Essendant introduces furniture program, recognizes suppliers

Essendant has launched a new workplace furniture fulfillment program called Alera Access Plus.

The wholesaler says the initiative offers a “streamlined process for faster, easier and more cost-effective large order fulfillment” and “optimizes” furniture ordering and delivery in a number of ways.

Two furniture distribution hubs—Sacramento, California and Cranbury, New Jersey—are stocked with over 600 Alera (an Essendant own brand) SKUs. Orders originate from the nearest of the two hubs based on destination zip code and can be shipped within two days for less-than-truckload dock-to-dock delivery.

Dealers can take advantage of an “aggressive” 50/20/20 triple discount off list price, plus prepaid freight on orders over $1,500.

“Furnishing a large space can be a challenging task with simultaneous unknowns: varied stock quantities, unpredictable shipping times and pricing challenges,” said Essendant in a press release. “Alera Access Plus is designed to address those issues.”

Senior sales director Adam Putz explained: “Our customers have been loud and clear that, when it comes to medium-to-large furnishing projects, they need a furniture distributor that has available inventory which can be fulfilled complete in one delivery, on time and at a competitive price.”

This is Essendant’s first furniture program of its kind and it said the customer reception has been “immediate.”

“Within the first month, we saw robust order volume—to date, we have had nearly 500 customers sign up,” Putz added.

In other news, Essendant recognized its top suppliers during its virtual conference event in July. The nominees and winners for each category were announced by different members of the Essendant team, with president Harry Dochelli and SVP of sales Renée Starr handling the duties for the final award, Supplier of the Year. The winners were:

• Rising Star: JM Smucker

• Content Excellence: Avery

• Supply Chain Excellence: Cascades

• Portfolio Management: TOPS

• Sales Collaboration: GOJO

• Supplier of the Year: Kimberly-Clark

The awards preceded a virtual trade show that featured around 60 Essendant suppliers across multiple product categories.