BEAVERSWOOD: A SIGN OF THE TIMES

BEAVERSWOOD may be a new name to the office supplies sector, but its range of products provides resellers a great opportunity to expand their offer to existing customers and break into new markets

The past 16 months have been tough for many office supplies dealers, with the pandemic affecting revenues significantly. Many found that diversifying into new markets could boost revenues, and this is still true as people return to the workplace in greater numbers.

Buyers are looking for new products such as floor markings to ensure people can return to their workplace safely, which means now is the perfect time for dealers to expand their product offering into this market.

Beaverswood can help with this. While the long-established company is a well-known and respected supplier in the warehousing and industrial sectors for its range of products, it is now moving into the office products market and can offer dealers something new, such as floor markings, signs and other visual communication products.

“Businesses need floor markings and signs, not just in warehouses but in reception areas, corridors and offices and there is an agile range of products we offer,” says Chris Bevis, key accounts manager at Beaverswood.

Beaverswood’s floor markings are durable, with an aggressive adhesive and anti-slip laminate designed to be long-lasting – and can be used in any type of workplace. It isn’t just about notices to keep one or two metres apart, it is about organising a workspace to be safer and more efficient by communicating directions, hazards and warnings.

COMPREHENSIVE RANGE

Beaverswood offers many other products relevant to office supplies resellers, such as the racksack® range of space-saving waste segregation products, and Visuclean®, a self-adhesive antimicrobial vinyl product.

Visuclean® is impregnated with antimicrobial properties, which means bacteria cannot grow on it and viruses cannot be transmitted through touch. It is ideal for workplace high-touch points, such as door handles, trolleys, kitchen cabinets or pallet trucks in warehouses. It can be used on practically any surface, cut to size and has a working life of about two years before it needs replacing - longer than many equivalent products on the market.

NEW MARKETS

Products such as the racksack® and Visuclean® can also help resellers to move into new markets, Chris adds. “Warehousing, 3PL and logistics are growing sectors and office supplies resellers can tap into them,” he says. “They can supply office products to the back office, but Beaverwood products also give the opportunity to open doors and sell items that are more pertaining to the back-of-house area or warehouse.

“While moving into a new sector can be difficult, Beaverswood gives resellers all the support they need to be confident in selling their products. Our reseller pack has everything resellers need to go to market; product descriptions, images, branded and unbranded materials – we even offer the option to brand it with the reseller’s logo. It also includes priced and unpriced materials, videos, blogs that resellers can link back to, training videos, webinars, we can also create web banners, email content and flyers for them.”

Another advantage is that Beaverwood does drop-ship fulfilment. “This means it is risk free – resellers don’t have to stock our product, they can sell it, place an order with us and we will deliver it straight to their customer,” says Chris.“We can use the reseller’s branded paperwork or plain notes, so it looks like it comes from the dealer. They don’t have to touch the product.”

Jeroen van den Berge, CEO of Beaverswood’s parent company IWS Group, adds: “We see a lot of convergence in the marketplace with resellers offering a one-stop solution, with an ever-expanding product range, to their customers. For dealers in the office products marketplace, now is the right time to adopt diversification and bring new products to their customers and use new products to break into new markets.

“We’re excited to introduce the Beaverswood specialist range of products because the opportunity fits so well, given our long-standing history of partnering with resellers to grow a category. Over the years we have centred on taking all the hassle out of the process such that the resellers can focus on serving their customers.”

HERITAGE

Wokingham-based Beaverswood was established in 1984, starting out producing self-adhesive numbers and letters. Beaverswood now has more than 1,500 SKUs across 30 product groups and company works with resellers across the UK and Europe.

The company is now part of the IWS Group, which includes impact safety specialists Brandsafe and The Rack Group. While the companies are specialists in their own fields, they work collaboratively to provide services and solutions in the industrial workplace.

Beaverswood has entered the office products market now after about 18 months of increasing interest from the sector. “We feel the time is right,” says Jim Roberts, Beaverswood’s commercial manager. “We have been releasing more products for the office space in recent years, so it is the next obvious step for us.”

As part of the move, Beaverswood has entered a deal to activate its catalogue on Fusion Plus. “Dealers are always looking for new, innovative and high-quality products to promote to their customers, so the timing could not be better for Beaverswood to introduce its ranges to the OP market,” said Steve Bilton, managing director of FusionPlus Data. “Beaverswood recognises that having fantastic products is one thing, but if the dealer doesn’t have the product content in their back-office and e-commerce systems, they can’t maximise the opportunity. Over 1,000 OP dealers use our supplier partner content in their systems, so we are delighted to help Beaverswood overcome this critical hurdle to accelerated and sustained success.”

Beaverswood gives resellers all the support they need to be confident in selling their products

If you are interested in becoming a reseller of Beaverswood products and would like more information, go to www.beaverswood.co.uk, email the Beaverswood team on sales@beaverswood.co.uk or call 0118 979 6096.