dealer support june 2011

June 2011 Issue 192IN

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BRAND POWERAre brands best?

SPICE OF LIFEAlan Ball opens up

CREAM OF THE CROPIDS winners revealed

FROM THE EDITOR

MANAGING EDITORJulia [email protected]

EDITORAllie [email protected]

FEATURES WRITERMatthew [email protected]

COMMERCIAL DIRECTORVicki [email protected]

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER – MEDIA SOLUTIONSMatthew [email protected]

DESIGNERElma [email protected]

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTSinead [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGERNatalia [email protected]

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERDan [email protected]

PUBLISHERdavid [email protected]

CONTACT US

intelligent media solutionssuite 223, business design centre 52 upper street, london N1 0QHtel: 020 7288 6833 fax: 020 7288 6834 email: [email protected] web: www.dealersupport.co.ukweb: www.uspmagazine.com

Dealer Support is the leading monthly publication for dealers in the business supplies industry. It provides information on the industry (both in the UK and overseas), information for and about the UK’s independent dealers, as well as information and advice on running a small business. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers. Copyright of all the material published remains with Intelligent Media Solutions Limited. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, copied, stored in an electronic retrieval or transmitted, save with written permission or in accordance with provision of the copyright designs and patent act of 1988.

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Annual subscriptions are available at a cost of £68.00

for UK and overseas by surface mail, £90.00 for airmail. Subscription enquiries should be sent to the above address

ABC

Allie Anderson, Editor

Branded for successWelcome to your June issue of Dealer Support. You’ll notice (hopefully) that this month’s magazine looks quite different. We felt it was high time we dragged your publication kicking and screaming into the ‘noughteens’ with a new, fresher-looking design, on which I’m sure you’ll agree our design team has done a great job.

In preparation for our grand redesign, we put our heads together and talked about what it ought to incorporate. Everyone had their own very different ideas, but what united them all was the need to preserve the Dealer Support brand. Our brand is a fundamental part of our

position in the marketplace, and we discuss the importance of brands and how they compare with own label and white box products in detail on page 10.

As well as the regular dealer profiles and interviews, you’ll also find more one-to-ones with industry high flyers in your new look magazine. We start off with Spicers MD Alan Ball (page six), who speaks about some of the issues others have merely speculated on, and Integra chief Aidan McDonough (page 18). With pages given over the dealer group and wholesaler this month, expect the virtues of these business models to be extolled in the face of recent public opposition from other corners of the industry.

I attended a corporate and social responsibility (CSR) event held last month by Commercial Group, one of the largest independents out there. In an interview with the brother and sister team that heads up the group (page 26), they explain how they position themselves as real competitors to the contract stationers. How smaller dealers without Commercial’s clout or resources can successfully counter this evergreen challenge is examined on page 15.

Unafraid to explore unchartered territory, we’ve added something new to our usual mix of news, opinion and analysis in the form of ‘what we learned this month’, which does exactly what it says on the tin (as well as pulling together important dates to mark on your calendar for the month ahead). If all that wasn’t enough, we’ve also catered for our more intellectually enthusiastic readers by way of a ‘break time’ page of puzzles

and headscratchers – if you have time, that is.As ever, I’d love to hear from you if you have any news, comments or suggestions at

[email protected]. That’s all, folks.

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“There is a myriad of small dealers that rely on wholesalers to maintain their businesses”

Contents June 2011

InDUstRY06 The Spice of lifeSpicers’s MD Alan Ball bites back

10 Power to the brand

The pros and cons of brands vs. white box ranges

12 What we learned this monthFacts, figures and banter

15 David vs. GoliathThe low-down on competing with contract stationers

18 King of the packWe catch up with MD of Integra, Aidan McDonough

20 Breaking through barriers

A report from the annual Breakthrough marketing conference

PeoPle22 Scotland the brave

Astute MD Alastair Donald on conquering the channel

26 A corporate affairCommercial Group on corporate social responsibility

management28 Grow your business

This month: point of sale solutions

32 Be your own puppetmaster

Making your business succeed in challenging times

36 IDS League 2011

And the winner is…

anD fInallY...40 Break timeTake five and muse over these brainteasers

42 Final wordJohn Sollars, MD of Stinkyink.com

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INSPIRING BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR DEALERS

NEW

NEW

Industry

june 2011 www.dealersupport.co.uk06

interviewSpicers

Spicers: on the recordWith rumours abound about the future of Spicers and tales of senior management exiting through the back door, Allie Anderson asks MD Alan Ball to set the record straight

www.dealersupport.co.uk june 2011 07

interviewSpicers

There have been a lot of rumours doing the rounds about Spicers for some time now, which were brought together in the May issue of OPI magazine in what was quite a damning article. What was your reaction to it?the article was very disappointing, because, apart from anything else, things like that damage staff morale. All the staff at Spicers are working hard and just getting on with their jobs. it was also disappointing because it was very inaccurate.

What exactly was inaccurate?it was all speculation about the future and the sale of Spicers, but it’s exactly that – speculation. there was talk about who might be interested in buying it, but people have been talking about whether Spicers is up for sale for a decade or so now, and we’re still going. whether it’s in the national press or the trade press, it’s been subject to speculation for a long time.

It seems that gossip just won’t go away, though. How do you respond?there isn’t anything to respond to, because it’s just rumours. the speculation about personnel coming and going, for example; we can’t comment on people leaving the business who haven’t left the business. And we haven’t had a massive amount of change at management level really. it’s been a difficult few years for the economy and we’re having to make some difficult decisions, just like a lot of other businesses in many different sectors, but there isn’t actually as much change happening as there could be given the economic state.

Perhaps the amount of reported churn in a short space of time is a little unsettling for some? For example, the rumours that director of merchandising for technology and furniture, Sarah Atkinson, has left after just a year, and Jason Barnes going after becoming business development director at the end of last year.Dealers i’ve spoken to since the article was published – and i’ve spoken to a lot of them – are happy and we’re continuing to work well with dealers to provide a good service. they’re not that bothered about individuals leaving the business.

what they’re worried about is that they’re continuing to receive a good service from a wholesaler that’s a stable business and that’s being well managed. And as long as we can continue doing that, dealers aren’t worried.

At the end of last year Spicers had the lowest margins in DH Smith’s operation, delivering half year results of 1.4% return on sales. Compared with the packaging division, which returned 7.6%, this falls somewhat short of the six to eight per cent margin DS Smith is targeting.it’s tough times out there; lots of people are struggling. But what you have to remember is that we are still making a profit – people seem to forget that. it’s not what we would hope to achieve but we’re doing lots of things to grow the business.

How are you doing that?we’re looking to take costs out of the business wherever we can. Like many businesses, we have a fixed cost base that we need to achieve, and we’re increasing margins by continuing to implement new, value-added initiatives for dealers that make them more profitable as well as making Spicers more profitable. FM is a great example. that’s something relatively new and has seen a 17% increase since our publication launch in April, compared with the same period last year. we’ve got a lot of other things we’re developing that will increase profits, like the new managed print service for dealers.

Do things like that add cost to the business initially?we’ve already got the infrastructure in place. the investment required is fairly modest because the cost is already in the business, so any start-up costs for new initiatives will always be low in comparison to the ramp-up in sales you’re likely to achieve. we’ve seen that already with managed print and FM, where we’ve put a little bit of cost in, to print catalogues for FM for example, but we’re not having to build new warehouses and that sort of thing, so it’s not like a start-up.

Peter Damman came on board as Spicers CEO in February. What’s he been doing in that time?He’s been very supportive in terms of visiting dealers and bringing the european businesses together to leverage more out of that operation than we previously have. we’ve already had two european management meetings where we’ve talked about opportunities across various countries. in the past, we’ve not necessarily leveraged the european business very well.

In your own words, it’s been a difficult time for Spicers. How will the business be moving forward in the next 12 months?regardless of any speculation, we just get on with the day job. we’ve got a business structure that we’re comfortable with and that’s appropriate for the action plans we’ve got for the next three years, so it’s now all about delivering on the initiatives. if you’ve built the structure and you’ve gone through all the pain of getting where you need to be, then it’s about delivering on what you’ve put in place to grow the business.

Is the wholesale model sustainable – particularly in IT and consumables – with distributors like Westcoast able to offer lower prices, albeit without the value- added proposition?People have speculated that the end is nigh for wholesale and distribution operations in many different sectors for many years. People talked about the indispensability of wholesalers five and 10 years ago and it’s a subject that never really goes away. what you’ve got to do is add value to dealers so that you can perform your part in

“What we lose focus of day-to-day is that there are a myriad of small, local dealers that rely on their wholesaler to maintain their businesses and without them, they’d struggle”

MD Alan Ball has faced “difficult decisions”

Industry

08 june 2011 www.dealersupport.co.uk

interviewSpicers

the supply chain. if you do that, you’re still viable. [westcoast sales and marketing director] Alex tatham is also very critical about buying groups and believes there is no value in them, so therefore he doesn’t work with them. that’s one example of where westcoast doesn’t support businesses where [tatham] doesn’t see value. But we add value in a lot of ways – not just in supplying products, but taking credit risks and holding products centrally for distribution, for example. those are areas in which wholesalers continue to add value where other channels don’t.

Another example is managed print (MP), which we launched on 1 June. we’ve partnered with Print Fleet, a Canadian producer of MP software, and the solution has the ability to offer managed print across every single make of device. we’re providing a service that dealers can own and manage themselves. to me, that’s significant because it gives the dealer autonomy, but we give them support with technical training and things like that, and they can offer it as their own solution hosted by us. that means we take the economies of scale and allow dealers to offer a bespoke solution at the fraction of the cost. And if you look at any other sector, you’ve got people like Bunzl and Booker, who continually add value to their customer bases in different markets, so wholesale is a model that’s stood the test of time and will do for a long time to come.

There are dealers out there, particularly the smaller ones, who need that extra support like more favourable payment terms and new initiatives, which wholesalers provide where distributors don’t. Is that what keeps them loyal to the likes of Spicers and VOW?Yes, and there are a lot more small dealers out there than there are larger ones. what we tend to lose focus on day-to-day is that there are a myriad of small, local dealers that rely on their wholesaler to maintain their businesses and without them, they’d struggle, because they wouldn’t have the credit terms or the size of operation that would sustain buying product direct. they play a very important

part [in the channel] because of the local relationships they hold and both wholesalers offer a valuable service because of that.

“It’s tough times out there; lots of people are struggling. But what you have to remember is that we are still making a profit – people seem to forget that”

Management restructures at Spicers’s Sawston HQ

Business development director Jason Barnes is reported to have left after just months in the role

Industry


report

What’s in a name?

Branding is important for almost every single product, service and organisation. Having a strong brand is essential in communicating to customers the key values its owners wish the brand to be associated with. Brands are instantly recognisable and those that are successful are often considered by consumers to be assured bastions of quality and performance.

Quality assurance“to get to a strong brand status takes investment,” says David richardson from Bic UK and Ireland. “Although it can mean more expensive products, it can also mean a better quality product as the manufacturing process is specialised enough to deliver quality products that consumers can trust to deliver consistent high level performance almost every time.” often, this trust in an established reputation has been developed over time, often many years, and as such it can be difficult for new names in a marketplace, as well as non-branded alternatives, to compete and gain equal recognition.

Having a reputable brand and a loyal repeat custom base can facilitate end-user market research, points out ragna ouwerkerk from esselte. “the means and will to investigate is only present with strong brands,” she comments. “to stay ahead and set the tone and insight into market developments is also, therefore, only present with strong brands.”

Getting what you pay forAccording to GfK research into writing instrument volume sales, branded products comprise 50% of the total multi-channel market in the office stationery industry, but this is a declining market share and with the emergence of own label options from dealer groups and wholesalers, it is perhaps set to fall further. this is in part attributable to diminishing budgets, with cost the most important factor in many buying decisions. While white box ranges, although usually cheaper, do not come with the same guarantees that may accompany a well-known brand – some esselte products, for example, are guaranteed for five or even 10 years – they are often the first choice for customers on a shoestring, who are looking for a cost-effective solution.

own labels continue to perform well as a result. Initiative, the own label alternative to branded products

Allie Anderson looks at the pros and cons of well-known and reputed brands vs. inexpensive white box ranges, and considers whether ‘brand’ really does mean power

“Office supplies outlets competing only on price will eventually undermine the value of a product category”

11www.dealersupport.co.uk june 2011

report

offered by dealer group Integra, has enjoyed great success among members’ customers as an “exclusive range… that can offer genuine savings along with a design that looks good in the office environment today”. Nemo Group’s office Style is another exemplar, along with Five Star and Q Connect, the wholesale offerings from Spicers and VoW respectively. Integra’s label has proven so successful that the group opened an Initiative shop in March and invested in new packaging so the products would appeal to a retail audience (this also served as a learning opportunity to allow Integra to understand and better service its retail customers – read more on page 20).

Going to marketBut for well-known brands, their entire marketing strategy relies on exploiting their position as top players in their category, and Martine Dodwell-Bennett from Steljes points out that market leaders are such for a reason. “the reason well-known brands do well is not just down to great advertising and awareness campaigns,” she says. “they have the features and benefits that users are looking for and have a word-of-mouth advocacy that is hard to buy – it has to be earned.” Aside from investing heavily in research and development to ensure products meet the current and future needs of users, market leaders across all categories often have the budgets to spend on technology and innovation to ensure a quality product that performs every time. While a 160-leaf spiral-bound notepad is comparable (for most uses) to any other, the same, arguably, cannot be said of many other office products, where quality and functional guarantee is essential. In this way, says Dodwell-Bennett, “putting faith in a lesser- known brand can be a step too far”.

False economy?often, cheaper means less reliable and products that seem like a cost-effective option in the beginning end up being less so in the long-run if they need replacing more frequently. By the same token, ‘investment’ in branded products that essentially perform the same function could be seen as unnecessary. therefore, buyers need to consider a number of factors when making a purchasing decision – for example, budgetary constraints, what will be required of the product and who will be using it, whether the importance of longevity overrides initial cost, security of supply and the reassurance of recourse should something go wrong or if there is a problem with quality.

For end-users, it ultimately comes down to value – and that can mean different things for different people, particularly in times of austerity and against a backdrop of cuts. For ouwerkerk, it is not just the value of the products at stake, but the value of the product category as well. “Investing in innovation and quality is needed for the entire office supplies sector to maintain its value,” she concludes. “office supplies outlets competing only on price will eventually undermine the value of a product category.” Dealers offering well-known brands alongside competitively priced white box ranges, it seems, will inevitably find themselves in a win-win situation.

FAST FACTBranded products comprise 50% of the total multi-channel market in the office stationery industry

Source: GfK

Industry


What We learned this month

DATES FOR THE DIARY

STATS AND FACTS

Out of stock

still in service

You may be sick of hearing about public sector cuts, but spare a thought for workers at a cash-strapped lancashire hospital.

money saving measures have become so drastic that a ban has been slapped on buying new stationery and catering supplies have been stopped.

staff morale has plummeted, reports the Lancashire Evening Post, as cutbacks are imposed. other plans include making staff pay for their own Criminal records Bureau checks in order to minimise job losses.

a worker at the royal lancaster infirmary said: “things have got so bad, they have even taken away our water dispensers and our tea break milk and we have to supply our own pens.”

it brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘do it yourself’.

staff at a london stationers have discovered that some things are definitely made to last, when they came across a 25-year-old Uniball pen that still works.

Barbican stationers was preparing for a redesign to coincide with the family-run store’s 25th anniversary this year. Company director devidas Kachhla said his wife discovered the fully functioning Uniball blue barrelled UB-100 pen while shifting some old furniture.

Kachhla commented: “We were amazed to discover that not only did it still work, but that it writes as well as it did 25 years ago.”

the pen may no longer be in production, but who knows – it might still be in use in another 25 years’ time.

of workers in the UK have suffered injury and sickness because of an uncomfortable working space64%

Nemo conference – Together towards tomorrowWhat: 2011 annual conference for nemo membersWhen: 24-25 JuneWhere: the Vale resort, Vale of GlamorganInfo: ann renwick, 0191 268 3333 or [email protected]

Superstat Group conferenceWhat: annual conference for superstat members When: 7-9 JulyWhere: the Forest Pines hotel & golf resort, north lincolnshire Info: lindsey Charlesworth on 0113 391 1101 or [email protected]

Boss Awards 2011What: annual industry-wide awards and charity gala dinnerWhen: Closing date for applications 8 July (awards to be held 20 october)Info: entry form available from www.bossfederation.co.uk

The Big Business Mastery WeekendWhat: strategies, motivation and skills to help smes learn, plan and succeedWhen: 9-10 JulyWhere: Coventry hilton hotelInfo: www.bigbusinessmastery.co.uk

What We learned thIs mOnthnew for Dealer Support, we round up what’s been happening and what’s coming up in the industry

In the news

the market leader for 40 yearsthe moment a frustrated designer slammed the palm of his hand down on a conical cylinder of modelling clay, an icon was born – the staBilo Boss original.

the unique, flat, geometric shape – never before seen in a pen – has caused waves of ‘me-too’ products throughout its 40 year history, yet none have even come close to reaching the quality, value for money and characteristic design the staBilo Boss is renowned for. Brands such as Bt, Cannon and the Guardian have used it in their own advertising campaigns as it is the recognisable shape of quality for highlighting.

the staBilo Boss original has been the market leader of highlighting technology since its creation in 1971, and still outsells it’s nearest branded competitor by 10 to 1 across europe. Uncompromised quality and reliability is what staBilo Boss means to office workers, academics, students and consumers worldwide.

the only highlighter to have a 4 hour cap-off time and be available in 9 different fluorescent colours makes it the first choice for anyone who demands a product that won’t let them down. Constantly improving processes mean the staBilo Boss is now being made of more and more recycled material.

the staBilo Boss original – the shape of quality for 40 Years.

For more information please email [email protected] or call staBIlO on 01753605656

STABILO BOSS Original AdvertoriAl


Competing with corporates

Feature

Battle of the underdog

How to effectively compete with contract stationers remains one of the key challenges facing many

dealers. Allie Anderson looks at techniques for winning

custom from the corporates

It’s a classic tale of old – the underdog vs. the dominant force, the battle of David against Goliath, the independent office supplies dealer competing with contract stationers to secure valuable accounts. While some may be happy with their lot, many dealers are chomping at the bit to take a share in the marketplace that has long since been off limits.

Industry


Competing with corporates

Feature

Hints and tips on winning business from the corporates:

� Know the company – doing your research before you approach helps whet the buyer’s appetite to talk to you.

� Be credible – tell the contact you’ll phone at an exact time, like 2.20pm, and make the call at that time. People notice when you’re true to your word and you build credibility.

� Ask the right questions – find out the company’s structure, total annual spend, split between core, non-core and paper, split between office products and IT etc.

� Focus on your strengths – flexibility, relationships, support for local business, integrity, ability to deliver on specials.

� use your wholesaler – you will need top sales skills and may benefit from resources your wholesaler should be happy to provide.

this was evident at dealer group Integra’s recent Be Inspired sales conference, where a presentation on how to effectively compete with contract stationers was met with great enthusiasm. the session, delivered by Spicers’s southern regional sales director Mark Watson, provided delegates with a unique insight into the corporate market, guided in part by the five years he previously spent working at Lyreco.

Size up the enemytraditionally, some of the most profitable business in the office supplies industry has been the privilege of the select few big players. So how can smaller dealers pitch themselves against the might of such competition and be in with a chance of winning lucrative yet thus far elusive contracts? the first rule in any battle is to understand the inner workings of your competitor so you know exactly what you’re up against. Many an independent dealer’s salesperson has come from a contract stationer background, so make the most of that insider knowledge. Chances are, if they’ve left an organisation because they weren’t hitting 10 new accounts every month to the value of £1,000 from cold calling alone, they’ll be more than happy to unveil any secrets to help you secure and keep the business they weren’t able to.

It’s implicitly understood in the channel that the playing field is far from level – the smoke and mirrors pricing policies allegedly inherent in some organisations is nothing new. Office Depot was found to have engaged in a range of pricing irregularities, including selective discounting, unrealistic pricing and substituting discontinued items, in its $60m contract with the uS state of Georgia in 2008, and similar accusations have been levelled at that and other stationers in the uK since. the story goes that they take a hit on a customer’s core items – in some cases going in at 40% below cost price – but add up to 70% margin on the non-core items the customer buys less frequently. the customer, of course, revels at the incredible price they’re getting for their most commonly-used products, unaware that the cost price for the £190 toner on their non-core list is just £15.

that this goes on (allegedly) plays directly into the hands of the independents, but too many are afraid to talk about it – even though wising your prospects up to what they’re really paying could well be the ultimate nail in your nemesis’s coffin and see you walk off merrily with that signed contract in hand. the independent dealer will struggle to price-match on the core items, of course. But persuading your prospect to let you trawl through three or six months’ invoices will enable you to highlight the total savings they could make by doing business with you. It’s also worth checking with prospects the contractual obligations, if any, they have to their incumbent supplier – many customers will, unknowingly, only be ‘tied in’ by letters of intent rather than legally binding contracts.

Maximise your strengthsCrucial to winning any business – especially from a competitor whose profile is markedly different from your own

“Many customers will, unknowingly, only be ‘tied in’ to incumbent suppliers by letters of intent rather than legally binding contracts”

– is to know your own strengths and capitalise on them. “Why should [a prospect] partner with a local, independent dealer? It’s things like localness and flexibility that really should not be underestimated,” advised Watson. Make the most of the personal relationship management opportunities you are gifted as a local dealer, and back that up with great customer care. the contract stationers cannot offer that – with 100-odd telesales staff in a centralised call centre, they’re unlikely to ask an average customer how his holiday was. Besides, many people actively want to support local business, and with no local presence the corporates lose out here.

equally important in persuading your prospects to switch is to perfect your timing and strike the competition at its most vulnerable. One contract stationer reportedly takes its field salespeople off the road for a few weeks during December so they can concentrate on building more margin into their accounts – increasing margin by double digits – in time for the New Year. January and February, therefore, is an ideal time to hit those accounts and steal custom.

the perception is that contract stationers hold a monopoly over much of the marketplace. In reality, though, uK independent dealers enjoy a market share of 37%, as Watson pointed out. “the bigger threat particularly worth noting is the growth of the mass market retailers such as tesco, which is really starting to attack the small and home office market,” he advised. Contract stationers, therefore, make a big mistake in failing to respect the might of the dealer channel. In Watson’s words, “they are more scared of you than you should be of them”.

Industry


Intergra

interview

A man of integrity

How have these past four years been?Managing any business through a recession has its pressures but it’s been fun and i’ve enjoyed it, and the stresses and strains of the economic climate have added a bit of interest. Over the four years, the balance sheet has grown by 18-20%. Membership numbers are stable, and our main parameter of success is how well our members are doing. they’ve weathered the storm quite well.

What’s driven the new things you’ve launched, such as the creative agency and joining up with new suppliers?the real catalyst is the fact that the office products sector is very mature here. there have been some phenomenal changes in the industry over the years and we need to constantly review our offering in order to make sure we’re providing what dealers want.

Integra opened a retail outlet in March, which was quite a surprise. Why did you do that?integra has about 50 members [out of 300] with retail stores and we felt that opening a store was a fantastic way to improve the service proposition we offer to those members, so we can understand what works and what doesn’t. Since it opened, we’ve realised we’ve got to make some significant changes to our retail offering. But i think it puts us in a phenomenal position to understand the challenges our retail members face.

What haven’t you been doing as well as you might hope to?we’ve got packaging issues, with packaging that works well commercially not working as well on the retail side.

Because in retail, packaging has to be more pleasing to the eye?exactly, and [there are differences in] the way it’s displayed. we’re moving away from cardboard boxing to blister packs, the promotional calendars and marketing collateral need to be stronger, and there are certain products that fundamentally don’t work in retail.

Isn’t there an element of competition with dealers?there are a couple of points here. the store will not offer delivery to consumers. the nearest dealer is about 45 minutes away, and it was never our intention to encroach on any member of integra. if there are any B2B leads we’ll pass them on to the nearest dealer. we spoke to dealers [in the area] before we signed the lease and i was quite clear that if they said: “we don’t like this,” we wouldn’t have gone ahead. Our priority is the dealers.

Did any of them object?A few voiced concerns, but when we explained what we were doing, they understood that we could pass on real benefits.

What about dealers who don’t have a retail element to their business, which is the bulk of Integra’s membership – has your focus on retail detracted from developing services for them?not at all. Our commercial plans are in place and we know exactly what we’ve got to deliver. we’ve taken on dedicated retail personnel and used a consultant so it doesn’t encroach on resources.

Allie Anderson talks business with Aidan McDonough, MD of Integra, four years after he assumed his position at the dealer group’s helm

“The biggest threat to dealers is access to funds. I don’t think a week goes by when I don’t hear from dealers that are having problems”


interviewIntergra

There have been some notable partnerships between traditional dealer groups and IT buying groups. What do you think of those?Because of integra’s background [having merged with an it buying group in 1998], we have dedicated it specialists, so of course, i think it’s a great sector. in terms of partnerships, i don’t know the details so i can’t really comment. My only concern would be, how do you monitor the services the other partner offers? Partnerships inherently tend to be a bit vague, rather than a legally binding framework. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

So you think a full merger is a better approach?Yes, because you’re in control of the full service proposition. it has challenges and it can be difficult [for dealers] to make money – you have to ask yourself what value you can offer. the problem is that consumers can go on Google and find every single price for a laptop in a heartbeat, so dealers might make £5 or £10 but if there’s a problem with it they end up making nothing. with the plug and play technology that’s available, it seems logical to go down the it route, but you have to think carefully about it. if you consider the products we normally sell with an average transactional value of £2, and then you’re suddenly selling a £450 laptop, there are attractions to that.

And then, you have to think about the issue of cash flow versus percentage margin.You have to start looking at cash margin as opposed to percentage gross margin. You also have to think about whether

you’ve got the facility and expertise to answer questions from end-users. we employ ex-Maplin and ex-ingram Micro personnel, so we’ve got that knowledge.

There’s a lot of talk about the opportunities in the channel, but what risks are there?the biggest threat to dealers is access to funds. i don’t think a week goes by when i don’t hear from dealers that are having problems with local banks, whether it’s overdraft facilities or charging more for funding. in the competitive landscape, Amazon and tesco are formidable. But whatever you use in a business from paperclips to PCs is an opportunity for the independent dealer.

Some people question the dealer group model, suggesting it would be better to pass on the fee to customers instead. What’s your response to that?the reason integra was founded by its members was that they realised that by working together, they could get a better deal. the reality is that dealer groups are not just about one per cent; they’re about leveraging the dealers’ size, scale and expertise to provide real benefit while supporting manufacturers and supply partners. the manufacturers and wholesalers want scale, and by working together to provide that scale you drive down the cost price. the other aspect is the services we’ve developed over years that are designed to take cost out of the dealership. it’s not only about driving cost down, but also about making dealers an effective operation so they can compete. it has to be a value-added proposition otherwise dealers wouldn’t do it and we wouldn’t exist.

50 of integra’s 300 members have retail outlets

English translation of Spanish word integra1. Integral, entire, complete, not fractional

2. Candid, upright, honest, just

Industry

20 June 2011 www.dealersupport.co.uk

report

Breaking through barriers

A ttendees from the full ‘office productivity services’ spectrum flocked to the sixth annual Breakthrough Marketing Conference, organised and hosted by proficiency Group, last month.

Held at Surrey’s Kempton park racecourse, the event attracted a number of high-profile industry players including resellers Bluefish and Irongate Group, both op wholesalers and distribution giant Westcoast. outside of the independent channel, representation came from the likes of Staples, whose Vp for brand and advertising rachel trueblood presented on the company’s direct marketing strategy.

proficiency Group’s Ceo peter Frost kicked things off by reviewing the 2010 market and running through the latest ‘megatrends’, reiterating the need to move beyond office products and the traditional buyer, instead approaching the CFo to provide productivity services that cut costs and waste for clients.

Following addresses from Spicers and top US provider Hitouch Business Services, the story of Irongate Group’s successful evolution from a local dealership into a business services provider with sales of £16m was given by its MD, Adam Noble.

now is the time for dealers to get a stranglehold on the office products market and drive their businesses forward. That was the message penetrating loud and clear at the 2011 Breakthrough Marketing Conference, found Allie Anderson

E-tailer of the Year

Nominations: DG Office Supplies, euroffice, Paperstone and uK Office Direct.

And the winner is… uK Office Direct

Dealer Marketing Manager of the Year

Nominations: Gwyneth Hume (Langstane), Debbie Hunt (Irongate Group) and Karen Abel (Penketh’s)

And the winner is… Debbie Hunt, Irongate Group

Manufacturer Marketer of the Year

Nominations: Durable, Logitech, 3M and Plantronics

And the winner is… 3M

Dealer Marketer of the Year

Nominations: Bluefish, Commercial Group, Danwood, Irongate Group and Langstane

And the winner is… Commercial Group

A raft of best practice insights into managed print services (MpS) was given by head of global leader printFleet, Denis Kramer, whose top tip for dealers was to invest in specialist salespeople with expertise in contractual sales.

education and health will provide “massive opportunities” for dealers despite public sector cuts, predicted Westcoast’s Alex tatham, who also warned that the op market was at the mercy of the recession, with fewer staff resulting from redundancies requiring fewer office products.

trueblood held delegates’ attention despite having the unenviable post-lunch slump slot, and was succeeded by eCi’s ron Brooks and trevor Grunewald, who engaged the audience with their presentation on strategy and key tactics. tools like CrM, ecommerce and mobile marketing web optimisation software, they said, are valuable to dealers.

effective optimisation of mobile and social commerce was the final thought for the day, as Ceo of UK specialists one-iota advised dealers to embrace the world of e-commerce, which he dubbed “everywhere commerce”.

the event concluded with the Breakthrough Marketing Awards (see box out), with Frost’s summary urging dealers to make use of the local, personal, low-cost and low-carbon productivity services they have at their fingertips.

BREAKTHROUGH MArKEtInG AWARDS

dealer interviewpeople


Astute

Scotland the braveForfar-based Astute is a burgeoning business under the

directorship of Alastair Donald. With two acquisitions enabling

his empire to expand, Allie Anderson caught up with him

at his recently-acquired Aberdeen office

Astute’s parent company, a family-run firm called A&A Slinger, was formed in 1976 as a manufacturer of rubber stamps. Alastair Donald joined the Scottish company in 1982 as an apprentice and climbed the ranks, becoming general manager in the mid-90s. With a 30% share in the business, Donald bought out the whole business in 2001 when the Slingers wanted out, and renamed it Astute.

How did things take shape when you took over in 2001?By that time, the company had expanded into stationery, print and furniture. But we were in an old-fashioned, rented building and we knew that if we wanted to drive the business forward, we had to bring the visual impact of the building in line with the name. People wanted to come and visit us, but we had to find excuses for them to not come because the offices weren’t great. So we started making plans to move to a new, modern building we now occupy. My co-director Paula Elvin also came on board in 2001 and is the brains behind the stationery side.

You’ve made a few acquisitions in that time as well. Tell me about those.In 2005, a digital print company in Aberdeen started to get into difficulties and they approached us to buy them out. The company, Scotscan Reprographics, was brought onboard in 2005, and that was our first acquisition. That gave us a footprint in Aberdeen, which was where we wanted to be. Then, 18 months ago [furniture and

stationery dealer] Johnston Reid became available and we already had a good relationship with the company as we’d done a lot of business with them before. Astute bought Johnston Reid in September 2010.

So you now have sites in Aberdeen and Forfar.Yes, which brings with it some huge challenges – the fact that we now have a business spread over two locations brings logistical problems. Johnston Reid is one of the oldest stationery companies in Aberdeen; it was established in 1921 and its database and client list was fairly extensive. Going through that list was the first thing we did and gave each member of the sales team 10 to15 accounts each. We wanted to contact every one of those customers within a week or two of taking over.

Predominantly, this was a stationery company and there were conflicts there because we didn’t have the expertise in Aberdeen. Paula suggested that we move the entire stationery operation from Astute in Forfar up to Aberdeen, so all our stationery accounts are handled from here. Now, the team is not only dealing with the Aberdeen operation, which Paula has turned around, but they’re also looking after Forfar accounts, so they’re very busy.

It sounds like the Johnston Reid business is doing well now.I gave myself one year to stabilise the company and two to turn it around, but we’ve turned it around in seven months.

This interview was recorded using Xacti technology

Sound Creation Supported By SANYO ICR-XPS01M Linear PCM Digital Sound Recorder

NEWSJune 2011

DEALER SUPPORT NEWS IS SPONSORED BY...OFFICE FRIENDLY DEALER ASSOCIATION AND XEROX OFFICE SUPPLIES

News printed onXerox Colorprint 80 gsm

Citrus Office Solutions, the Lancashire OFDA dealer, has designed and installed two murals for Falkirk Football Club’s supporters’ organisation, The Brockville Spirit.

The murals feature pictures of famous players over the years in front of a background of images from Brockville, the ground the club left six years ago.

Commenting on the project, Citrus Office sales manager Anthony Gawthrop said: “We have been looking at other sectors where we can develop our business and design and signage is an area we have identified. This is our biggest project to date and we are absolutely delighted with the final result.”

One of Citrus’s directors is a keen supporter of Falkirk and the opportunity to be involved with the Brockville Spirit group was too good to miss.

“Proving we can do a job of this scale, I am convinced, will show we have a credible offer in this marketplace,” Gawthrop added.

The mural covers two insides of the south stand wings at the Falkirk Stadium. The history of the players in the murals is featured on information panels placed around the ground and supporters can also buy A1-sized replicas of the murals.

Citrus shows its sporting Colours

The south stand wing at Falkirk Football Club, sporting Citrus’s mural

INSPIRING BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR DEALERS

DEALER SUPPORT NEWS IS SPONSORED BY... OFFICE FRIENDLY DEALER ASSOCIATION AND XEROX OFFICE SUPPLIES

DEALER SUPPORT NEWS

Friendly Charity Fun all-round

Dealer group Office Friendly hosted a charity rounders day last month to raise funds for Help for Heroes.

Keen ‘athletes’ from dealers Paperchain, CTS and Manton Office Supplies, as well as from VOW and Ricoh, joined OFDA reps at Leicestershire’s Rothley Cricket Club, the use of which the club kindly donated free of charge.

Teams played a series of knock-out matches under the watchful eyes of former OFDA chairman Graeme Chapman and his wife Ruth, who acted as umpires.

A fight to the death ensued to secure the much sought- after pole position and the coveted silver cup trophy. The battle unveiled the sporting prowess of the Office Friendly crew, as the eventual nine-strong winning team – the aptly named Team Hero – comprised six OFDA staff !

The day also involved off-pitch activities including a raffle, networking and a buffet lunch, with delicious homemade cakes provided courtesy of OFDA business development manager and organiser, Gilly Cook.

Commenting on the day, Cook extended her thanks to Rothley Cricket Club for the free use of its clubhouse and its dedicated hospitality on the day, as well as to everyone who went along and showed their support for the event and the charity. “It was a really fun day and it was all for a great cause,” she said. “Everybody there had a really good time, despite the aches and pains we all suffered over the following few days! We hope to make next year’s event bigger and better.”

At the time of writing, the event had raised £1,400 for Help for Heroes and money was still rolling in.

Left: industry all-rounder (spot the Dealer Support editor!). Right: Team Hero celebrates its win


new marketing head at advantia

Dealer group Advantia Business Solutions has welcomed Louise Turton (pictured) as its new

marketing manager.Reporting to CEO Bob Geens, Turton

will create new marketing initiatives for the dealer network, particularly focusing on electronic marketing and working alongside the marketing committee comprising Advantia dealers.

Turton previously held marketing manager roles for brands such as Wilkinson Sword, following six years’ experience within the paper industry working in communications for the Robert Horne Group and in product marketing for the sign and display sector of the industry.

Commenting on the appointment, Geens said: “I am pleased to have someone with Louise’s aptitude and drive at Advantia. I look forward to working

with her on new and demanding projects and it will be an exciting and challenging role at a pivotal time for the company.”

Turton added: “I am very excited about this new role and looking forward to implementing new and unique marketing techniques to enhance our dealers’ businesses.”

in brief ...VasantaThe Vasanta Group, parent company of VOW, has appointed two new board members, John Burkill, operations director and David Knowles, business process improvement director. Knowles joins the business from a 10 year career with Cadbury, and will review business processes in order to drive further efficiency improvements. Burkill joined Vasanta last month having previously been head of logistics operations for Howdens Joinery Group. His experience also includes time at Gist where he managed the Kingfield Heath transport contract.

spicers MpsSpicers has launched the first of its managed print service (MPS) presentations for dealers. The presentations included how Spicers’s MPS, Sprintwise, can help dealers make cost and eco savings. Ian Hixon, Spicers’s MPS expert, said: “We’ve had a lot of interest following the launch. We are already over-subscribed for our first MPS training days with dealers who are keen to partner with Spicers on MPS.” Spicers is planning more sessions, initially to be held in London and the Northwest.

Bp MoVeThe Business Performance (BP) Group has moved to new premises to cater for its ongoing plans for expansion. A larger office in Saffron Walden, Essex, is now home for the team, headed by Luke Chapman. He said: “This is an exciting stage in the development of the business, and triples our office space, plus provides training and meeting facilities for both the BP Group and our partners.”

nemo goes up, up and away

Following the success of the holiday give-away at last year’s Nemo Conference, members attending this year’s event

have the chance to win a hot air balloon ride courtesy of the Robert Horne Group.

This is just one of the many prizes on offer during the weekend with one lucky member

walking away with a Samsung 40” HD TV, kindly donated by Samsung, for visiting 25 or more stands during the exhibition.

This year’s conference will be held at the prestigious hotel and golfing complex, The Vale Resort, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 June.

DEALER SUPPORT NEWS

supplies site for digi dealerAltodigital has launched www.altooffice.com, a

dedicated online portal to supply stationery, furniture and consumables to existing and new customers.

The new online commerce site took 18 months to develop and will offer a wide range of products to meet business needs, designed to give maximum versatility and flexibility while keeping costs under control.

Customers can either set up an account or pay via a credit card. The portal will also be able to react quickly to market demands and list items not currently in its Altodigital catalogue.

Simon Harris, sales manager at Altodigital, said: “We wanted to develop a web sales portal to run alongside our other Altodigital go-to-market services. Our customers told us they wanted the flexibility to order consumables and lower ticket items via a trusted website and... an extended catalogue online.Altooffice [is] open to anyone, from students to individual traders right up to business users, local government and the larger enterprise.”

Harris anticipates the site will free up to 40% of sales managers’ time, enabling them to focus on other, more complex tasks.


Crm adds 40% – wow!

Wow Office Supplies has reported growth of 40%, an achievement MD John Wheatman (pictured left with Nectere’s Paul Musgrove)

attributes to hard work and a new customer relationship management (CRM) system.

The software helps Wheatman manage sales contacts, which he describes as like having another sales assistant “but with no salary”.

“It informs me if my customers change their buying habits, or if they have stopped trading all together,” he added. “The CRM element helps me build and sustain relationships while also managing leads and gaining valuable new business.”

As well as facilitating growth, the software, supplied by Nectere, offers dealers web-based analytics, advanced account reporting and integrated CRM applications, enhancing the effectiveness of customer relationships and improving bottom-line results.

ingram helps dealers get teChyIngram Micro EMEA has announced

the expansion of its partnership with the global organisation Storage

Networking Industry Association (SNIA). It has become a member of SNIA Europe, demonstrating Ingram Micro EMEA’s commitment to helping its reseller and vendor partners’ continued and ongoing success in the advanced technology solutions arena.

SNIA Europe is a vendor-neutral non-profit organisation representing manufacturers and channel partners across Europe. It educates the market on the evolution and application of storage infrastructure solutions for the data centre,

focusing on virtualised environments, storage in cloud environments and storage and networking technologies.

Alain Maquet, president of Ingram Micro EMEA, said: “We are fascinated as our reseller partners share with us examples of how they have successfully implemented the latest technologies to help their customers solve problems, improve communication, reach wider audiences.

“Ingram Micro EMEA is actively working with the reseller community to support their efforts to sell and manage ever-more complex technology solutions such as virtualisation, and cloud computing, to its end-user business customers.”


united in mps

Milton Keynes-based dealer United has reported a record quarter in its managed print services (MPS)

division following a two-year strategy to diversify its managed services offering to its customers.

The United Managed Services (UMS) portfolio now includes archival and document management, shredding, telecoms, recycling, workwear and PPE, promotional gifts, print, café and water to compliment the traditional office supplies mix.

Darren Lloyd, sales and marketing director, said: “Following recent acquisitions of a photocopier business and a vending company, we are able to offer our customers an extensive choice of services, which are then tailored to their individual business requirements – all managed with one invoice [and] fully supported by robust and tailored reporting.

“We are confident that we now have a complete service offering for our customers and our performance in tough market conditions definitely reflects this.”

in brief ...superstatSuperstat members attending next month’s annual conference (8-9 July in north Lincolnshire) could win a weekend trip for two to a city destination in France or Belgium. The lucky winner will travel by Eurostar and Superstat will put them up in a 4-star hotel. Lindsey Charlesworth, event organiser, said: “Since we introduced trips on the Eurostar as our weekend prize at the conference, we’ve had some fantastic feedback. This year we’re giving entrants a choice of cities.”

old FriendsThe Society of Old Friends has welcomed new president Geoffrey Betts, MD of Stewart Superior, to the position. The presidency passed from Mike James to Betts at a recent dinner at the RAF Club in Piccadilly. Betts thanked James for his work over the past two years and outlined plans to ensure the society remains relevant to the modern world. The society is now 102 years old and has a full membership of 150 people past and present from the trade.

BossThe Boss Federation has launched a virtual sales academy to grow expertise in the industry. Developed in partnership with sales training leaders Advance, the Boss Sales Academy gives members access to high quality training at an affordable and discounted price. It is accessible via an online virtual classroom, enabling members to access it anywhere and at any time. Interactive role plays and the way the e-training is delivered means salespeople can immediately make use of the skills they have learned.

DEALER SUPPORT NEWS


maveriCk Crosses the pond

TDMaverick, the AV division of Computer2000, is hosting a ‘Club Maverick’ trip for UK and Ireland customers to InfoComm, the world’s biggest AV event held in the US.

The trip follows the successful launch of Club Maverick at this year’s Information Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam and provides customers with an opportunity to see the latest audiovisual solutions and technologies on the market.

“Through Club Maverick we aim to show our customers first-hand the benefits of doing business and working closely with Maverick, rewarding them for their ongoing business and

support,” commented Sid Stanley, head of Maverick in the UK and Ireland.

“InfoComm gives us the opportunity to reward our partners and, as a specialist distributor, create a bridge for a small and focused group of vendors to our customers.

“By taking some of our closest and developing partners to InfoComm, we’re giving them the opportunity to expand their knowledge, network and build new relationships, viewing the exciting new AV solutions and technologies that will be on display for the first time.”

synaxon dealers Clic2 success

Dealer group Synaxon UK has assumed the management of the Clic2IT e-commerce solution, providing data feeds from multiple distributors for the first time.

In addition, Synaxon is making the Clic2Channel e-mail marketing service available to dealer members as part of its iTrends marketing solution.

The two Clic2 services – Clic2IT and Clic2Channel – have been established for more than 10 years and now, for the first time, data feeds from multiple distributors will be available for Clic2IT.

Ingram Micro will provide the core data with discounted feeds also available from other Synaxon supplier partners, including CCI, Entatech, ETC, Steljes, and VIP Computers.

The Click2Channel service will deliver a minimum of two automated HTML e-shots every month, which will drive new business with special offers and promotions back to the individual reseller webstores.

“The Clic2IT webstore has been tried and tested for over a decade, which is a lifetime in e-commerce terms. Now it’s available as a multiple distributor solution, [and] offers more choice and value for resellers,” commented Derek Jones, MD of Synaxon UK.

“We are convinced it can and will make a massive difference to members who take it up.”


triumph For Furniture Firm

Corporate furniture and storage supplier Triumph Furniture Company, based in South Wales, has been

bought out of administration by the firm’s management team, securing more than 200 jobs in Merthyr and Tredegar.

The buy-out ensures ongoing continuity of supply, and enables Triumph to honour its ongoing warranties and responsibilities for dealers and their furniture base.

CEO Andrew Jackson, thanked loyal customers and said: “This new

restructuring gives us three opportunities important to our trade connections and key customers.

“The opportunity to ensure continuity and reliability of supply and choice at all times in this difficult market; the opportunity to make sure we have the right product range at the right price for today’s business; and the opportunity to do what we’ve always done well – offer the trade quality products and reliability of service, helping to bolster the work of all our dealers in difficult times.”

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By connecting [an interactive whiteboard to] a PC with internet access and a projector you can bring the wealth of information on the web into the classroom or training facility. It opens the door to a new kind of interactive, visual-based education, providing resellers with new and potentially lucrative revenue potentialAnnabelle Wellon, Nimans

the Future’s Blue

Dealers discussed the industry’s future CRM and email marketing requirements at a recent

development day hosted by systems provider BlueSky Systems Solutions.

Dealers already using BlueSky’s Horizon system were invited to put together a draft specification for new CRM and e-marketing modules that are to be incorporated into Horizon, at the East Midlands event.

Led by Terry Thurgood, ex-IT director at London-based office products dealer Total Office, the workshop discussed the requirements of BlueSky’s dealer customers

to satisfy the needs of their businesses and give them the tools they need to compete more effectively.

Derek Blood, BlueSky’s commercial director commented: “To keep cost of sales low, CRM and email marketing are key areas dealers need to attract and increase business. This is an illustration of how we listen to and work with our dealer customers to put together the right development specification for these important areas.”

BlueSky will start on these projects immediately and aims to road test new modules during Q3 2011.

oFFiCe on the go with doCuware iphone app

DocuWare is launching DocuWare Mobile, its new solution for the Apple iPhone.

The app supports search dialogues, task lists and any document workfl ow on the iPhone. Users can access vital information in seconds, making the most of their time by staying connected, regardless of where they are.

DocuWare Mobile makes it easy for users to maximise every minute of their time, enabling them to call up information from a central document pool without the need for a laptop or PC. Data appears

quickly on the user’s iPhone screen when they receive an alert.

The app supports any document regardless of its original format, displaying it in a DocuWare viewer that was specially adapted for iPhone functionality.

Users can also be integrated into the offi ce-based workfl ow even while travelling. For example, invoices can be authorised using a DocuWare stamp that belongs to a user without the need for a notebook.

Time spent waiting at an airport or before a meeting is no longer ‘dead’ time and can be used in a meaningful way. As

with all DocuWare solutions, maximum security is ensured through HTTPS-encryption.

DocuWare’s director Stefan Schindler uses the app himself. He said: “I use it to show customers, as well as to take care of my responsibilities in DocuWare’s workfl ow. If my staff are waiting for an invoice to be approved, for example, I can do that immediately when an alert comes through on my iPhone.

“It saves a huge amount of time for my staff and me and, to be honest, working is more fun this way, too!”

ADVERTORIAL

dealer interview


Astute

How have you achieved that?It’s how we go to market. We’re very aggressive in terms of sales – not in a pushy way but in an intelligent and comprehensive way. Every enquiry and quote is followed up and pursued with a vengeance. Everyone here is hungry and ambitious and all four directors are very switched on and network well. Johnston Reid hadn’t done that for a number of years, yet Aberdeen is such a lucrative market.

Has that been Astute’s approach from day one?You must always look after the customer who has put you where you are right now, so existing customers are looked after very well. We have a number of key accounts, which, if we lose, we must be doing something wrong, because it

nAme: alastair donald, Md

CompAny: astute and Johnston reid

Turnover: £2.5m

number of sTAff: 30

DeAler group: Office Star

bACk offiCe sysTem: Prima

WebsiTe: www.astute.uk.com

and www.johnstonreid.co.uk

CV

would take a lot to tick them off. We’ve had 12% growth year-on-year for the past eight years, and much of that is from existing customers expanding their portfolio of products. Only between five and 10% is new business.

How do you keep customers happy?Every single stationery delivery goes out with my email address on it, and people are invited to communicate with me directly. People do, sometimes to congratulate us on

a fantastic service, and rarely with a compl aint that we’ve not delivered on everything we said we would. If that happens, we deal with it immediately, for example by sending chocolate bars with wrappers that have messages on them, like: ‘Sorry we’ve upset you’ or ‘thanks for your business’. We also do corporate hospitality and charity events, because we’re very heavily focused on the community. We never advertise, as it’s nicer

to spend the money thanking our customers for their business. We also like to thank the staff; we gave them a bonus in January because it was the end of our first month of having the stationery operation in Aberdeen and it turned out to be a record month. The key staff are

I came to the conclusion that it’s better to stay put

and develop the premises. That will require some investment, but fortune favours the brave



also incentivised by performance-related pay, and that works really well.

What part of the business is operated from the Forfar site?All the print and machines. We do a lot of printing for a number of prestigious clients, like the Scottish FA and rugby union, the Red Arrows and major universities. We also won a contract to produce the security document for the police for the G8 summit in Gleneagles five years ago. We’re also still the largest independent manufacturer of rubber stamps in the UK. That doesn’t comprise much of the business – only around £2,500 a month. We used to employ six or seven people to make 100 stamps, but with technology one person can do that now in a morning. But it would take an awful lot for me to let the stamps division go. I’m emotionally attached to it.

You mentioned that stationery was brought to Aberdeen to utilise the expertise and bring it all together. How different is the approach to market and business model?It’s no different. Everything goes to market in the same way and all the salespeople work across the board rather than selling just one product. We go to market as the Astute brand, rather than as a stationery or furniture supplier. If someone is driving 30-odd miles to see a client, I want them to sell the entire range of products into that organisation. We’ll usually focus on whatever initial lead brought us there to start with, but we’ll also present all our other products too.

Do many customers increase the product portfolio they buy from Astute?Eventually, yes. We have a number of magazines that we sell advertising for, and we print the magazines too. We produce the magazines free of charge, but by keeping the advertising – and selling £6-7k worth – we make money on it and attract custom. People often ask why we do these advertising jobs for free. First, the adverting job becomes a print job, on which we make good money. And secondly, once we speak to clients about advertising, it’s natural that we’d speak to them about flags, banners, signage or print and stationery and that’s how we get a lot of our customers.

What will you be embracing as an area of business growth in the near future?Stationery and furniture will do well, driven by our focus in Aberdeen as that’s what Johnston Reid is well-known for. The print side of the business will also grow because it does so naturally year-on-year. We also have plans to become friendlier with some architects’ firms and other key potential customers, as that will provide opportunities for growth.

What about the public sector – do you see opportunities there?We don’t do as much trade with public sector organisations as we would like because they all go through rigorous procurement protocols. But there is always leakage, and we’re working to capture as much of that leakage as we can. We could spend hours focusing on that without much gain, so we’ll be channelling our energies into something where we can get a better return on investment. We will, however, be grateful for anything we do get. I think that’s common to a lot of office supplies companies at the moment.

With the success of the two acquisitions we’ve completed in the last six years, there are a few more potential deals in the pipeline. But I’m very conscious that I don’t want to get too big, because it becomes too easy to take your eye off the ball.

You’ve been in Aberdeen since September. Have you got plans to develop the Johnston Reid site in the same way have with Astute?This lease runs for another two years, but we’re looking for a more aesthetically friendly location. Despite Aberdeen’s size there isn’t much going, and I think that’s a sign of how well it’s doing as a city. I came to the conclusion that it’s better to stay put and develop the premises. That will require some investment, but fortune favours the brave. DS

Astute

You must always look after the customer who has put you

where you are now, so existing customers are looked after. Much of our growth is with existing customers, expanding their portfolio



Commercial Group

Taking responsibility Commercial Group is a dominant force in the channel, growing at a rate of

knots. Allie Anderson chatted with directors Simone Hindmarch-Bye and

Arthur Hindmarch at their recent corporate and social responsibility event

At 21-years-old, the Commercial Group is, in co-founder Simone Hindmarch-Bye’s words, “all grown up”. In its first year, the family-run office supplies dealership turned over £400,000 and has grown every year since. Along with brother and co-founder Arthur Hindmarch (both pictured right) and partners Alastair Adams and Richard Keating, who joined as COO a year ago, Simone now stands at the helm of a £29m turnover business.

“As our company got bigger, we thought it was time to beef up the board with some professional knowledge to add value,” comments Arthur on the appointment of Keating, an industry outsider, to the group’s board. “He has taken a small equity stake and his mission is to take the business to £40m in three years. We’ve always had huge aspirations and all our growth is organic.”

Today, the group encompasses separate, albeit closely linked, arms supplying office products, IT services, interiors, recruitment and print to, in the main, other large, corporate companies with an average expenditure of over £500,000. The group’s most lucrative customer spends £1.6m on office supplies alone. This positions Commercial as a viable alternative to the contract stationer, says Simone. “That’s where we place ourselves with corporate clients like Sky, which is our biggest customer,” she explains. “We deal with a lot of big customers and we’re pushing more different products through [to them].”

Integral to this expansion with existing customers is Commercial’s own online procurement platform, Sprint, which helps customers control their organisation’s expenditure. As well as enabling better spend management, for example who in the organisation is able to spend what, the system showcases the group’s entire portfolio of products and categories and encourages customers to expand the number and variety of products and services they purchase. “Customers are now starting to bring in other product groups like PPE, printing and business cards,” Simone explains, “which might previously have gone somewhere else.”

Company: Commercial Group

names: Simone Hindmarch-Bye

and arthur Hindmarch

position: directors

turnover: £29m

number of staff: 160

website: www.commercial.co.uk

CVThe brother-sister team describes the company as

“specialists in all areas”, and in order to fulfil that role in the market, expertise in each individual division is essential. “Traditional stationery companies are stationery companies that occasionally sell copiers or IT,” says Arthur, “but we sell all of that as core solutions.” A strong presence in each area of the business results in a more bespoke offering and negates the need for reliance on others. Managed print services are a case in point: because Commercial does not align exclusively with any single manufacturer, it owns the contracts it has in place with customers rather than just taking a percentage commission. Aligning with copier companies is

unnecessary, too, explains Hindmarch. “We don’t need to because we have our own copier company within the Commercial Group,” he says. “From a customer’s perspective, we can offer a beginning to end solution from delivery of a cartridge to use of that cartridge in the printout device, to the server that serves that printout device right through to the whole infrastructure.”

Commercial’s real tour de force, however, both within the channel and outside is its commitment to sustainability and to having a positive impact on carbon footprint reduction. This has earned the company recognition not just among its peers but with experts and main players in the field of corporate and social responsibility (CSR). At its annual CSR day last month, Commercial attracted 180

If a supplier has child workers and you just rip your

custom away, those children will probably end up worse off than before. You have to work with the supplier where they have to build a school to send the children

Commercial Group

dealer interview

dealerBookmArk

SpecialityWe supply the complete consumables package, so that would be our speciality. But our strap line is “your low cost office provider”, because we do a lot of different products and services for our customers across many ranges.

cVI worked for my father’s office supplies business, Arkle, until 1995. He then sold out to what is now Office Depot and I was there until 1999. I then worked for Plantronics before starting at Bluefish 11 years ago.

Winning momentFor me, it was my eight-year-old son scoring his first try at touch rugby. That was earlier this year – the tears were flowing and my phone bill was huge that day!

catchphraSe“Come on, it’ll only take a few minutes!”

Word for the WiSeThe real win is the reliability of the product. Progress is among the best products out there because it works every day. We’ve been using it for 11 years and we’ve never lost a day because of problems with our back office system.

mark heathmdBluefish office productsnorthampton

Progress®

bluefish office products is powered by...

the leader in industry-specific business software

www.eci.eu

Taking responsibility

delegates drawn from its existing and prospective customer base, as well as high-profile speakers including Franny Armstrong, founder of the 10:10 climate campaign to help all sectors of society aim for a 10% cut in their carbon emissions in 12 months, and Trewin Restorick, founder of award-winning environmental charity Global Action Plan.

Commercial has, itself, been carbon neutral since 2006, reducing waste to landfill by over 90% and corporate emissions by more than 60%. Simone has been the major catalyst for change, driving the environmental agenda throughout the organisation via a team of ‘Green Ambassadors’. In addition, the group runs an academy to share best practice with customers and will be trialling a hydrogen-run van during Q3. On the social side, staff are each allowed 30 days’ additional leave every year to support community and charity projects.

While fun and workforce collaboration is key to fulfilling these goals, the acknowledgment such endeavours rightly attracts comes at the expense of a great deal of hard work, too, with the ethos ingrained into every part of the organisation. “Our salespeople really understand their role in helping people with sustainability,” Simone confirms. “They’ve been part of reducing their carbon footprint at work and at home, so they talk about it with knowledge and passion when they approach a customer. There are very few conversations where

some kind of environmental impact reduction doesn’t come into it equally with cost control.”

Bold claims concerning CSR need to be backed up with bold actions in procurement. Many of Commercial’s products are sourced from Europe rather than the Far East, and the team has engaged extensively with suppliers. “Ninety per cent of our expenditure is with suppliers we’ve visited and assessed where they are as an organisation,” Simone reports. “Now, it’s about looking at individual products, because the suppliers won’t manufacture every component part of that product. We start with copy paper and consumables, and we’ll take it three tiers down the supply chain.”

Of course, that entails a lot of effort, particularly in terms of ethicality, but Commercial Group seeks out suppliers that are certified by the Ethical Trading Initiative, and was itself undergoing accreditation itself at the time of writing. But, as Simoneexplains, the group also has a responsibility to suppliers whose ethical credentials may not come up to scratch initially. “If a supplier has children working in the organisation and you just rip your custom away, those children will probably end up worse off than before,” she says. “You have to work on a programme with the supplier where you still buy from them, but they have to build a school and send the children there for three hours a day. That way, you gradually build change.” DS

management


Grow your business

Sale through itHaving good point of sale solutions is essential for businesses. Matt Jane looks at the latest innovations in this area and considers why it is something dealers should consider


Grow your business

Viewers of the classic comedy series Open All Hours will be familiar with the uncontrollable and vicious till that shop owner Arkwright used to battle with every day when his customers made a purchase. while nearly losing your fingers every time a transaction happens may be great for comedy shows, in the world of business it is no laughing matter and could be the difference between success and failure. This importance and general reliance on effective point of sale (Pos) solutions can provide a great platform for office supplies dealers to open discussions with customers about a host of business opportunities.

The market for Pos equipment is hugely varied, in line with the different needs of the various industries that require solutions. but from the smallest corner shops to the largest supermarkets and venues, the principle of ensuring reliable and efficient Pos solutions is the same. The way this is delivered, however, will be hugely different. it is useful to consider the market in two areas: hospitality, which includes pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels; and retail outlets. “The two areas have very different demands,” explains nieve Cavanagh from Casio. “Touchscreen technology has been really well adopted in the hospitality sector, most bars and restaurants now have this solution, whereas the classic cash register still works very well in independent retail. in very high-end retail, the technology is far more advanced, with integrated check-out solutions, which include printers, scanners and so on.”

In the retail sector, companies are constantly looking for products that will help them improve both the customer experience and the shop floor efficiency. ray Cranston, sales manager for business systems at epson, suggests the technology in this area is helping to shape the customer experience. “we anticipate that retailers will increasingly invest in mobile printing technology, cloud applications – which can reduce costs and take away the need for a hose device in-store – colour receipt printing and green technologies to maximise productivity and customer communication,” he says.

Mobile solutions have various advantages in a retail environment. They obviously offer more flexibility and allow transactions to be taken anywhere within the store, with the Pos taken to the customer. “broadband-connected card payment terminals that remove the need for a dedicated telephone line to be established for each terminal can significantly cut costs for businesses,” says Matt rowsell, chief commercial officer at streamline. “This is because broadband card payment terminals offer faster transaction times equating to shorter queues, which can increase customer loyalty and spend. The key is to select a solution that secures your valuable transactions using encryption as they travel across the internet.”

There is also an increased interest in colour voucher printing in the retail environment. “They allow retailers to capture customers’ attention with vouchers, promotions and loyalty rewards. it is generally accepted among the retail industry that colour can increase coupon redemption by up to 30%.”

Broadband-connected card payment terminals that remove the need for a dedicated telephone line to be established for each terminal can significantly cut costs for businesses

The latest Pos solutions can also enable smoother operations for a business, such as software that enables the solutions to integrate with the wholesaler’s database and call on stock. “That is giving us the opportunity to move into that area,” says Cavanagh. “other key developments include recent trends towards chip and pin, which is standard now in the uK. Pos manufacturers have had to ensure products are developed and adapted to accommodate that.”

This technology has gone even further, meaning customers no longer need to enter a pin. “Contactless technology, through which consumers can make a payment by tapping their contactless-enabled debit or credit card against a secure contactless reader, is being trialled and adopted by an increasing number of retailers,” explains rowsell. “in the last year, the uK contactless transaction limit increased from £10 to £15, which has widened the attractiveness of the contactless proposition to new merchant categories such as supermarkets and hospitality.”

uPGrADinG sysTeMswith economic frugality causing businesses to carefully consider areas for investment, one of the biggest trends in Pos is upgrades to existing systems, rather than complete overhauls of hardware. it is therefore important for dealers to work with their customers on a number of options and levels.

improvements to software can give customers great results and ensure an ongoing business model for dealers. “with high-end touch screen installations, an upgrade to the software can improve the performance of the whole systems,” explains Cavanagh. “That can in turn help [dealers] to minimise their costs.”

While every business is reliant on bringing in cash, if it is not monitored properly it can lead to a host of issues. “if you don’t measure that properly or have a clear vision of the margins you are making and the throughput of your business, then your business is really in trouble,” Cavanagh says. “it is absolutely essential for any business that thrives on selling directly to the public.”

she adds that any kind of high street, retail or hospitality presence must have a Pos system that gives a clear insight into the transactions that are conducted through it. “This should not just be the level of cash coming in, but also an understanding what stock is being used,” advises Cavanagh. “The hardware is a tool for making things happen, but a really important part is the software that goes with it that actually tells the business story and helps to understand how you are performing and what changes could be made to improve the efficiency and profitability.”

the potential increase in coupon redemption if printed in colour

30%

management


Grow your business

when considering the options for Pos equipment, it is important to remember the qualities that customers will seek from them. Cranston suggests retailers are “constantly looking for solutions that enble them to get as many customers as possible through their tills as quickly and efficiently as possible”. some innovations that help with these targets include high speed printing and efficient solutions, such as front paper loading and forward-facing controls to enable the device to fit neatly under the counter. Another essential consideration is reliability, given that any down time will have a direct impact on profits and have a negative effect on the customer experience.

MAKinG A sALeAny office supplies dealer entering into the Pos market will be aware of the potential for high returns on investment. However, Cranston points out that a certain level of specialism and commitment of time and resources is required on the part of dealers. “in order to succeed and provide the high level of service that retailers expect, dealers need to ensure they are dedicated to improving their expertise, training and knowledge of the products and services relevant for the retail environment,” he says. “sales to retail can be rewarding but dealers will need to invest time in the sales process. These are not quick, over-the-counter sales; retailers are looking for a solution rather than just a product.”

Cavanagh suggests that the market is actually fairly straightforward and there are a range of products and opportunities to explore, but it is important to get to grips with it and understand what solution will really benefit the individual customer. “sometimes a basic cash register will do the job,” she explains. “There are other instances where the business could perform significantly better if they invest the extra few hundred pounds. There are lots of opportunities for cross-selling, such as adding a software system to it and adding a service package to the system. in some instances even the till drawer will be classed as a peripheral, so there are opportunities there too.”

Despite the huge uptake of new technology and innovation in both the retail and hospitality sectors, there is still opportunity to take advantage of less technical solutions, which could be a great starting point for dealers taking their first steps in this market. “especially in the retail environment, there are lots of corner shops that are still using labels and typing the prices in at the till,” says Cavanagh. “[but] for a relatively modest investment, they can improve the efficiency and their general business performance. The dealer makes money and everybody is happy.”

The importance of effective Pos solutions means it is an area in which all dealerships should be opening up discussions with customers. After all, companies cannot afford to have inefficient solutions in place. “it’s not a luxury; it’s a must- have,” says Cavanagh. “There is a massive range of machines out there, from entry level cash registers to touch screen terminals complete with back-office software and service contracts. This is definitely a market for dealers to pursue, from the point of view that it is not going to dry up.”

There are so many options within the Pos market that there should be plenty of possibilities for dealers to explore, and enable them to find the solutions that best suit their capabilities. while initial purchases of Pos hardware and equipment can bring great financial returns, the potential for adding ongoing value to sales is huge, and there is great scope for building lasting relationships with customers who will undoubtedly value a dealer’s expertise. DS

There are lots of opportunities for cross-selling, such as adding software and a service package. In some instances even the till drawer is classed as a periphery

management

32

ADVICE

o-one needs telling that UK economic conditions are not great. Whether you think things are improving or that we’re facing a fresh recession, the focus for all businesses is making sure they are able to survive in a difficult market, ready to search out and seize any opportunities that arise.

Obviously cash flow is of paramount importance, but for businesses in the office products and IT sector to survive and thrive requires having the complete range of business skills and being able to apply them. This is particularly true of small and medium-sized enterprises, a category that a large number of office products dealers fit into. SMEs are the engines of the UK economy, central to their communities and providing employment to hundreds of thousands. However they lack the deep pockets and specialised staff of larger rivals, meaning they often suffer from not having the right skills to thrive and grow.

N So how can decision makers in the sector fill their skills gaps and compete successfully? The first thing is to take an inventory of what areas they cover in their roles and where they think they can improve. After all, no matter how successful you are, as a salesperson for example, there is always something new and different that could further improve your performance.

These areas can be broken down into six: time management; marketing; maximising channels (such as social media); sales; profitability; and leadership, covering almost all the situations that will come up when running a business, whatever sector you are in.

MAKIng TIME WOrK fOr yOUMost businesspeople complain about being too busy and not having enough time to think strategically and move their company forward. Obviously as a senior manager or owner the buck stops with you, but efficient time management can free up a significant part of your day to provide the leadership and direction your business needs. Put in place a system that enables you to prioritise quickly what needs to be done, what can be delegated and what, frankly, can just be dropped.

june 2011 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Puppeteering for businesses Luca Senatore, co-founder of the Big Business Mastery Weekend, offers his top tips on how to make your business succeed in challenging times

management


Set aside time in your diary where you can’t be interrupted. Schedule regular, action-oriented meetings with other members of the team, giving them the opportunity to step up and manage particular business areas – and resist the temptation to micromanage at all costs. By finding the time management techniques that work for you, and making sure your staff all understand the company’s priorities, you can focus your efforts and see positive results very quickly.

SMArT MArKETIng for many SMEs, marketing is a poor cousin to sales, but in an evermore competitive sector, it is vital. Marketing doesn’t have to involve multi-million pound advertising campaigns as success can be achieved through targeted, focused programmes. The first step is researching your customers. find out who they are, where they are geographically, what business sectors they are in, why they buy from you and what stops others following their lead. from that, you can create a marketing plan based on smart objectives that proactively

reach the customers you want to get to rather than just waiting for the shop door to open or phone to ring. Measure success against these objectives, refine your plan and repeat/expand the tactics that deliver results.

DEMySTIfyIng SOCIAl MEDIAThe rise of sites such as facebook, linkedIn and Twitter mean social media is the hottest business topic of the moment. There’s a lot of hype and hot air, but essentially social media provides the opportunity for you to have a two way conversation with your customers, prospects and influencers. It’s important to find what channels your customers are using, creating a presence there, monitoring activity and keeping up a regular dialogue. It may seem daunting, but much of it is common sense – and it will let you reach both new and existing audiences in an accessible, open way.

SEll, SEll, SEllno company is going to succeed if sales don’t come in, but a lot of businesses don’t look beyond the purchase order to the strategy behind their selling. Who is your actual customer within the organisation – who are the other influencers and how do you tailor your sales tactics in order to reach them? What sort of skills do you need your sales teams to have – do you need a field force, a retail presence or are a contact centre

and website a better fit? Taking a strategic look at selling could radically change the way that your business operates.

DElIVErIng PrOfITABIlITyfor many businesses, increasing sales is the overriding aim. But sales mean nothing without profitability. If 80% of customers are only buying low margin products, selling more of the same isn’t going to help your business grow. If you are losing £1 on each sale, sell more and you will lose more money. Better to focus on the more lucrative areas of the business while looking at ways you can increase your margins by being more efficient. If you can’t compete across a broad range of products, think about specialising and be seen as the expert in a particular market or area.

lEADIng frOM THE frOnTAs the boss of a small business, everyone is looking to you for leadership. Different leaders have different styles – there is no point trying to copy famous figures from history if it doesn’t fit with your personality or circumstances. Equally, leadership isn’t about being the last out the door or adopting David Brent-style mannerisms. look at what will work for you but ensure you are communicating, delegating and building trust and respect with your staff.

None of the areas outlined here involve rocket science. Most businesspeople have probably already thought about making changes in one or more of them. Or they might have tried to make changes that just fizzled out. So how do you go from thinking about it to getting things done? Management books can take you so far but essential is practical training that enables you to apply proven strategies to your personal situation. Simply attending a business lecture is not enough; you need to quickly create a plan and put theory into practice. By doing that you’ll see improvements that really make a difference to your business. DS

At A glAnce...

the six key areas to address to make your business more successful:

1. Time management

2. Marketing

3. Maximising channels such as social media

4. Sales

5. Profitability

6. Leadership

Efficient time management can free up a significant part of your day to provide the leadership and direction your business needs leadership

sales

marketing

profitability

About the authorLuca Senatore is co-founder of the Big Business Mastery Weekend, an event providing practical skills, strategies and motivation to help SMes learn, plan and succeed. See www.bigbusinessmastery.co.uk

ADVICE

ids leagueMAnAGeMent


this year’s league produced joint winners in the dealer of the Year award for the fi rst time, with both ends of the reseller spectrum represented by the two fi rst placers – proof indeed that the format of the ids league provides a platform for smaller dealers to compete effectively with their larger peers.

despite some familiar names appearing among the top performers, the takers of the top positions in the dealer of the Year and green dealer categories are new. The number of fi rst-time applications was also encouraging – with our second place dealer of the Year having entered for the fi rst time this year.

We received more entries then ever in the green dealer category, with some impressive initiatives being driven forward by more and more dealers in the name of environmental sustainability. However, despite many advancing their online trading efforts, it seems that more can be done to develop e-commerce in the channel – either that or those that are performing well in this arena need to shout louder about their successes.

some 75% of applications received were from resellers that are aligned with a dealer group, which is testament to the continuing hard work of those groups in supporting the ongoing success of their members, particularly against the backdrop of economic uncertainty and churn in the industry.

HOW iT WORKsThe ids league is open to independent dealers and provides an industry benchmark of dealer success based on set criteria including fi nancial and operational fi gures. Figures are supplied for the fi nancial year just ended and for the previous year, with points awarded for strength of performance across all categories.

For the green dealer of the Year award, we took into consideration accreditations earned, as well as percentage of paper recycled, printer cartridges reclaimed and packaging reused, alongside any other eco initiatives entrants might be undertaking.

For Web dealer of the Year, we looked at year-on-year growth in percentage of sales made via e-commerce, percentage of repeat web visitors, percentage of visitors coming from search engines, number of visitors per month and the conversion rate – i.e., the percentage of visitors that end up making a purchase.

The data is collated by independent analyst Martin Wilde and processed in such a way that regardless of turnover, the comparison points are those of growth, meaning smaller players can (and do) vie with larger independents.

The applications have been processed and the data analysed, and Allie Anderson now brings you the results of Dealer Support’s Independent Dealer Success League 2011

2011

IDS leaGUe

ids league


1st Joint winners

DG office supplies / red Box

3rd wG office supplies

Dealer of the year 2011

the reSt of the toP teN4th Everything Office5th The Office Works Nationwide6th Paperstone7th Data Supplies8th The Roman Group9th Buying Force10th Penketh’s

2nd Burke office

1st Paperstone 1st officeteam

GreeN Dealer of the year 2011Web Dealer of the year 2011

And the winners are...

MAnAGeMent


ids league

Comments from the winners...Peter ALLen, MDRed BOX, lONdON

“We are delighted to have won the ids league. We invested heavily in the previous year so it’s extremely gratifying to see that fl owing through. We saw our turnover increase by 17% and with improved productivity and effi ciency our net operating profi t increased by 36%. The team worked hard to integrate our latest acquisitions so customers saw a seamless transition. While continuing to invest heavily and with more acquisitions planned, we are optimistic about our future and ready for the challenges we face in 2011.”

MiCHAeL BUrKe, MDBuRKe OFFiCe, BelFasT

“all the team at Burke Offi ce in Belfast would like to thank Dealer Support for coming second place in the dealer of the Year category. This is our fi rst entry and it’s a great feeling to know that hard work still pays off. We are delighted with any recognition of success, but we’re particularly grateful when it happens within our industry. it’s a very tough business climate for all dealers at the moment, but one that requires continued training, absolute dedication and tenacity. Here’s to coming fi rst place next year!”

JeFF wHitewAY, CeoOFFiCeTeaM, CROYdON

“Offi ceTeam is delighted to have won the green dealer of the Year award in recognition of our continuous commitment to reducing our own environmental impact as well as that of our customers. We have worked very hard over the last few years to offer our customers exciting and innovative initiatives. The launch of our internal environmental and sustainability Team (easT) together with our new corporate and social responsibility commitments provide further proof that we are dedicated to making a positive impact on the local communities and environments in which we and our customers work.”

2011

IDS leaGUe

eDDie riCHArDs, Co-DireCtorWg OFFiCe suPPlies, daRTFORd

“We are pleased that we are still in the ranks of the top companies in the ids league for a third year running, and thank Dealer Support for their help with promoting our business. We look forward to another rewarding year in the stationery industry and to the exciting opportunities ahead.”

DArren CArr, MDdg OFFiCe suPPlies, MaNCHesTeR

“it’s absolutely wonderful to come fi rst. Our net profi t has gone up massively in line with our sales value and from that perspective, we’re far healthier than we were a year ago. We’ve gone from third place a few years ago, then second last year to joint fi rst this year, so it’s great that we’re moving forward and being recognised for that. Red Box is one of the most proactive dealers in the marketplace, so to be acknowledged in the same breath as a company of that size is testament to how far we’ve come. The awards are added armoury to the business and strengthen the team resolve, so it’s great for capturing more business.”

MAX trotter-LAnDrY, Co-FoUnDer PaPeRsTONe, lONdON

“We’re stunned to win a third ids Web dealer award in what has been a challenging and rewarding year. a hat-trick is a proud achievement for the whole team. We’re constantly striving to improve our business and connect with customers and the ids league gives us a benchmark against which to measure ourselves. Our emphases have shifted as new opportunities and constraints have presented themselves. While seO, site usability and providing a great web shopping experience remain central, 2011 has renewed emphasis on improving sales through customer retention and repeat custom.”

1st

3rd2nd

1st1st

1st

40

Break timeNeed to exercise those grey cells? Here are a few head scratchers to get you thinking…

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10

11 12

13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25

26 27

28 29

ACROSS1 Rush around in old car, to find escaped criminal in Oz (10)7 A disease singular to sponge (4)9 English is almost never spoken poetically in Telford, for example (8)10 Rotter is in modern art emporium (6)11 Copper into Turner gets depression (6)12 I am unpretentious? No (8)13 Clothe with part of a corset (4)15 Get mean about bird call (10)18 Monster horribly present on the waves (3,7)20 Who should really have written Diary of a Nobody? (4)21 See 4 down24 Enjoy the flavour (6)26 Composer of Semiramide and La Mer? No (6)27 As were the leftovers a man ate, being overdrawn? (8)28 Scolded infant without a trace of leniency (4)29 4,21’s Mount is irregular cube next to a generation symbol (missing centrepiece) (10) DOWN2 Auntie hit boiling asphalt (9)3 Told of journey to university to find poem (5)4,21 The king of 7, this general axed threat strategically (9,3,5)5 Not,we hear, a problem for 4,21 (7)6 Province is to take up weapons again, changing sides (5)7 4,21’s country; a wine capital erected around the last stages of 300 (as it’s written) (9)8 Aeolian and Doric, say, in 12 (5)14 Quarrelled in Hell over a sin (9)16 Outside port finally, make fast a vessel - one that’s engine driven (5,4)17 Some garment to stitch, it’s said - or more than one (9)19 One goes into troubled centre, having some guts (7)22 Man ‘as old Erica (5)23 Residential area in upwardly mobile part of Bruxelles (5)25 Student priest in Guanaco (5)

Answers: Across: 1. Bushranger; 7. Mump; 9. Engineer; 10. Arcade; 11. Lacuna; 12. Immodest; 13. Gird; 15. Denominate; 18. Sea serpent; 20. Anon. 21. The Great. 24. Relish. 26. Rameau. 27. Reheated. 28. Chid. 29. BucephalusDown: 2. Uintahite. 3. Haiku. 4. Alexander. 5. Gordian. 6. Realm. 7. Macedonia. 8. Modes. 14. Disagreed. 16. Motor ship. 17. Trousseau. 19. Enteric. 22. Heath. 23. Exurb. 25. Llama

Music Who presents the breakfast show on BBC Radio 2?

History For how many complete years did the longest reigning British monarch rule?

TelevisionTop of the Pops first appeared on our TV screens on New Year’s Day 1964. Who was the first act shown and what song did that act perform?

SportWho was beaten 18 frames to 15 in this year’s World Snooker Championship?

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

Pub Quiz

Number crunching

3 9 4 8 78 5 9

5 7 1 8 92 3 43 8 21 2 5

9 1 3 7 28 4 9

2 4 9 3 6


Answers: Music: Chris Evans. History: 63 (Queen Victoria; 63 years, 216 days). TV: Rolling Stones, I wanna be your man. Sport: Judd Trump

42

FINAL wORD


It’s a glorious world we live in, with technology giving me the ability to check my emails, record my memoirs and YouTube funny videos, all while downloading my latest favourite TV show in the background.

There’s no doubt that technology has improved our efficiency in the work place too, with increased automation and computer system integration making the 21st century worker more productive than ever before. But at what cost?

A recent survey undertaken by my company, Stinkyink.com, has found that technology is not the perfect darling in the office, and is responsible for a whopping 56 minutes of stress every day. Yes, British workers spend five hours every week stressed out, all because of technology.

Compounding this is the fascinating statistic that over a third of workers surveyed feel technology is the number one cause of stress to them, be it from that slow internet, computers crashing mid way through an important task or the printer running out of ink or paper. No wonder your employees may seem tense every time they walk apprehensively to the office copier. Can one induce the wrath of God by swearing at the computer?

Adding to this workplace technology anxiety is the stress of busy mobile phone networks, constant texts from your other half, or even seeing unflattering photos of yourself on Facebook. As the boss, the most stressful part for me is that fact that I’m supposed to instantly know what to do when a member of my team’s programme exhibits a fatal error. Do they want sympathy or a screwdriver? All I can do is tell them to reboot the machine – I’m stressing just thinking about it!

So is living with all our technological wonderment worth this cost? Does it feel like every presentation deck you successfully print is always followed by a paper jam? Or every phone call results in a dropped line? And what of the indirect costs and downtime incurred simply as a result of devices not working properly?

Maybe technology is simply outpacing us and we need more training to cope with this rapid advancement in what is, in the grand scheme of things, still a relatively recent addition to the workplace.

Furthermore, when you dive into the stats and realise that one in 10 workers gets stressed when there is no milk for a cup of coffee in the morning, maybe we should be more worried about the mental state of the workforce than the technology that so ruins their day.

Ultimately, technology is here to stay. When over a quarter of people say that they relax from a stressful day of technology-induced woes by sitting and watching TV, you know that all is forgiven and life will probably carry on for another day. DS

Computer says ‘no’!John Sollars, MD, Stinkyink.com

FINAL wORD

Over a third of workers feel technology is the number one cause of stress to them, be it slow internet, computers crashing mid way through an important task or the printer running out of ink

dealer support june 2011

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