INDUSTRY
W H AT ’ S N E W F O R 2 0 2 2
New horizons – expectations for Dealer groups are anticipating another year of challenges for the office supplies sector - but say that there are still plenty of opportunities for dealers to be successful
T
he office supplies sector has had
description sits firmly, and for the foreseeable future,
to deal with many challenges over
only with the dealer.
the past couple of years – from the
“They will continue to source products from
pandemic to supply chain issues
multiple suppliers, and often competitors, in order to
caused by the Ever Given container
provide what their customers require. Maintaining and
ship getting stuck in the Suez Canal – but businesses have
cultivating multiple wholesale and vendor relationships,
shown the resilience to, in the main, continue to trade.
and marketing effectively multiple product and service
However, it looks like another turbulent year is in store, according to Graeme Hargreaves, group head
offers, will continue to remain critical.” Graeme recalls the free-of-charge wholesale CDC/
of merchandising at Nemo Office Club. “Realistically,
RDC model of distribution. “In a way, it was ahead of its
I think we can expect more of the same; disruption,
time if you look at what Amazon is doing with its large
fluctuating working patterns and uncertainty,” he says.
sheds around the country.
“I don’t expect the world to be in balance until the end
“For our sector, that model shifted to a single shed
of 2022 at the earliest. For dealers, who are well placed
placed centrally, and what is now chargeable fulfilment
to thrive in such times, this means remaining agile down
directly to the end user and via the dealer. What this
the supply chain and upwards to their customers.
forced the agile and adaptable dealer to do is to shop
“For supply, the need to shop around will remain
around - and they are getting used to it, which is not a
paramount. We are a long way - if we ever get there
bad thing in uncertain times. My belief is that we will
again - from a dealer being able to rely on a single
end up more with a series of specialist suppliers, akin
source of supply for the business consumables that they
to the old RDC model, but they will be ‘geographical’
now themselves offer. In this respect the ‘single source’
by product category rather than necessarily by location,
[20] DECEMBER 2021
www.dealersupport.co.uk
