Beyond OPocalypse to
Before the Coronavirus pandemic tragedy the OP market was collapsing with paper & printer makers running below half 2010 demand levels. The 'Essentials' supply focus is a stark reminder that unless business suppliers' service includes hygiene & safety, refreshments, foodservice, IT & packaging products, the future is bleak. Every cloud has a silver lining.... Weekend
'Essentials' ease
The CV shutdown of all businesses except 'Essentials' supply by national & local government in US & UK would normally close office supply dealers. Those progressive resellers that have embraced broadline business supplies, have continued inc. home delivery, even though it means more, smaller individual drops at higher cost to serve....
Mask up delivery
"The coronavirus (CV) pandemic shows the need to overhaul how to treat delivery & frontline customer service teams" writes Business
Insider's Diana Enriquez. Good advice for dealers in business supply to ensure service teams 'mask-up' to reassure customers & get CV tests if they sense the symptoms... Updated
Hygiene Suppliers
The Coronavirus pandemic has hammered consumers & business supply demand with worse to come. Meanwhile, food & beverage, pharmacy & home technology suppliers are booming inc. makers & distributors that responded to the urgent need for greater personal protection & higher hygiene standards.. We review case studies... Updated
Buybacks v
Veritiv, the tailspinning US #1 paper merchant just announced a share buy back plan at a time when sales & profits were crashing pre CV. Meanwhile, many corporations are calling for bail out support from government as survival becomes their priority. How do they reconcile this greed with the CV pandemic about to explode across the US?
B2B marketing
Even experienced and seasoned OP pro's don’t seem to get that B2B and B2C marketing distinctions are dead! Resellers need to reach decision makers now, not just commodity buyers. That means personalised marketing beyond the buyer Sally to the lovely user chooser Lucy...like Amazon and progressive dealers do.
The Rise & Rise of
MPS is dying! Long live "Managed Technology Services' providers that drive productivity improvement for customers. We profile the Top 8 resellers that are leading the US market and making regional acquisitions to fuel expansion...
Paper/printmakers'
Most of the leading OP, Paper & Print makers reported continued sales declines in Q4'19. We analyse the market, comparative performance and any plans for reinvention. Paper demand is plunging double-digits with no price hikes to disguise the deceleration, now down 60% since 2008... Updated for LSC Comms today
Top Tech VAR
CRN has published its annual review of top tech resellers aka managed service providers. In addition, invaluable research on end user needs and attitudes towards suppliers. We highlight the business supply leaders and discuss why productivity driven dealers are back in vogue
Top FoodService
The US FoodService market (exc. food) is estimated at $300Bn+ and has grown at 3-4% over recent years. Some of the leading progressive business suppliers are making early inroads. We study the Top 20 players, rising stars and leaders' forecasts for 2020
2020 Predictions:
What will happen with Amazon, Apple, Staples, Essendant, SPR, Depot, WBMason, HP/Xerox, Uber, Imperial Dade, SPOT (Spicers-OfficeTeam), EVO/VOW, Westcoast, dealers, groups, wholesalers, manufacturers in 2020. Here are our predictions.... Complete
Top Innovators.
Fast Company & Time magazinesrecently reviewed the most innovative companies of 2019; and Forbes magazine the best breakthrough innovations. We feature the most innovative leaders and best innovations in the business supply/personal productivity marketplace…Complete
Best Performers
The #OPocalypse aka perfect storm impacting the office supply market had its most damaging affect in 2019. Even the more powerful, progressive broadline business suppliers had a tough year; Amazon's high growth rate halved & regional indies only expanded via acquisitions. Proficiency Index reviews best performers in each category. Updated
Progressives in
The bigbox share of the US-UK markets tumbled again in 2019. Disintegrating Depot and stalled Staples lost another $2Bn sales and Amazon's growth slowed. Progressive independent resellers, MSP's continued to gain market share.... Updated
Dealer Champions
We've concluded the Proficiency Index Dealer Productivity Championship 2019, the most universally accepted indicator of dealer profitability. Dealers have submitted sales forecasts for 2019/current employee numbers (FTE's). We've finalise the numbers and publish championship leaderboard today. Updated
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not yesterday's news tomorrow."
