disease.”

2018 AND 2019 RIDER AMY HUTCHINSON, CEO, BOSS “ROL is a fantastic initiative for both keen cyclists and novices. Having taken part in the inaugural event last year, raising money for the ICR was a real privilege. It’s a charity that is close to my heart – my aunt had breast cancer and she came down to Surrey to see me start the ride which was wonderful. We were waved off from the start line and cheered over the finish line by the employees of the ICR. A great experience.”

NEW RIDER STEVE HILLEARD, CEO, OPI “Having participated in the Climb of Life with Team OPI for ten years and raising around £200,000 ($250,000) during those years, I welcomed the ROL initiative as a way to further strengthen our sector’s association with cancer research. I am looking forward to the inevitable leg and lung burn that the Surrey hills will provide, which is nothing compared to the widespread suffering that our industry’s efforts seek to eradicate.”

July/August 2019 61

EVENT

The GOOD, the BAD and OPI EUROPEAN FORUM REVIEW

THE NECESSARY

www.opi.net

A

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s leading vendors and resellers from the European business supplies industry came together in early June, a thought-provoking couple of days of information exchange, discussion and networking got underway. The venue was the Westin Grand Berlin in Germany’s capital and the occasion the eighth OPI European Forum. The premise? To assess where exactly their businesses were on the road of strategic transformation, where they should be and, importantly, how to get there.

Conference chair Robert Baldrey kicked off proceedings with his industry assessment that aptly illustrated some of the core issues our sector is facing (see main image above). In the presentations, panel discussions and roundtable debates that followed – engaging and entertaining, hard-hitting and certainly never sugar-coating the issues – executives in the room were invited to stand up, figuratively-speaking, and be held accountable for their actions and leadership.

Fringing the business side of the European Forum were a variety of networking functions that gave delegates the chance to digest the facts, figures and opinions, take stock and discuss a way forward with their peers – all in a confidential setting and following Chatham House rules.

Throughout the OPI European Forum, delegates heard quotes from some of the greatest thinkers and business minds of the past 150 years. The citations – true or not – below seemed particularly appropriate to what the business supplies sector is facing today and gave plenty of food for thought.

“If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near” Jack Welch

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results” Albert Einstein

MARK THE DATE The OPI Global Forum will be held from 17-19 November 2019 at the Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago, US. For more details about this invitationonly event, visit www.opi.net/gf2019, contact CEO Steve Hilleard at steve. hilleard@opi.net or call +1 312 957 8510.

“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage” Arie de Geus

“In the future, connectivity will not be the problem – disconnectivity will be” Frances Cairncross

Robert Baldrey’s European Forum takeaway advice: l

Stand for something

l

Don’t try and do everything but...

l

Be excellent at what you do

EVENT

French

(pictured left), had opened the conference with a message about how the industry must embrace change, not ignore or fight it. New digital players in the market are enjoying success, he said, because they are fulfilling customer needs in ways that legacy companies were not.

He then outlined UFIPA’s action plan for 2020.

Projects include the recently signed agreement with German’s PBS Network to facilitate the adoption of its PBSeasy product data solution in the French office products sector (see Feature, page 46; see also opi.net for an interview with PBS Network).

This, he noted, was a long overdue development in France and would allow the channel to better address the challenges of digitisation.

UFIPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2019

CONNECTION

T

www.opi.net

here was a record turnout at this year’s annual conference of French office supplies trade association UFIPA that took place near Cannes in the middle of June. About 160 delegates from the vendor and reseller channels gathered for two days of presentations and networking at the Beachcomber resort which is located in the Sophia Antipolis technology park.

It was a fitting setting for the two keynote speeches that took place on the first day of the event as both had a strong technology theme.

Well-known French economist Daniel Cohen spoke about ‘The promises and threats of the algorithmic society’. He argued that technology, in particular artificial intelligence, wasn’t being used to its full potential in the workplace and told the audience to take the lead in adapting the available technology to suit their particular sector.

“It won’t happen by itself,” he declared.

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A QUESTION OF CULTURE The second speaker was Bertrand Fredenucci, a successful entrepreneur and investor, who talked about the management techniques of innovative companies such as Amazon, Google and Tesla.

One interesting example he gave was how Tesla’s SpaceX project took staff from US space agency NASA and was able to achieve what NASA hadn’t been able to. The difference, he said, was in the company culture, not in the people themselves.

He urged the business leaders in attendance to clearly define their organisations’ mission and vision and establish how these are communicated to all team members.

Prior to the keynotes, UFIPA Chairman and General Manager of BIC France Jean Codarini

WORK AND PLAY Away from the formal part of the event, the UFIPA team had organised a comprehensive socialising programme that made good use of the resort’s surroundings and included activities such as boules and tennis. The first day ended with more networking options at the traditional gala dinner.

The two presentations on the second day were devoted to the local office and stationery market. UFIPA had commissioned a study by Harris Interactive earlier this year that explored the purchasing habits of French businesses – from micro-enterprises to large public and private sector entities – and this provided some useful end-user information.

The study found that buyers, on average, use 2.2 suppliers a year, with more than two-thirds of the 1,000 respondents purchasing from an OP specialist such as Lyreco, Bruneau or Fiducial.

Just over half of those questioned bought supplies from a retailer, while about a quarter used an online marketplace such as Amazon or CDiscount.

Almost 30% of respondents had changed supplier in the past six months, with the number one reason – by some margin – being price.

Almost 30% of respondents had changed supplier in the past six months, with the number one reason – by some margin – being price The conference closed with the results of a 2017-2018 market survey by UFIPA’s long-time research partner I+C (although the association has signed an agreement with GfK France from this year onwards). The report valued the French stationery market at €5.7 billion ($6.4 billion) in 2018, a year-on-year decrease of 1%, although B2B sales fell by just 0.5%.

The fastest-growing B2B sales channel was online pure play (eg Amazon), which grew by 23%.

Interestingly, this channel still only accounts for about 1% of the total B2B office supplies market in France, according to I+C. As Codarini stated, however, it is not a time for complacency, but for the industry to work together, stay positive and seek new opportunities.

EVENT

A decade of

CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK REVIEW

DESIGN

Celebrating its tenth edition this year, the annual get-together of London’s industry creatives to showcase the latest in design was a sensory feast – by Michelle Sturman

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www.opi.net

lerkenwell Design Week (CDW) – really a three-day event as opposed to a whole week – took place from 21-23 May 2019. Central London’s design district threw open its doors and played host to thousands of visitors from across the UK and beyond who were once again entertained and wowed by a diverse programme of workshops, talks, product launches and exhibitions.

This year saw seven main exhibition areas: Design Fields (Spa Fields); Platform (House of Detention); Project (St James Church garden and grounds); Elements (St John’s Square); British Collection (Crypt on the Green); Detail (The Order of St John); and Light (Fabric nightclub).

In addition, attendees could visit over 100 world-class design and office furniture showrooms and more than 400 events ranging from launch parties to well-being workshops.

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CDW HIGHLIGHTS Commemorating the anniversary, this year’s CDW Presents installations featured a collection of ten ‘beacons’. Under the moniker Decade, the individually designed giant ‘birthday candles’ were created by pioneers in the creative sector and also acted as wayfinders around the exhibition route.

Once Upon a Time took inspiration from the rich history of Clerkenwell. A stunning example of this was Alistair Ramage’s modern memorial at St James Church which honoured and displayed the names of the 66 martyrs who were burned alive at the stake between 1400 and 1558.

Back for its fourth year, the Scale Rule collective again challenged students to create a concept to inspire visitors by constructing an arch within the historic St John’s Gate. The winning design was

EVENT Clerkenwell Design Week 2019

The pole-dancing robot was weirdly hypnotic and certainly created a buzz

a built timber structure inserted within the void of the archway with a ‘carved’ opening to allow a route through. The recycled material and fabrics provided a burst of colour towards the top of the arch, encouraging visitors to look upwards and appreciate the historic architecture.

In keeping with today’s push for recycling, the BottleHouse demonstrated a sustainable shelter made from discarded plastic bottles washed up on beaches, creating a new circular economy.

Meanwhile, Herman Miller offered a fun pop-up Aeron Hockey installation, with visitors to CDW encouraged to take part in a rolling tournament of office hockey.

OFFICE TRENDS In line with growing global workplace trends, the 2019 event showcased the best in sustainability and health and well-being, with plenty of furniture offerings and ‘living’ office environments. A few of the stand-out exhibitions included Ergotron and Aeris for their ergonomic products, and the smart and active green wall from Naava.

While collaborative products were all the rage – OPI loved the whiteboard table by Bisley, for example – and modular designs in soft furnishings were popular, so too were those promoting quiet and relaxing environments. Favourites were the Agilta Earchair and the Silent Lab Microoffice.

However, the most impressive performance of the three-day show goes to the Peep Show installation by Future Designs. Created by kinetic artist Giles Walker, the pole-dancing robot was weirdly hypnotic and certainly created a buzz!

July/August 2019 67

5 MINUTES WITH...

Alex Bonarius

CAREER Q&A Describe your current job.

International Business Manager at Rapesco Office Products.

I lead a team of account managers and between us, we have responsibility for territories ranging from the DACH region to the Caribbean.

What’s your life philosophy?

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Describe yourself in one sentence?

I am an emotionally intelligent individual and I don’t do anything by halves – it’s always all or nothing.

What skill do you possess?

I am fluent in German – including regional dialects – as I spent five years living and working in the country.

What scares you?

Losing or forgetting my passport. I always get paranoid about it when travelling.

What makes you happy?

Coming home to my family and the welcome I get from my kids and the dog.

Also, making a difference. If I can see the positive impact my work and actions are having, I’m motivated to do more.

What do you do in your spare time?

In the summer, I like being outdoors and doing DIY stuff. On a wintery evening, a glass of red wine and a good film never go amiss.

What’s your most prized possession?

The £1,000 ($1,300) putter which belonged to my grandfather. There is a story behind it!

Alex Bonarius, Rapesco

What are you most proud of?

The decision I took in 2010 to move to Germany without speaking a word of the language. While I was there, I gained valuable career experience by working for a renowned German manufacturer. I feel that those years have really shaped my knowledge and character.

Where would you most like to travel?

Australia. It appears to have so much to offer. Lots of my friends have been travelling there and I never went on a gap year…

Your pet hate?

Being late.

www.opi.net

Favourite time of the year?

Definitely summer. There’s nothing like being on a golf course when it’s 25°C.

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Your worst ever job?

Delivering kitchens in -10°C. Best moment in your career?

OPI Partnership 2017. It was the springboard for our development within a number of key European markets. We have since gone on to land significant new business and haven’t looked back.

The industry figure you most admire and why?

Two actually! Thomas and Monika Veit at German wholesaler soft-carrier. They continue to buck the trend with their value-added online distribution model. Meetings at soft-carrier are always inspirational and I am amazed by their creativity when it comes to finding new and innovative ways of marketing brands to their dealer customer base.

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

Patience and tenacity are absolutely key in this industry and will pay off eventually.

What do you like best about it?

The fact that everybody knows each other – it feels like we’re all part of one big family. There is a wealth of energy and enthusiasm to adapt and remain relevant despite digitisation, shrinking markets and all the other challenges we’re facing.

If you could change just one thing about the industry, what would it be?

One single solution for content management and the transfer of content. Imagine what it would be like if all brands and resellers were working with the same one.

Maybe one day.

17-19 November 2019. Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile, Chicago, USA

The go-to event for office products leaders looking to improve their business!

WHY SHOULD I ATTEND? l Make

your business better, grow sales profitably

l Meet

the most influential executives in the business supplies industry

l All

channels of distribution represented: vendors, independent dealers, dealer groups, wholesalers, national resellers and e-tailers

“The absolute best learning and networking gathering in the industry” David Guernsey Guernsey

l Share

ideas and best practice with like-minded peers

l Openly

discuss challenges and opportunities relevant to our industry

l Understand

where the industry is heading, key trends, and how to build a future-proof business

“The Global Forum has become the must-attend event for our industry.

The diversity of attendees, quality of the presenters, timeliness of the topics and the opportunity for networking are unsurpassed. I attend many meetings and conferences during the year and the Global Forum is hands down the best one” Mike Maggio Independent Suppliers Group

More Information: Steve Hilleard, CEO, OPI – Email: steve.hilleard@opi.net Tel: +1 312 957 8510

www.opi.net/GF2019 Watch a video of a previous Global Forum at www.opi.net/gf-review

FINAL WORD

Special Issu

TECHNOLOG

Special Issue

SOLUTION

TECHNOLOGY

SOLUTIONS

Leverage e-commerce…

EVEN IF YOU’RE SMALL

A

mazon, Alibaba and eBay are e-commerce giants that have changed the face of online retail, allowing customers to order almost anything they want in just a few clicks. But without the same IT and marketing budgets to develop their own platforms, small-scale office products dealers sometimes struggle to compete – which means potentially missing out on upselling and promotional opportunities, and even sales and contracts.

No matter how loyal they are to your business, purchasing teams, like all of us, are influenced by their own shopping habits. In a nutshell, they expect relevant content, an attractive and easy-to-navigate website, plus the convenience of not having to key in their details every time.

Even if you cannot afford to invest as much as the big players, there are ways of leveraging e-commerce to grow your business. It’s a case of focusing your efforts in the right areas to deliver maximum returns.

www.opi.net

ATTRACT AND RETAIN CUSTOMERS SEO is a powerful way to raise brand awareness and drive people to your website – but what next? While OP dealers want to attract new customers, they also depend on repeat orders, particularly from high-value accounts such as universities and local authorities.

So, rather than blowing the entire marketing budget on SEO, invest in your website and improve the online experience for existing customers too. A good website should be responsive. Displaying correctly on different-sized screens, including smartphones, is one example. Google recently launched a ‘mobile first index’, which means your search engine rank will be based on the strength of your mobile, rather than desktop, site.

As well as providing better online visibility, a mobile-responsive site also means your customers can browse and place orders on the go, without having to download an app.

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INTEGRATED SYSTEMS Large organisations tend to use their own e-procurement software, so try to ensure your systems are compatible with theirs. When pitching for a new account, our customers are frequently asked whether their e-commerce platform integrates with that of the business.

This is because time-pressed procurement teams do not want to double key data unnecessarily; they should be able to input it once to place an order (something called

PunchOut). A good e-commerce platform will redirect from the customer’s system to your own, making the process as seamless as possible.

Giving people the option to self-serve speeds up the customer journey, allowing them to place orders, view invoices and check contracts quickly and easily. On top of that, it can bolster the operational efficiency of Special Issue your business by reducing the time the team spends answering enquiries and taking orders over the phone. With the right tools, you can process more sales and reduce the cost of serving these clients.

Special Issu

VENDOR SPECIAL

Special Iss

Daniel Noble, Product Manager UK, ECi Software Solutions

VENDOR SPECIAL

VENDOR SPECIAL

Rather than blowing the entire marketing budget on SEO, invest in your website and improve the online experience for existing customers too KEEP WEB CONTENT FRESH There is a reason why the top online retailers include highly-detailed product descriptions and numerous pictures – it helps customers feel more confident when making a purchase.

Even though office supplies might appear to be quite ‘standard’, you still need to think beyond the product code and pack size when listing them on your site. Instead, include as many details as possible to help people make an informed choice and limit the chance of costly returns.

Another way to keep content fresh is to choose an ‘e-commerce as a service’ provider.

With a team just an email away, it means you do not have to employ an in-house digital marketing expert to upload promotional banners or profile a seasonal product range, such as calendars and diaries.

You can also use anIssue e-commerce platform Special to group promotional products JAN / SAN together, enabling customers to find them easily, and create personalised messages to make them feel at home when they visit the website.

Lastly, the likes of Amazon recommend additional products based on purchases other customers have made. When investing in an e-commerce platform, look for one that offers upsell options, so you are using customer data to maximise sales at every stage.

You will likely not beat the big online players, but you can certainly be up there with them.

Special Issue BREAKROOM

SPECIAL

NEXT ISSUE

Special Issue

JAN / SAN Category overview Hygiene focus l ISSA Show North America 2019 preview l l

Special Issue

JAN / SAN

Big Interview Sarah Hunter, Managing Director, Officeworks Hot Topic Credit insurance

Special Issue

BREAKROOM

SPECIAL

Events l ABC/NAOPA review l Big Buyer preview l Climb of Life interview with Philip Lawson

Special Issue

BREAKROOM

SPECIAL