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BREAKTHROUGH promises to provide some great insights from inside and outside the industry which manufacturers, dealers and wholesalers can put in to practice to grow their business. Bookings include speakers' notes, presentations on CD, delegate packs, conference proceedings, lunch and light refreshments.

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AOPD to go for

US Communities

Will LA County allow a fair bidding process for ex-Depot $600m contract

28 Apr 10

We spoke to Bud Mundt the executive director at AOPD, the contract marketing group today about his plans to bid for the $600m US Communities contract which Office Depot have held unchallenged under controversial circumstances for 15 years…

MWV: the
smart innovator

Stationery maker bucks trend

28 Apr 10
MeadWestVaco the leading US stationery maker, reported a strong recovery in its Q1’10 sales and profits performance. MVW continued to buck the trend through smart innovations in a traditional marketplace....

Go Loco

Independent dealers guide to sustainable success

The trend towards old fashioned values, local community, sustainability are becoming a global phenomena. Localisation on a global scale, or ‘Glocalisation’as a number of trendwatchers have called it.
Probably the greatest market advantage available to bold local service providers for 50 years....

Private label

proliferation

Are MAX suffering obsessive,

possessive sub-brand syndrome?

26 Apr 10

OfficeMax the declining #3 bigbox OP reseller continued to expand its plethora of private label s with the introduction of a springtime collection of DiVOGA® desk products and accessories....

ODgate Scandal - Breaking News!

Depot's $1m heist

in Hillsborough

Attempted audit cover up fails...usual desperate denials and lies from Depot

Happy Earth Day!

Low Carbon
2020 Offices

Smart technology…

Smaller footprint

By Lucy Jermyn, PP EcoDesk
Earth Day 22 April 10

The house of 2020 will likely be smaller, smarter, more urban and efficient.

IT supplies
market…

Opportunity or fear?

IT and printer consumables is currently the largest product sales category that most resellers supply. Margins are comparatively thin, causing a reluctance to market the category enthusiastically.

Now the huge potential to provide contract managed print services (MPS) for offices with 20-1000 workers, promises to make the category a solid and profitable opportunity. But will resellers treat it as a positive opportunity or wait until fear strikes and they lose a major account. It’s double or quits time…here’s why. Full story later today…

Go Loco

Independent dealers guide
to sustainable success

20 Apr 10

The trend towards old fashioned values, local community, sustainability are becoming a global phenomena. Localisation on a global scale, or ‘Glocalisation’as a number of trendwatchers have called it.

We make this case here for NOPA (US)and BOSS (UK) to embrace and promote a system of core values that will favourably differentiate progressive, local office service providers or PROPS (providers of office productivity services) as we prefer to term them. Full story later today…

SEC investigates

old HP contract

Allegations of bribery in Russia

18 Apr 10

Hewlett Packard (HP) is cooperating with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe into allegations that the company bribed Russian officials in order to secure a computer contract in 2003.

Depot - Max merger?

Christmas
comes early

Independents call on Obama

to bring ‘the Holidays’ forward

Dateline: April 19 2010 (Updated)

Fantasyland, Orlando, FL

We were informed yesterday about OPI e-news headline: ‘Depot and Max discussing tie-up?’ Our initial reaction…was this a late April Fools prank? Then we realized it might just be true.

In order to preserve PP News’ reputation as ‘first for breaking news’ we assigned our intrepid Florida correspondent, Christina Cronkite to an urgent meeting with chiefs Stevo ‘ethics-free’ Odland of Depot and Slam Duncanof Max.

HP’s SMB strategy

Transforming from transactional
to relationship marketing models

16 Apr 10

I’ve studied the small-business market for over 30 years and seen how major corporations serve, or try to serve, this market. So believe me when I say we're about to enter a golden age of small-business products and services.

Why? Because small companies, already a huge percentage of the overall economy, will in future be the fastest growing and most robust segment. HP gets this, and how...

The e-cycling

opportunity

Establishing eSteward

recycling standards

16 Apr 10

More companies and recyclers are taking steps to ensure that old electronic devices such as TVs and computers aren't dumped in poor countries. This is a great opportunity for PROPS (ex-OP dealers, see Editor’s Comment below) to provide a valuable local service to their customers

Home is where
the ‘smart’ is

The virtues of virtual companies

14 Apr 10

On a chilly Monday morning in early February, 30 reporters, editors, designers, and the crew of Inc. the magazine for growing companies, gathered in a conference room to discuss its next issue. Here follows the case and the plan for the virtual company… a model for the future.

10 Myths
about Green

Confusion reigns…what’s
eco-friendly…what’s not

14 Apr 10

Most forward thinking companies are trying to go green. The challenge is to understand what is environmentally sound and what is not. 

Proficiency Index

How to track the competition

6 secrets of market intelligence

12 Apr 10

Keeping a close eye on the competition is often thought to be a big boys' game. Many Fortune 500 companies have entire departments devoted to competitive intelligence (Ci). It’s not…here’s how you can improve your market intelligence.

Diamonds
are forever

How to embrace rejection and
other successful sales secrets

Great salespeople are masters of psychology: The best of them can suss out pain points and imminent objections just a few minutes into a call. Their own psyches, however, are more mysterious. Are they motivated by greed, competition or sustainable success?

What’s your next

competitive advantage?

Product price, personal service

or providing productivity services?

Office products dealers alert! What plans have you made to succeed in the decade ahead. Those dealers who feel they can compete with the same old, office-products- personal-service model are at serious risk. Come to BREAKTHROUGH and give serious consideration to how you can create a successful future in providing personalised productivity services.

12 Myths of Marketing

Some strongly held beliefs eschewed…
the real truths about sustainable success

Over the past 30 years that we have studied this fascinating and ever expanding marketplace, we continue to be amazed by the multitude of misunderstandings that abound. Here are just 12 of the more popular myths that we wish to eschew:

E t h i c a l
BullSchmidt

Depot president writes to
OPI about trust and integrity?

5 April 10

Marketing to businesswomen

7 tips for success

Why are OP resellers bad at marketing to the majority decision makers?

By Ruth Mortimer

I am one and so are around half of the human race. So why are marketers apparently so bad at marketing to the female species? Read  Bob Deutsch of Brain Sells has to sa, plus his 7 tips for success.

Deutsch's observations are very relevant in the OP marketplace comments the Editor.

2010 Online Advertising Report

Beware Big Brother behaviour online

Keeping a safe distance builds trust in a 'technology-enabled' future

3 Apr 10
Marketers need to ensure their use of behavioural targeting techniques do not make internet users feel like they are under Big Brother-style scrutiny, according to the results of research by Addvantage Media and YouGov.

Winning over
hearts and minds

The case for integrating customer
service and marketing functions

31 Mar 10
Marketing departments are often accused of being too supply side oriented, bombarded as they can be by vendors wanting to buy space in their marketing campaigns.

Sales people often accuse marketers, merchandisers in effect, of being out-of-touch with the street… out of touch with customers. Will integration help?