8 minute read
DS LIVE - THE REVIEW
After a pandemic-induced hiatus, Dealer Support Live returned on October 21, and leading players from the sector came together again to network and talk about the future of the workplace supplies sector
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fter 19 months of disruption, a welcome dose of normality was delivered at the Coventry Building Society Arena in late October, when Dealer Support Live returned, bringing the sector together in a day of workshops, talks and networking. For many people this was one of the first – if not the first – industry events they had attended for many months, and it provided a valued chance to reconnect with friends and colleagues.
As ever, throughout the day there were seminars specially designed to help dealers operate more effectively. First up, James Skellington from Force24 talked about how dealers can make best use of email marketing to drive up business by creating more hot leads. Toby Robins, from Green Element, advised dealers on how to engage with the increasing number of environmentally savvy customers out there and convert this into more sales; with the environment becoming increasingly more important, especially to younger customers, this is something dealers need to pay attention to. Integra Business Solutions’ Robbie Burgess explored the lost art of product sales, and how sales staff can maximise sales opportunities to customers.
KEY TRENDS
Meanwhile, Helen Wade, marketing director at VOW Wholesale, analysed the current state of the sector and identified some of the key product trends and opportunities for resellers in the final part of this year and into 2022. Helen believes there are plenty of opportunities for resellers outside of their traditional markets - such as in warehouse and transport - to sell products from facilities ranges through to stationery and office. “Travel – air, sea and rail – is getting back on its feet now and I think is a market we can tap into,” she said.
She added that there are also plenty of opportunities for dealers to branch out into new
product lines where there is increasing demand, including catering, cleaning, hospitality and food services – in-house and takeaway.
In terms of key product trends, Helen felt that the environment has not been uppermost in people’s thinking for 18 months, but it is now coming back onto the agenda. “Ethical sourcing, product availability and improved packaging are all really important,” she said. “Remote and homeworking has been massive in the past 18 months and is something we need to ensure we cover with product range.
“People are looking for more affluent meeting spaces - with meeting room refreshments, people don’t want standard biscuits, they want healthy snacks, they want premium, and it is how we offer that as an industry.”
Helen added that immediate opportunities for dealers include ‘back-toschool’ packs, heaters for homeworkers, diaries and planners, hot drinks for the workplace, sanitisation at work and at home, hygiene – with paper towels and soap making a comeback – air purifiers, CO2 monitors, hybrid working equipment, such as business luggage and headsets, and Christmas products.
WORKING IN DIFFERENT WAYS
In the workshop that followed, Nick Brown from Fellowes outlined how people are working in different ways and how this presents ongoing opportunities for dealers. He noted that a survey in June found that 49% of homeworkers had inadequate workstations, and that dealers have opportunities as a result.
For instance, sales in monitor arms have grown by more than 1,000% in the past year, thanks to home and hybrid working, and it is value adding products such as this where dealers can sell, especially to those who have dual screens. Laptop risers have also grown in popularity for similar reasons – and they represent another cheap value add for dealers.
Nick explained how new ways of working have created new demands. For instance, Fellowes’ new shredder range demonstrates how aesthetics have been thought through carefully; it isn’t just a ‘black box’ anymore; people also want them to be smaller, and more easy on the eye, in order to fit into a home office environment.
Air purifiers were identified as another range that has grown in popularity for Fellowes across a range of sectors - both wall-mounted and plug-based. These Fellowes products have been proved to remove 99.9% of COVID-19, Nick said.
WORKWEAR
Next came Ben Jarvis of ECI Software Solutions who followed on by talking about the opportunities for dealers around workwear. Ben explained that workwear has grown strongly in recent years, and that this is down to several reasons, including the diversity of products that can be sold under the workwear banner, and the wide range of industries it can be sold to. Anything from shirts to safety equipment comes under the workwear banner.
Ben pointed out that construction is by far the biggest buyer of workwear, and for several reasons; a lot of work takes
place outside so seasonal clothing needs to be available, and there are various safety specifications that have to be considered - plus high levels of wear and tear. This is a market dealers can and should tap into – and then sell in other products.
DIGITALISING INFORMATION
After lunch Daniel Melly, partner manager at PFU (EMEA) Ltd, discussed the importance of taking information that is captured on paper and digitalising it by scanning it so it can be used and shared.
Paper is used by every organisation, but digitalising it can help to reduce costs and storage space, while increasing security and efficiency at the same time as dealing with compliance. Document scanners have an important role in enabling this. “With the increased amount of remote working, employees also need access to a range of information - and a lot of companies still have information locked up on paper,” he said.
REIMAGINING THE WORKPLACE
The final workshop of the afternoon saw Simon Williams and Keeley Shepherd from 3M team up to talk about reimagining the workplace, post-pandemic. Simon said work has changed and now many people will go into the office for a purpose, such as a meeting or to collaborate with colleagues, rather than just to answer emails, which can be done at home.
This, he said, presents opportunities for dealers to sell new and different products to customers. For instance, personalisation has been key for home workers, with more demand for different colours of products, for example. In the office, things like scrum boards have increased in demand.
Keeley added that dealers can have an almost consultative role with customers, and advising them on the equipment they need for the office, and at home, getting people excited and enthusiastic about products. In December’s issue of Dealer Support, there will be a review of the closing Question Time session featuring several industry heavyweights discussing the present and future of the sector.
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