Vol 98 issue 11 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 R50.

inc vat

My Office Magazine www.facebook.com/shopsa.ZA

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE STATIONERY, HOME AND OFFICE PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION

BUMPER BUSINESS

FOR BTS SEASON

HOW TO SELL TEACHING AIDS

SCHOOL BAG

PROCUREMENT

HAND SANITATION FOR HEALTH “We’ve got all your Home, Office and School Stationery needs at affordable prices”

Head Office contact details: Tel: 032 459 2820 Fax: 032 459 3255

Email: careline@freedomstationery.co.za Website: www.freedomstationery.co.za

Contents My Office Magazine is the official magazine of the Southern African Association for Stationery, Home and Office Products. It is read by over 25 000 buyers and sellers of stationery and office products each month.

PUBLISHER Rob Mathews - robm@icon.co.za Kathy Gibson - kathy@futurewave.co.za EDITOR Mercédes Westbrook - mercedes@shop-sa.co.za CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGER Wendy Dancer - wendy@shop-sa.co.za NATIONAL OFFICE Design and Layout: Vanessa Bentley New Membership: Rachel Skink Reception: Ruth Montsho Johannesburg Office PO Box 3226, Parklands, 2121 6 Edward Street, Kensington B, Randburg, 2194 Tel: + 27 11 781 0370 Fax: + 27 11 781 2828 Email: info@shop-sa.co.za Website: www.myofficemagazine.co.za Cape Town Office PO Box 48431, Kommetjie, 7976 Tel: +27 21 780 1209 Cel: +27 78 970 7633 Email: info@shop-sa.co.za CONTRIBUTIONS

Vol 98 | November 2014 www.shop-sa.co.za | www.facebook.com/shopsa.za

NEWS

04 | GO FIGURE WITH FACTS Stats to study, analyse, interpret and present 42 | INDUSTRY NEWS Industry-related news and trade business announcements 52 | FINANCIAL BYTES Facts and figures from the business world 46 | ECO PAGES A green sustainability update, sponsored by Mondi

18

BACK TO SCHOOL

As the back to school (BTS) season gets underway, scholastic essentials are in high demand

SALES SAVVY

10 | THE BORING BASICS Sometimes businesses try to be the best at the cost of marketing basics 12 | HOW TO SELL: TEACHING AIDS By calling on all the five senses, teaching aids motivate learners to learn and retain knowledge 16 | INTERNATIONAL COMMENT: BEYOND BROKEN OPI’s Rick Marlette looks at the high cost of low pricing 28 | IT’S IN THE BAG School bags are an essential item, and parents must focus on quality and health benefits

RETAIL SAVVY

36 | LABEL LOGIC A labelling solution for every task and environment 38 | FOR ART’S SAKE Add a twist to your art box with these unique tools

Letters and editorial contributions are welcomed and should be addressed to the editor at editor@ shop-sa.co.za. Publication cannot be guaranteed and is subject to space and the editor’s

BUSINESS SAVVY

06 | LABOUR LAW: DEALING WITH POOR PERFORMANCE Dr Ivan Israelstam looks at what to do when senior employees fail to perform duties properly 08 | PRESENCE IS A STATE OF MIND Gavin Moffat examines the benefits of paying attention to your surroundings

SPECIAL FEATURES

discretion.

50 | WIN THIS Giveaway products to win and sample 63 | NEEDFUL THINGS A selection of handy, compact and protective items for back to school

THE LEGAL BIT Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy the publisher and editor cannot accept responsibility for supplied material. The opinions of contributors are not necessarily those of shop-sa. Copyright is strictly reserved and no part of this magazine

IN EVERY ISSUE

may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher.

Stationery sponsored by

Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

Office paper sponsored by

40

CLEAN HANDS, HEALTHY BODIES Waterless options to keep hands clean and germ-free

03 48 52 54 56 64

| | | | | |

EDITOR’S WELCOME CRIME ALERT WEB BUTTONS PRODUCT SHOWCASE BUYERS’ GUIDE PUNCHLINE

Published by

FUTURE WAVE

MEDIA my office magazine PRINTED BY Colorpress (pty) ltd.

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editor’s letter

Power to the BTS season

T

he back to school (BTS) season is boom time for suppliers and retailers, and usually lasts from November until February, assisted by the back to office upsurge in January.

This important season is reflected in the bumper size of this November issue, which focuses on the BTS trade environment.

Despite the predictable price wars and discount jockey-style trade manoeuvres, which end up serving no-one, we can also expect to see more creative sales and marketing campaigns across the Web and mobile networks, together with intelligent promotions and solid service level agreements that will underpin office products and office automation strategy this season. Take a look at some of the stats data revealed on page 4.

In our lead BTS feature on page 18, we take a look at the traditional top sellers - brands which have stood the test of time within the South African market along with the ever-increasing spread of opportunity into Africa.

During peak season, retailers will be www.shop-sa.co.za

challenged to stay focused on the unique selling points (USPs) that help products become best sellers: what challenge it helps the customer overcome, and product facts and figures which best serve the sale. This won’t be a time of referring to product catalogues; instead, consumerfacing sales representatives will need to know the product characteristics and values of each product, as well as the related guarantees, warranties and aftersales service agreements which come with the offering in order to streamline time and communication interfaces. Our feature on school bag procurement on page 28 as well as our teaching aids feature on page 12 support this sharing of product knowledge.

We explore the convenience of hand sanitizers on page 40 – a portable and effective product made available in packaging and dispensers for personal desk drawers, school bags and largeapplication manufacturing hygiene.

I would like to ask readers to please take special note of our international comment on page 16. Written by Rick Marlette for www.opi.net, it challenges the problems of loss-leader pricing in the global marketplace. In the December issue of My Office magazine, we will be providing a

more local perspective. Please e-mail with your thoughts and comments to editor@ shop-sa.co.za. We will respect any requests to remain anonymous in order to be able to reflect on all significant opinions within the sector.

We love being able to give you something for free. Enter our lucky draw competition in the Win This section on page 50 and stand a chance to experience products first-hand, made available by a selection of our valued members and advertisers.

If you would like to receive your own issue of My Office magazine, please visit www.shop-sa.co.za to register for a free subscription. We are delighted to announce that this month will see the launch of the My Office Online magazine and weekly newsletter, which will reach the end-user/consumer market with its direct editorial and marketing drives.

Until next time,

s e d é c r Me my office magazine

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data & digits

Go figure with facts We give you stats to study, analyse, interpret and present

Overall growth rate for self-paced e-learning in Africa is 15,2%.

Senegal has the highest growth rate in Africa at 30,4%, followed by Zambia at 27,9%, Zimbabwe at 25,1% and Kenya at 24,9%.

The South African government aims to have 1-million students enrolled at higher learning colleges by 2014.

“We’re not using our buying power properly,” says National Treasury chief director of strategic procurement Estelle Setan, of the shortcomings of the government’s existing public procurement processes. “There is also a lack of policy direction and certainty, as well as a lack of standardisation around common goods procured by government throughout the country, such as school desks. This gives us less control on monitoring and opens the door for corruption.”

It’s been estimated that SA has lost R650-billion to corruption over the last 18 years.

Using 3D printers imported from Germany and costing approximately €500 000 (R7,1-million), South African medical specialists have successfully created jaw bones for two facially deformed men at the Kimberley Hospital Complex in the Northern Cape.

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The bulk of South African exports are concentrated in a few mega firms which ship products to countries around the world, with approximately 1 000 companies generating 93% of all of the country’s exports. The rest of South Africa’s 20 000 exporting firms export small amounts.

Exports decreased from July to August by R8,19-billion (9,6%) and imports increased from July to August

by R1,28-billion (1,4%). The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R70,74-billion compared to R51,88-billion in 2013.

Manufacturing production decreased by 1,2% in August 2014 compared with August 2013. The 1,2% year-on-year decrease in manufacturing production was mainly due to lower production: • Wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (-11,3% and contributing 1,1 percentage points); • Petroleum, chemical products and rubber and plastic products (-3,9% and contributing -0,9 of a percentage point); • Glass and non-metallic mineral products (-13,4% and contributing -0,6 of a percentage point); • Basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (-3,1% and contributing 0,6 of a percentage point); and • Food and beverages (-2,0% and contributing -0,5 of a percentage point).

South Africa’s online advertising industry is worth R319-million - and it is growing rapidly. Online retail generates R688-million in sales, and online air ticket sales R3-billion.

In 2010 South Africa currently has over 12-million learners, some 386 600 teachers and approximately 26 000 schools, including 1 098 registered independent or privately owned schools.

The NEIMS Report highlights that of South Africa’s 24 793 public schools:19 037 schools do not have a computer centre, whilst a further 3 267 have a room designed as a computer centre but are not stocked with computers.

The number of cell phones in South Africa surpasses the number of people living here. On the average, every one of about 51-million South Africans (babies included) has 1,17 (or so) cell phones.

The country has 5,3-million personal computer users, making up 11% of the total population.

More South Africans use mobile phones (29-million) than listen to the radio (28-million) or use a personal computer (6-million).

85% of mobile users are Facebook users.

A Nielsen survey identifies Nokia as South Africa’s most popular cell phone – with smartphones an “aspirational” purchase.

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Vol 98 - November 2014

The Revolution is back PARKER IM unveils its new Metallic

Stripe Collection

an elegant and modern accessory London, January 2014 – PARKER reveals three new luxurious and contemporary finishes for its IM line. The new collection is inspired by the emblematic Vacumatic pen which took the industry by storm when it was first launched in 1933. This classic pen has inspired a fresh new finish for Parker’s contemporary collection of striking pens. In keeping with Parker’s tradition of both craftsmanship and innovation this new collection perfectly marries modern design with the brand’s rich heritage.

www.parkerpen.com

SSC Parker Vacumatic A4 ad 2

Available at all leading stationers and pen specialists

www.silveray.co.za

2014/10/16 1:35 PM

labour law ACKNOWLEDGMENT DR IVAN ISRAELSTAM

Dealing with poor performance A look at what to do when senior employees fail to perform duties properly

C

onfusion reigns amongst employers and employees as to what an employer can or cannot do when a senior employee fails to perform their duties properly. Much of this confusion lies in the apparently inconsistent findings on this issue amongst arbitrators. The problem lies more in the faulty interpretation of the arbitration awards than in the awards themselves.

Item 9 of the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal in Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) states that: “Any person determining whether a dismissal for poor work performance is unfair should consider: • Whether or not the employee failed to meet a performance standard, and if the employee did not meet a required performance standard whether or not the employee was aware, or could reasonably have been expected to be aware, of the required performance standard; • The employee was given a fair opportunity to meet the required performance standard; and • Dismissal was an appropriate sanction for not meeting the required performance standard.”

Items of the abovementioned code provide that: • An employee should not be dismissed for unsatisfactory performance unless the employer has given the employee appropriate evaluation, instruction, guidance, training or counselling; and after

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a reasonable period of time for improvement, the employee continues to perform unsatisfactorily.

• The procedure leading to dismissal should include an investigation to establish the reasons for the unsatisfactory performance and the employer should consider other ways, short of dismissal, to remedy the matter.

These guidelines make it clear that the employer does have the right to dismiss poor performers. However, this can only be acceptable if the employer can prove factually that it has, prior to the dismissal, complied with all the substantive and procedural requirements of the law. That is, the onus at the CCMA falls entirely on the employer to bring solid proof that it followed the procedural guidelines quoted above; and also that, regardless of the procedure followed, the dismissal decision itself was appropriate under the circumstances.

Poor performance by senior employees is even more crucial than that of junior staff. For example, where a senior executive fails to manage their division properly the whole division could be brought down and could even cause the demise of the entire enterprise.

Therefore, all arbitrators agree that employers have the right to terminate the employment of senior employees who misperform where the consequences or potential consequences of the misperformance are serious.

The big question revolves around how this must be done. That is, can the executive be fired without having received: • Clarity on the required performance standards; • Counselling; and • A chance to improve.

As shown here, the LRA requires that the standards of performance be set clearly at the outset and that the employee receives counselling and a chance to improve before being dismissed. In addition, it is vital that there is an investigation, part of which includes the employee’s opportunity to explain the alleged poor performance.

However, despite the above, it is common practice amongst arbitrators that the statutory procedures laid down in the LRA are less strictly applied when it comes to senior employees such as executives. For example, many arbitrators believe that a senior employee would require fewer prior warnings - if any before being dismissed. While this less protective approach in respect of senior employees is fairly standard, it does not mean that the employer may ignore all the legislation when it wishes to dismiss a poor performing senior executive.

For example, in the recent case of Fortuin versus Shoprite (2004, 3 BALR 314) Fortuin, a store manager, was dismissed for poor timekeeping and stock losses. The arbitrator found that there were no good reasons to justify the dismissal and that proper procedure had not been followed.

Although the employee was a manager he was still entitled to be counselled and to be given an opportunity to improve. As this had not happened, the manager was awarded one year’s remuneration in compensation.

This case throws doubt on the belief that a senior executive can, in all circumstances, be dismissed for a first offence of poor performance. It also means that, unless employers jack up their understanding and implementation of the law, more and more senior employees will be taking them to the CCMA and winning huge compensation awards.

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Vol 98 - November 2014

online landscape ACKNOWLEDGMENT GAVIN MOFFAT

Presence is a state of mind Paying attention to your surroundings has multiple benefits at work and at home

S

o there I was, having a henna tattoo drawn on the inside of my wrists.

My wife had just had a beautiful one drawn across the top of her left hand and over her wrist.

I had chosen the word “present” for the left wrist and “mindful” for the right.

I proceeded to be neither present nor mindful as the lady was doing her magic on my wrists. This resulted in me giving her insufficient direction, and I ended up with the word “present” looking like it was written in Elvish and “mindful” spelt with two “l”s. So much for being present and mindful.

The reason that I chose those two words is that they are the sum of so much more than just their definitions. In order to be aware of where we are and who we are with, we need to be in the

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moment, take part fully and engage as best we can. We need to be both present and mindful. It’s amazing how we can be there in body, but not present. Many people may be in the room but most are certainly not present. The best descriptor I have heard is “they are home but the lights aren’t on”.

Today’s technology has certainly not contributed in any way to being present.

People now sit on mobile phones just about everywhere and children are kept amused with iPads. The worst example I’ve seen is kids on their iPads while on a game drive in the bush, “so that they can be busy in between seeing the animals”. What happened to the adventure of spotting the animals and being present in the moment of searching for the next animal?

You choose how to live your life and whether to be present or not. It’s tough to maintain presence. There are tons of distractions. It is most apparent when you are around young children whose parents are not attentive and there for them. How often have you seen a child

call for their parent’s attention over and over again, just to be ignored? Instead of labelling the child as a brat, watch next time and wonder why it is that the child does that. It’s not their fault; it’s the fault of the parents for not being present.

Being present at work has rewards.

It means that you’re probably one of the few people that are. You will notice things about others, such as how they are really feeling, be in touch with nuances of human communication and linguistic inflections. You may even end up more in touch with the undertone or core values that people express in everything they do and say.

Being mindful in an office surrounding also means that you will probably be thinking before you respond and listening to entire sentences or questions before constructing your comeback.

Generally, being present and mindful will mean that you will avoid having semi-permanent tattoos in Elvish and misspelt words on your body.

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Vol 98 - November 2014

The Revolution is back

PARKER Urban unveils its new Metallic

Stripe Collection

an elegant and modern accessory London, January 2014 – PARKER reveals three new luxurious and contemporary finishes for its Urban line. The new collection is inspired by the emblematic Vacumatic pen which took the industry by storm when it was first launched in 1933. This classic pen has inspired a fresh new finish for Parker’s contemporary collection of striking pens. In keeping with Parker’s tradition of both craftsmanship and innovation this new collection perfectly marries modern design with the brand’s rich heritage.

www.parkerpen.com

SSC Parker Vacumatic A4 ad 4

Available at all leading stationers and pen specialists

www.silveray.co.za

2014/10/16 1:35 PM

marketing savvy ACKNOWLEDGMENT AKI KALLIATAKIS

The boring basics Sometimes businesses try to be the best at the cost of marketing basics

T

oday’s conventional wisdom - in incredibly competitive markets - is that the customer is the most important entity in a business and, in order to beat competitors, one must offer something unique and distinct in an already over-supplied market.

And that the only answer is to differentiate through branding, service and personal, memorable experiences.

But to focus on these without looking at the reality of most companies’ practices, we exaggerate the importance of being “special”. For example, how many customers do you think feel like they are number one in your business? Perhaps 1%?

Ask customers when they last had an amazing service experience and there is usually silence. But if you ask any customer about their latest bad experience, they will tell you about one of many transactions that drove them to drink just last week. Shoddy quality and workmanship; processes and rules that just don’t work; seemingly indifferent, incompetent or discourteous staff; products as advertised not being available; long delays and queues; Web sites or ATMs that just don’t work; and,

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most of all, a lack of willingness or desire to fix what is broken.

We think that offering something unique to customers will be great for attracting and keeping them loyal, but we couldn’t be further from the truth.

Customers want something and are prepared to pay for it if it meets their basic needs. If you do that better and more conveniently than your rivals, you are off to a great start. If you don’t get the basics incredibly right, no matter what else you do it will fall flat. The foundation must be strong, or everything will crumble, and no amount of differentiation or innovation will fix this. Once the basics are in place, and you ensure that your business can reliably meet your customers’ reasonable expectations, then you can start looking at your emotional branding and create radical, distinctive and innovative experiences.

Why do we seem to fail to do this in most organisations? First, top managers don’t spend enough time speaking directly with their customers, or experiencing what their customers are experiencing in their business. Second, the people on the front line who do deal with customers don’t tell their bosses the bad news. Third, because of the repetitive and routine nature of most work in business, people get bored and want to try things out that are more exciting – without checking whether this

is what customers actually want. We go for the latest management fads; pursuing novelty and uniqueness, and what matters most to us.

Some of you may remember a chain of bakeries that opened in Johannesburg in the 1980s call La Baguette. They focused mainly on bread and pastries, and the products were brilliant - crispy breads, delicious croissants and beautifully crafted tarts. They were so popular that queues jammed the door. They had brought a little bit of Paris to customers.

And then they suddenly closed down.

What happened? To put it bluntly, it was a hassle. Cars double and triple parked outside. As delicious as the products were, there was nothing else that one could buy.

There was no convenience of picking up your milk and newspapers while you were there, or ordering your child’s birthday cake when you bought all the other stuff for the same party.

The primary way to gain customers and create loyalty is to differentiate your business from your competitors in ways that matter to customers. And for most of them it’s first about getting the boring basics right: quality products; decent treatment; fair prices; stock availability; short queues; a nice environment; a focus on safety; good hygiene and security; and so on.

It’s not so hard, really.

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Vol 98 - November 2014

how to sell

Teaching aids By calling on all five senses, teaching aids motivate students to learn and retain knowledge

W

ith children reading fewer books on their own, reading comprehension is at an all-time low amongst students of today. This is just one of the areas where teaching aids have become highly important as a learning tool. They can also be used to explain complicated concepts or to show students something they may never see in reality.

Since we all have a tendency to forget, teaching aids, in addition to the learning process, enable students to retain information too. This is because teaching aids create an actual

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experience which stimulates the senses and create interest and excitement in the learner. A classroom full of bored and demotivated students is not going to be attentive, alert or open to learning anything.

When students are actively involved in the learning process – instead of just being in receipt of a one-way stream of information – they are better able to define abstract concepts precisely, quickly and easily.

Teaching aids which appeal to all the senses promote faster learning and better comprehension. This ranges from the basics right through to cutting-edge digital hardware and software, such as a blackboard or whiteboard, audio visual equipment, video projectors, tablets, radio, printed materials,

Points to consider for the school environment Learning aids: • Must be appropriate for the lesson, otherwise they may cause confusion; • Should be large enough to be seen by pupils at back of the classroom; • Must be easily understood by all the cognitive levels of pupils; • Must be easily connected to the topic at hand; • Must encourage pupil participation and engage their attention; • Should be as natural as possible and near to the real thing; and • Should be able to be manipulated for better interactivity.

Vol 98 - November 2014

Rexel raises over R1m for CANSA! R1 063 131.97

R A I S E D TO D AT E

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C / 9C 0M 6Y 47K

Pantone 688C / 0C 50M 0Y 20K

e 226C / 0C 20M 0Y 0K

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www.rexelsa.co.za

how to sell posters and pin boards, instruction manuals, computers and computer software, film, the World Wide Web, live demonstrations, digital images and interactive objects and toys.

Today’s learning tools provide effective activities that have been creatively designed to improve vocabulary and reading comprehension. Most importantly, teaching aids provide a new and exciting way in which learners can engage with the material and thereby access new information.

CAPS-aligned educational resources from Grade R throughout the Foundation, Intermediate and Senior Phase underpin the school curricula but Early Childhood Development and early detection of learning difficulties should already be the focus at kindergarten level.

Not just aimed at younger students, learning tools are available for high school learners, university students, corporate and business learning environments, and support products for the trainers and teachers themselves.

For example, support in teaching languages and effective business skills, teacher training “survival guides” and teaching plans.

Bright Start learners recently benefited from the handover of 37 iPads donated by FUEL - an organisation focused on providing out-of-classroom support for learners.

Despite the children never having held an iPad before, they easily managed to interact with the intuitive apps and games – underlining the power engagement has in learning.

Studies in neurobiology, neurodevelopment and early intervention show that the years from birth to age five are critically important for brain development. There is a plethora of educational apps available which have been developed for iPads. These apps are intuitive; help improve fine motor development; and grow colour, letter and number recognition - all in an engaging way.

A recent study conducted in a US pre-school showed that for every dollar invested in early learning, society would save up to seven times that amount in later education and other societal costs. Says FUEL’s CEO, Craig Reid: “We have seen first-hand the high levels of adult illiteracy and the challenges that this brings within a corporate environment, and we believe passionately that intervening at the early childhood

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Naeema in pink with Ave Thandwa also in pre-primary school and her mother Bulelwa in grey

Qama Tyawana in pre-primary school with her mother Busi

Craig Reid CEO of FUEL and Carolynne Stelling, executive director at Bright Start

Vol 98 - November 2014

how to sell

development phase can make a big difference.”

Faith Makgoba, a Sunward Park learner, says the launch of e-textbooks in the classroom has made the learning experience that much easier and more enjoyable, adding that the initiative had also relieved them of school bags full of heavy text books that they used to carry to school every day. “We can now access previous question papers, which will help us with our exam preparations, as well as general learning. We also are no longer limited to the resources provided at the school - the tablets enable us to access all e-learning material from the portal.”

Google’s Connected Classrooms Google has launched “Connected Classrooms”, which is aimed at exploring historic spots related to South Africa’s 20 Years of Democracy. The second in the series, it offers schools from across the world the opportunity to visit South Africa’s famous Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, without leaving their classrooms.

The virtual field trip, organised

by Google and 21 Icons, allowed children to follow a tour through the Constitutional Court, the Old Fort and Number 4 prison, participate in interactive learning sessions and ask questions of historians. Classrooms could join via Google+, Hangouts, or watch live and chat on YouTube.

E-learning refers to any form of learning and teaching that is supported electronically. The related benefits of e-learning prove to be a fantastic brand offering initiative too. With the objective of enhancing professionalism within the industry, Camargue launched a free

online, IISA-accredited training initiative.

“This is an industry first - no other insurance company in South Africa offers this type of service,” says MD Mitch Marescia.

As part of its initiative to enable students across Africa to study with hightouch interactive support, the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Commerce, in partnership with GetSmarter, launched a suite of online postgraduate diplomas late last month.

Sangari has launched The iBox, which turns any urban or rural classroom, office and learning institution into an interactive teaching and learning environment, irrespective of the location. The locally-assembled iBox incorporates a projector, laptop, PC, teacher tablet, sound system and whiteboard. The compact unit can be stored in a safe place after use and, because it is portable, can be used in any environment where an image can be projected.

At corporate level, e-learning further streamlines the learning process since “students” have complete control over their own learning process. Each user is given their own user name and password, and they are able to log out of a training session at any time and resume it later when it suits them.

Users have to reach specific levels of achievement before passing a module, and have to pass one section before they can move on to the next. Users are given three attempts to pass before moving on along programmes that are customised and follow a structured and specific sequence.

E-learning, no matter the size of business, can cut training costs by up to 70% - partly due to the fact that trainers and training material don’t have to be transported to outlying areas.

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Points to consider for the e-learning environment •

•

•

•

•

•

Corporate training requires rapid training facilitation in order to retrain people in new technologies, products, services and programmes.

Training needs to be highly interactive in design and customised to the purpose.

Programmes must be formulated and administered by dedicated specialists.

All stages of learning need to provide rich visuals, infographics, video, gamification, and scenario-based training to allow for realtime student communication with lecturers, tutors and one another during all stages of learning.

Materials must provide case studies, video lectures from industry thought leaders, practically focused projects and interactive learning methods such as module notes, discussion forums, practice quizzes, tests, recommended reading and references.

Hardware and bandwidth needs to provide for adequate web speeds and facilitation of online learning data.

international comment ACKNOWLEDGMENT This article by Rick Marlette first appeared in www.opi.net and is reprinted with permission. It has been shortened for space.

Procurement systems: beyond broken The high cost of low pricing

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ou’ve likely heard about Staples’ New York State contract last year when it bid one penny on around 200 of the top office supply items used by the state.

Some think this is a great deal for the state, while others are laughing at Staples having to deliver on these ridiculous promises. I see a procurement system that is broken beyond any hope of correction.

There are products and services that can benefit from centralised purchasing agencies, such as high-cost and complex items, intricate configurations or difficult installations. Run-of-the-mill office supplies are none of these and do not require special purchasing skills.

What has happened in many organisations is that centralised purchasing departments have hijacked these everyday items to bolster their own existence. The more dollars that are under their control, the more power these agencies have.

Another problem is the cost that gets added to the process. Many state office supply contracts include an “administrative fee” of up to 5% to cover the added cost these agencies generate.

This fee is paid by the vendor. When you ask the purchasing agency about these fees, it claims that none of the fee is passed along to the state.

The process used to work until the national chains showed up. If you were a local business and you wanted to do business with your state, you had to play by the rules. The state wielded tremendous power over your business, with or without a state contract, and to intentionally do the state wrong meant certain doom for your business.

The reverse is true when it comes to the chains. Handing out milliondollar prebate cheques buys you a lot of “looking the other way”. And if that doesn’t work, there are always the lawyers and the threat of a lawsuit.

With the New York contract, Staples revealed how all the loss-leader contracts work. A few items are priced cheap – absurdly so in the case of New York – with the intention of making it up elsewhere. The minute a loss-leader contract is signed, a team of skilled individuals commences work on the task of making sure you can’t take advantage Visit our Web site, www.myofficemagazine. co.za, to read the article entitled Staples struggles to fill orders for one cent office products.

of these low-priced items without also paying for them many times over by buying the high-priced items.

So what happens when users cannot get the contracted items? They purchase off contract and pay dearly for them. The contractor knows that once they get a user off contract, they stay off contract and the high cost of the low price quickly starts to add up.

In order to honestly evaluate these loss-leader contracts, you have to take into consideration every item that was purchased off contract that could have been purchased on contract and add in those additional costs.

Then you need to check Web sites that have to compete for business every day.

You may find half of the items purchased under contract are being sold to the general public for 15% less than the contracted price.

Every time I have used this method of evaluating a loss-leader contract, it consistently works out that the organisation would be better off paying the full price for everything.

The office supply industry, like many others, has changed drastically with the Internet; however, this archaic bidding on a core list of items remains stubbornly entrenched in many organisations. Who does this process really serve?

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Comments can be sent to editor@shop-sa.co.za. Anonymous letters accepted.

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Vol 98 - November 2014

ENERGY SMART

AUTOMATIC REVERSE

BTS

Back to school

best sellers As the back to school (BTS) season gets underway, scholastic essentials are in high demand

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ith parents and students preparing for the return to school in January, suppliers and retail environments will experience high demand for stationery, school supplies and electronic items necessary for school, college and university students across the country.

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Schools often send out lists of recommended brands, sizes, and quantities of items, depending on the courses being studied. These lists may include items such as mechanical pens, notebooks, flash drives, phones and chargers, calculators, thesauruses and specific styles of display books and binders.

Consumers, constrained by the economy and tighter budgets, will be shopping with price considerations in mind. Retailers and suppliers will be

challenged to focus on delivering the value propositions of a branded item’s performance, quality and durability. In order to avoid seasonal queues over this busy buying season, retailers will need prior understanding and working knowledge of the benefits of each individual product’s specifications.

As many as two-thirds of parents say their children influence their purchases when shopping. This supports the need for an additional stream of cartoonbranded products and accessories for Vol 98 - November 2014

BTS display alongside the traditional BTS products on retail shelves.

With a little creativity and small, inexpensive add-on offerings, retailers can expand the basic BTS product sales to include child-inspired merchandise.

Pens Pens allow for complete consumer customisation to the specific requirements for a task. Consumers can choose almost every aspect of their pen, from size to shape of the cylinder body and the type of nib. These nibs are ball point, roller ball or felt tip, and can further be defined by size for micro, fine, medium or wide point script.

Traditional colour inks for students and teachers come in a range of blue, black, green and red inks in standard ball point pens, while craft and specialty pens widen the range with a variety of gel roller ball colours in neon and pearlescent. Ball point pens use oil-based inks, while roller ball pens use water-based inks which are more easily absorbed by the paper. A gel pen uses ink in which pigment is suspended in a water-based gel, and because the ink is thick and opaque, it shows up more clearly on dark or slick, smooth surfaces.

Modern inks also offer the erasable pen, with the ink made up of a rubber cement solution which can be lifted off the page. However, these are not encouraged in learning environments. For portability and cleanliness, some nibs can be retracted with twist or click cylinders. Some pens come with a removable cap. The cylinder of the pen is usually made of a coloured or clear barrel in plastic, stainless steel or even recycled materials, such as those in the eco pen ranges. A pen’s barrel is usually cylindrical but can also be threeor multi-sided for improved grip.

Marker pens: bullet or chisel heads Marker pens feature pressed fibre felt tips in red, blue, green and black, and are designed for use on most surfaces. The heads of the markers come in bullet or chisel shapes. Permanent markers are used for tagging and marking stationery or for conveying information on surfaces such as glass, plastic, wood, metal and stone. The ink is resistant to rubbing and water and can last for many years. Non-permanent markers use erasable ink for use on smooth, non-porous surfaces such as classroom whiteboards and overhead projectors, and can be used by children as they do not contain the chemical compounds xylene or toluene as used in permanent markers.

Highlighter pens Highlighter pens are used to draw attention to sections of text for learning or teaching. Much like the traditional writing pen, its design is offered in a barrel or rectangular shape, with retractable and round, chisel or fine point nibs. These enable a fine underline or highlight two lines of text at a time. Colours are offered in vivid fluorescent tints, along with unique selling points such as technology to prevent the pen drying, and wax or gel stick formats which offer smear protection and colour that won’t bleed though paper. Both ink and highlighter pens are offered with pocket-style clip lids, as well as retail-ready packaged varieties and bulk boxes offering a range of assorted colours. Highlighters for desktop use are also sold with easy access display tubes and containers.

Colouring pens Fibre-tipped colouring pens, or kokis, are suitable for all tasks.

The broad-tipped pens are best for colouring larger areas and the fine tips are suitable for detailed work. Safe for use children’s varieties provide double-ended colours and barrel grips, with ink that can easily be washed out of clothing.

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Vol 98 - November 2014

BTS Crayons From vibrant rich colours to lighter pastel shades, colouring crayons come in moulded non-toxic wax, gel, oil pastels and chalk varieties for paper and board of varying media. The grip can be cylindrical with paper wrap, hexagonal, in a twist up barrel, or self-sharpening for older age groups. Available in box packs of 12s and 24s, they expand all the way up to artist kits featuring over 100 colours.

Pencils HB pencils are the writing instruments required by children up to Grade 4, so that work can be erased and redone in order to refine the learning process. With a variety of harder and softer graphite leads, they are also used in the office and art and craft environments. For school use, there are now wood-free pencils made from synthetic resin material - which resists splintering, breaking and chewing - and eco-friendly pencils made from recycled materials. Some varieties offer an eraser on the tip, or come in combination packs with additional sharpener and erasers.

Add-ons for retail shelves

Water bottles, wallets, cyclist Mechanical pencils Mechanical or clutch pencils can be used reflector straps or jackets, for basic office or school activities but also sunscreen, pocket tissues, for drafting, art and drawing. They offer a hair accessories, watches, replaceable lead of graphite or solid pigments cell phones, skateboards, which can be moved forward without the need educational games and for sharpening. They provide for a constant line learning toys. thickness. Divided into two types, there are those that hold the lead and push it forward during use; and those that hold the lead in place and are moved forward with a top or side button, or twist mechanism. The clutch pencil can hold thicker leads (2mm to 5,6mm) while some pencils offer several mechanisms that fit into the same cylinder housing to offer a range of thicknesses (0,3mm to 0,7mm) within one shaft. Mechanical pencils are particularly relevant for specialist functions where the grip and balance of weight must stay consistent. There is no sharpening required and it can be used for many years.

Coloured pencils A mainstay of every school pencil case, rich and softly coloured pencils allow small children to be creative, but they can also be used for adult projects. Available in varying sizes and lengths to fit the hand, they come in eco-friendly and erasable set varieties.

Staplers Top back to school staplers are durable yet lightweight and easily portable, and innovatively engineered to reduce staple jams with smooth, low-force operations. The number of pages that can be stapled at one time, or sheet capacity, and throat depth specifications are important when handling different levels of tasks. Long reach staplers are ideal for accurate centre stapling of booklets, reports and brochures, and can provide permanent stapling options. Whether stainless steel or made from recycled plastic, their weighted base make them stable on a flat surface.

Sharpeners Hand-held sharpeners lead the BTS market, while electric and battery-operated portable sharpeners meet the needs of the Back to Office trade season. In an array of colours and shapes, school sharpeners feature either a single opening for standard pencils or a double opening for larger art pencils, with a blade to shave the

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Vol 98 - November 2014

Phoenix Distribution, part of the First Technology Holdings Group, concentrates on providing specialist distribution services to its partners in the IT sector.

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BTS wood surrounding the lead thereby sharpening the point. Electric pencil sharpeners work in much the same way with a cylindrical cutter rotated by an electric motor. Specific models can include an auto-stop feature when it senses the tip of the pencil is sharp enough.

Rulers Desk rulers are used to rule straight lines, measure length and act as a guide for cutting with a blade. Made from wood, plastic or metal, they can also have a raised centre piece with which to hold it in place. Coloured and branded rulers come in many different themes, while shorter varieties can fit into pockets or smaller zip cases. Geometry ruler sets for maths class provide four piece 20cm or 30cm size ruler selections.

Erasers Scented, layered, coloured or quality branded, the BTS season sees a variety of shapes, sizes and colours of erasers. Typically made from synthetic materials, more specialised varieties include vinyl, gum or soy-based gum. Vinyl erasers are softer and less abrasive than standard erasers, and therefore less likely to damage canvas or paper. They are used for light marks and precision erasing, such as those made by engineers on technical drawings. Felt erasers are used for markings on chalk or whiteboards and consist of a felt pad that absorbs the surface materials.

Math sets Math sets form part of the school curriculum’s stationery requirements. Standard sets usually include a self-centring compass, 9cm pencil, 30cm folding ruler, mechanical pencil, metal sharpener, eraser, protractor and two set squares. Nineand 15-piece technical drawing sets provide more precision tools required for technical tasks.

Files and storage Essential for keeping papers and data protected and organised for mobility, presentation and revision purposes, files and folders come in a wide range of formats. Hanging or suspension files meet the needs of people who need their data close at hand. Box files are used for long term storage that is easy to access, while slim-line plastic files and cardboard folders enable easy access and portability. Projects can be transported in both folders. Pouches, flip files and display books provide for different size and page combinations. The addition of index dividers in alphabetic, colour-coded combos and adhesive tabs make the addition of directories easier.

USB flash drives in pocket-size designs offer expansive capacities for reliable flash memory storage and file transfer.

They can offer password protection facilities to protect personal data when in sharing or transit.

Lap desks Many children in South Africa don’t have the privilege of working at a desk and this is where lap desks provide a practical solution. Light and durable (less than 1kg), a lap desk rests on a child’s lap and provides them with a surface to write on, whether they are sitting on a chair or the floor. Highly portable, they also make the task of doing homework easier. According to teachers surveyed, lap desks have enhanced learner’s handwriting, making it easier to read, with a 65% improvement in homework delivery.

Teachers also noted that 72% of learners were able to write more during a lesson, 69% of learners showed improved concentration, and 76% of learners were more motivated after receiving and using their own portable lap desk. Made from safe mixed polymer to provide flexibility, lap desks come with a six-year guarantee and form an essential role in educating the nation’s less advantaged learners.

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Covering books is child’s play with Croxley Croxley, the leading name for the best quality paper and stationery products, is proud to introduce the Croxley All-inOne A4 72 Page Exercise Book. This innovative product removes the need for coloured covers, plastic covers, labels and tape. The book comes complete with a strong laminated cover, integrated self-

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adhesive label and a colour-coding strip.

It’s the end of the “book covering production line”.

By following six simple instructions found inside the front cover, the book is labelled, colour-coded and ready to use. The target market for this book is primary and high school pupils.

Hillel Cohen, Croxley business manager at Silveray Stationary Company, says: “Most people dislike covering books and this provides an easy, timesaving solution.”

The product will be available at leading retailers and stationery suppliers from 1 November 2014.

Vol 98 - November 2014

OF THE YEAR 2014

OF THE YEAR 2014

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advertorial

Keeping track of your belongings is child’s play with a durable label from your P-Touch® labelling machine Why do Brother P-Touch laminated labels last longer? It’s because our laminated TZe tapes consist of six layers of materials, resulting in a thin yet extremely strong label.

The thermal transfer ink is sandwiched between two protective layers of PET (polyester film), which protects the text against the effects of liquids, abrasion, temperature, chemicals and sunlight. So all our labels have been tested to the extreme and you can be confident of a professionalquality label that has been designed to last.

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Tapes for all types of jobs Choosing the correct TZe label tape for the job is crucial. That is why Brother has a range of tapes specifically designed for different labelling applications.

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TZe Laminated Tape: Unlike ordinary labels, our unique laminated tape technology ensures that your text is sandwiched between a layer of super-clear polyethylene and the durable base layer.

Flexible: Designed for wrapping around small-diameter curved surfaces such as power cables and conduit/pipes, they are also perfect for where the label needs to be stuck on to itself (flagging).

Strong Adhesive: Our strong adhesive tape demonstrates 50% more adhesive strength on average compared to our standard tape.

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Denton Office Solutions:

Helping you to protect yourself With the rush to benefit from Back to School deals, retail stores can plan on seeing more customers this quarter than at any other time. Please do not be a victim of identity theft this festive season.

The South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) has revealed that they receive up to 25 identity theft complaints per day, and that a shocking 23% of all fraud cases are linked to impersonation.

Criminals obtain personal information from dustbins, credit card slips, purchased items and invoices and can duplicate your details in various ways to register for new credit or bank cards and run up debt in your name.

“The effects of ID theft are devastating”, says Mr Vernon Denton, who has over 40 years of identity theft awareness.

“Potentially, it can mess up your credit records for years to come and it takes forever to rectify the problem.”

To assist you reduce the risk over this busy season, Denton Office Solutions (D.O.S) advises:

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Obtain a report of your credit profile on a regular basis to check for irregularities.

• As a consumer you have the right to obtain one free credit report each year from each credit bureau. Use these reports to check if any institutions have made enquiries about you. This could indicate that your details have been used without your authorisation.

• Report identity theft immediately to the South African Police Services (SAPS).

• Always shred documents that contain personal information instead of throwing them away. Your rubbish bin is a great source of information, so ensure your documents are unreadable before you dispose of them.

Contact D.O.S on 060 000 1777 or visit www.dosptyltd.biz to learn about security standards on document shredding and how to select the most efficient way of destroying evidence that could lead to crime against you. Together we can “nip it in the bud”.

Vol 98 - November 2014

school bags

It’s in the bag School bags are an essential item, and parents must focus on quality and health benefits Types of bags School bags come in the form of a briefcase, backpack or trolley. There are also ranges for sports kit bags, lunch bags, music bags and project or art bags. Smaller bags which can be included in the offering are wallets, which are sometimes offered as a matching attachment to a school bag, as well as cell phone cases and covers. University students will often need a laptop bag in briefcase or backpack style.

It is important to be able to offer customers a range of sizes from junior to senior - as well as for boys and girls - as a school bag needs to fit the owner correctly in order to avoid damaging the posture of growing spines.

Consumers will need to be advised not to buy an overly-large bag to save money, in the hopes it will last longer, but to purchase a bag that is appropriate to the child’s size and weight-carrying capacity.

Moulded backpacks and frames offer support and an upright structure. Those with adjustable hip straps allow the weight of the bag to rest on the pelvis instead of the shoulders and spine.

Support straps, especially at the shoulders where most of the weight is supported, should have extra padding to help reduce the pressure on the neck and shoulder muscles. Adjustable strap lengths are important in order to make allowance for children’s growth.

The bag should also offer multiple

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pouches or compartments to allow for the even distribution of weight throughout the bag. This promotes better balance and stability. Compartments will be needed to keep textbooks and lunch boxes separate, while exterior water bottle pouches make access to hydration quick and easy, without the risk of spills.

Cheap school bags offer no infrastructure or support and feature insufficiently padded or shaped straps.

If the bag hangs away from the child’s back, it forces the child to compensate by thrusting his shoulders forward, contracting the chest muscles and rounding his back in an attempt to carry the bag’s weight on his back. This posture position will become a habit and the child will ruin his posture for life, with rounded shoulders evident in many teenagers.

bags, when in all likelihood the inferior material and production methods are the contributing factors.”

With a three-year guarantee on all Totem’s schoolbags, Hirschfield says the brand has been torture-tested to withstand the normal wear and tear that kids dish out and still see through the guarantee of three years.

“Replacing bags once or more a year is an expensive exercise for any parent. Totem bags are endorsed by the Chiropractors

Quality “The majority of school bags are designed for the books and not for the kids that carry them,” says Nadine Hirschfield, MD of Totem Bags. “For most families, buying backpacks has become an annual ritual and expense.

“Due to the lack of standards testing in South Africa, most schoolbags are guaranteed to break within a year. The bags often fall apart from the excessive weight, resulting in a costly ongoing outlay. Parents tend to lay blame on the poor child for abuse of their school Vol 98 - November 2014

school bags Association of South Africa (CASA) and genuinely last for three years or more. We get very few returns,” adds Hirschfield.

School bags need to be tough, since they are used daily. The fabric will need to be durable and of a good denier polyester, leather or canvas.

Bags should also be lightweight, made from breathable material, and be relatively water resistant.

Zips and attachments will need to be of good quality, and pockets and seams need double stitching to prevent split seams. Look for brands that offer guarantees on the opening mechanisms and fabric.

Reflective fabrics will also offer the benefit of visibility when cycling or walking in low-light hours.

Brands Branded bags may be more expensive but they also guarantee higher quality and support for the school-goer’s health. Due to the research and development carried out on the proper construction of a bag, brands can offer quality.

As children are still growing, their spines need to be protected from permanent injury caused by the constant strain of picking up and carrying a heavy school bag. Branded school bags are often endorsed by an accredited orthopaedic or chiropractic body, ensuring an ergonomic design that evenly distributes and supports weight.

Comprehensive research in South Africa has established that schoolchildren between the ages of 10 and puberty are the most vulnerable and most likely to suffer with some form of posture problem.

The problem is further exacerbated during the formative years, when growth spurts are prevalent and young muscles and joints are straining to develop.

Even if a child is taken to and from school by car or bus, he is still carrying the bag to and from the various lessons. It is an accumulative effect of carrying the load around every day, for months and years. To easily relate to the weight problem, it’s the equivalent of an adult female carrying two 10kg bags of dog food around all day.

Johannesburg-based chiropractor Brad Beira, who specialises in treating children, says that most of the children he treats have tightness and soreness related to their school bags. “Muscles that pull at the neck can set up a cycle which can lead to spinal distress or spinal damage.

“Headaches and back pain can affect children’s concentration and cause www.shop-sa.co.za

DID YOU KNOW? Regular use of heavy, overstuffed school bags and inappropriate carrying methods can put children at the risk of musculoskeletal problems and changes to the body’s posture. The globally recommended safe load limit is 10% to 15% of the child’s body weight.

The trolley bag Parents may think a trolley bag is the solution to health considerations, as the weight may be carried on the ground, but it is not an ideal way to carry weight over the long term.

Physiotherapists advise that pulling a trolley bag rotates the shoulder backwards and twists the spine.

This can encourage distortion by lengthening. It is also cumbersome on an uneven surface and often twists the wrist when the bag flips.

The trolley bag is a bag that was primarily designed for short-term use and is most efficient at an airport for limited use.

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restlessness in the classroom. Chronic back and neck strain related to carrying weight can also lead to depression and poor achievement. Strained muscles also cause conditions such as post nasal drip and congestion.

“Unfortunately the condition is well under-diagnosed.”

By choosing a well-established brand, backed by prevailing health authorities, retailers will experience very few returns.

Bag selection by schools Many schools prohibit their pupils from using a bag of their choice and these

children are forced to buy prescribed or “allocated” school bags, with no design consideration given to the child that has to wear the bag. The colour of the bag and the school logo often takes precedence.

Totem Bags now offers schools a healthy option by printing or embroidering the school logo on a custom-coloured school bag, and is already producing schoolbags in various sizes for a number of private schools in South Africa.

Comments Hirschfield: “Parents should collectively take a stronger stance by participating in the selection of the “best choice” of schoolbag. School books

should not take precedence over a child’s health.”

Fashion Selecting a school bag that is good, sturdy and big enough won’t necessarily ensure its appeal with the owner. A school bag is an important fashion statement for students: because they use the same bag every day, it becomes a reflection of personal style. If the wearer likes the bag and has an attachment to its style and colours, the bag will be handled more carefully and potentially last much longer.

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iSTAY LAPTOP RUCKSACK Design coming together with practicality in the iStay range. The college of Chiropractors has commended the iStay range for its potential to help users avoid musculoskeletal discomfort and other pains from carrying heavy bags.

Rucksack features: • Padded 16” laptop compartment • Complete with the non slip iStay • Water resistant patented bag straps • Two mesh side pockets • Gun metal fittings • Contour organiser zips • Multiple compartments

Tel: 060 000 1777 E-mail: info@dosptyltd.biz www.dosptyltd.biz

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Vol 98 - November 2014

labelling

Label logic A labelling solution for every task and environment

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chool stationery lists require students to start the year with a large number of newly purchased stationery items - many of which may be hard for children to keep track of.

Retailers can assist consumers by selling them a convenient and task-appropriate labelling solution to ensure that the parents’ investment in stationery isn’t wasted.

When belongings are clearly labelled with the owner’s details, the chances are increased that the article will be returned to the owner. It also assists schools and learning environments in maintaining lost property cupboards.

With a solution for every item needing a label, parents can tag clothing, stationery, books, sports equipment, musical instruments, lunchboxes, medicines, laptops, cell phones, calculators, books, flash drives, bottles, lunch boxes, Tupperware, toiletries, cycling helmets, raincoats, umbrellas, bags, brushes,

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combs, diaries, wallets, CDs, DVDs, shoes and socks.

In the office environment, labelling solutions offer identification and sorting activities when handling files, post, packaging and wrapping, stationery, gifts, photographs, CDs and DVDs.

when marking their work. These include smiley faces, stars, hearts and words of encouragement. Creative, fun stickers, such as mood faces and cute animals, can be used by children for decorating letters, cards or school projects. They come in mixed packs of bright, eye-catching colours.

Types of school labels Ready-made, stick-on, adhesive labels are available for naming textbooks, files and personal items such as medicine bottles. This is useful for an allergy alert, or for biology experiments. Name labels provide uniformity for exercise books, and can also be personalised with “colour your own” options that encourage younger children’s creativity and sense of ownership.

Self-adhesive book covers provide a sticky film that is ideal for covering books, files, and cards. It provides a convenient alternative to lamination. Not only does it protect books from the wear and tear of daily use, but it also means they can be wiped clean of spills and sticky fingerprints, increasing their lifespan.

Stickers in both English and Afrikaans languages are a quick and easy way for teachers to inspire younger students

Iron-on labels are effective for tagging school uniforms, sports gear and shoes.

Quick to apply with the heat of a hot iron, the labels are flexible and durable, Vol 98 - November 2014

Images: Kemtek

labelling

Types of office labels and able to withstand a hot wash. Shoe labels, with strong adhesive qualities, keep these expensive items in the possession of the right owner.

T-shirt transfers work in much the same way as iron-on labels but offer a creative style of identification for events such as sports days or as hobby activities for teenage children.

Woven labels with a printed name on the surface offer a high-quality label.

However, they are more labour intensive as they have to be individually sewn on to items of clothing - and they can be cut out and removed fairly easily.

Tags and bag labels provide colourful and themed ways for younger children to identify their school bags. It also provides identification for musical instruments and sports kits. They come in a variety of options, either printed or with paper inserts for hand labelling.

There are certain items of stationery which cannot carry a label, and this is where permanent markers assist in tagging belongings. Especially useful for water bottles and lunchboxes which are washed regularly, they provide quick and permanent identification in a variety of colours. www.shop-sa.co.za

Lever arch labels allow for creativity and colour-coding in the office, offering up to eight colours to match existing décor or to define different filing sections. Ring reinforcement labels prevent punched paper from tearing by creating a sturdy area around the punch hole.

Colour-code labels and dots are used for quick classification and identification when marking items in the range or differentiating products and prices. They can also be used for stock control, highlighting locations on a map, or marketing merchandise.

Address labels assist office professionals in streamlining the postage process. Addresses are quickly and easily printed onto label sheets, and then peeled off and placed on the envelope face. Franking machine labels, manufactured from specially-formulated absorbent paper with fast ink-drying properties to avoid smudging, have strong, permanent adhesive backings making them ideal for mailing bags and parcels.

Ready-made account instruction labels can further identify items with instructions and reminders such as “by hand”, “COD”, “due date”, “confidential”, “thank you”, “urgent”, “don’t fold” and “fragile”. Event

and marketing departments may also make use of seasonal labels, and gift and Christmas-branded labels.

Packaging labels are available in rolls or slit-laid sheets for easy peeling. They convey important despatch and handling information – made all the more visible by brightly coloured labels that are hard to miss and easy to read while in transit.

Notarial seals can be used for sealing official documents and envelopes to ensure confidentiality. These can also be used on awards and certificates.

Photo and CD labels allow for the printing of customised labels for inkjet or laser printers in a variety of sizes and template options. They create a professional look for filing purposes or for the distribution of media to clients.

For schools or companies looking to create their own customised labels, a desktop or portable labelling machine can provide a variety of options for durable, laminated and thermal transfer labels.

Able to print from bar code scanners, PC keyboards or their own keyboard interfaces, customised print labels can be quickly produced for the office, store room or factory in a variety of colour or black and white print options.

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arts & craft

For art’s sake

Add a twist to your art box with these unique tools

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orget everyday straight lines, pointed corners and plain paper. Artists and craft fans will delight in these unusual art tools that will add flow, colour and sparkle to their creative feats and festive season fun.

Wave-cut scissors Stock wave-cut scissors and see kids and adults delight in being able to add texture and alternative shapes to crafts like Christmas cards. Crazy cut scissors – also known as pinking shears - come as a standalone pair or with three interchangeable blades for zigzag, scalloped and curved edges. With large, comfortable finger grips and stainless steel blades, they are designed for right- or left-handed use. Their coloured handles set them apart from straight-edge scissors. Paper edges can be creatively trimmed on a variety of materials including paper, cardboard, foam, plastic and fabrics, creating impressive borders and patterns. Creative ideas include decorative edges on photographs, scrapbook pages, cards, gift tags and collage projects.

Corner punches Corner punches are a quick and easy way

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to add interest, dimension and colour to cards, tags and scrapbook pages. The punched shapes, which offer a variety of themed patterns, add a decorative touch to plain or coloured paper. The punched out pieces can also be glued on to projects. Coloured card and paper can be layered behind the punched corners to provide a background effect. Available in press button, lever or palm punch format for single designs, corner punches are also available in lever driven models with a choice of four multiple selector designs for themed projects such as those needing lace or “heritage” effects. Paper guides mean that the pattern appears in exactly the right position in all four corners. A confetti catcher helps to keep work spaces clean.

Glitter and glue For crafters looking for a bit of sparkle, suppliers can expand their range and offer a choice of glitter tape, glitter glue, glitter sprinkles and shakers, glitter pens and glitter paints. Glitter tape is perfect for borders or adding sparkle to photo edges, cards or homemade books. Glitter glues allow for an even spread of glitter that dries in place without the mess of loose glitter sticking to little fingers and faces.

Glitter pens put a twinkle in your writing, while glitter paint adds sparkle to art and crafts. For personal use of glitter,

a layer of glue – applied in twist stick or craft tube format – can be laid down in the desired pattern with glitter sprinkled on top.

Glue can provide its own effect with application too. Crafters can add a crackle effect to decoupage items, hobbyists can use model construction glue, mosaic enthusiasts will need mosaic cement, those who enjoy sewing can add creative additions with fabric glue and artists can add a quick effect with a spray adhesive.

Poster board and coloured paper With a sketch board mounted on an 1 800 micron chipboard, illustration boards are effective for sketching on the go. A more durable material than paper or cardboard, Correx board is made from polypropylene material. Described as plastic cardboard, Correx can be printed on, as it is ink receptive, and be used outdoors. For artists who don’t want to carry stretched canvas around when out in the field, canvas paper sheets packaged in a tear pad format provide the perfect canvas background for outdoor art moments. Water paint pads are also available.

For indoor craft classes, fadeless roll paper, coloured and fluorescent poster board in a variety of sheet sizes as well as multi-coloured pads, provide colourful backgrounds and surfaces for any type of project or art work imaginable.

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jan san ACKNOWLEDGMENT http://online.wsj.com; www.berkeleywellness.com; www.cnn.com

Clean hands, healthy bodies There many ways to keep hands clean and germ-free while on the go

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n our busy, modern world, the spread of flu, germs and dirt can have a negative impact on our day-to-day productivity – and, ultimately, our health.

The first and most important place that cleanliness needs to be applied is in public restroom areas, and the kitchen, canteen and health practitioner environments.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, researchers at The University of Arizona conducted a study at an office building with 80 employees.

They contaminated a push-plate door at the building entrance with a virus called bacteriophage MS-2. It doesn’t infect people, but it is similar in shape, size and survivability to common cold and stomach flu viruses. Within two hours, the virus had contaminated the break

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room - coffee pot, microwave button and fridge door handle - and then spread to restrooms, individual offices and cubicles. Researchers found that the virus had heavily contaminated phones, desks and computers. After just four hours, they found the virus on more than 50% of the commonly touched surfaces and on the hands of about half of the employees in the office.

In an intervention, the Arizona researchers then gave about half of the employees hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes to use. After the intervention, detection of the virus on people’s hands went from 39% to 11%.

Studies indicate that the average adult brings their fingers to the nose, mouth or eyes about 16 times an hour. For children aged between two and five, the number is as many as 50 times an hour.

The most basic form of protection against the spread of germs and possible infection is to wash hands with soap

and water for at least 15 to 20 seconds.

The rubbing motion creates mechanical friction to loosen and rinse away microbes.

However, such facilities are not always available and this is where hand sanitizers become an important supplement or alternative to hand washing. Available in wipes, gel, foam and liquid solutions, hand sanitizers range from 10ml pocket-sized packaging to wall mounted units.

Hand sanitizers are typically alcoholbased (usually listed as ethyl alcohol), which is the active ingredient in killing most bacteria and viruses on contact. They also contain clarifying agents, thickening agents, fragrances, dyes, preservatives and other inactive ingredients. Some contain moisturisers (such as glycerine, vitamin E and aloe) to counter the drying effects of alcohol. For those with sensitive skins, natural and eco formulas are also available.

Vol 98 - November 2014

jan san According the health experts, hand sanitizers are effective against both bacteria and viruses. This is due to the fact that it disrupts the coating of virus and bacteria particles. By damaging the outside of the particle, the virus becomes deactivated, says Andrew Pekosz, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Hand sanitizers work on contact, meaning it’s only effective on the parts of your hands that it touches. If you miss a spot between your fingers, there could still be viruses or bacteria in that place, says Dr Lisa Bernstein, an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine. “You have to cover the whole surface of your hands and allow it to dry.”

During a regular workday, using hand sanitizer three to five times throughout the day is advised, and if you’re sneezing or coughing, use it more frequently. It is also recommended for use before and after entering a new room.

According to Berkeley Wellness, a common mistake is not using enough hand sanitizer. The product should be

Studies show that the average desk harbours 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat.

applied with at least a R5 coin-sized amount to the palm of the hand and hands should be rubbed together, covering all surfaces of both hands including between the fingers and up around fingertips and nails. It should take about 30 seconds of rubbing both hands together for the product to completely dry.

Hand sanitizing wipes are as effective as they often provide enough friction to remove dirt from hands and under fingernails.

Sanitising wipes and sprays can be

used to keep desks, keyboards, phones and door handles germ-free.

Children especially need to be taught basic hygiene, as grimy, unwashed fingers can find their way into mouths and noses as much as 50 times a day, continuing the spread of germs.

Schools, offices and restaurants also need to take responsibility for encouraging cleanliness within their environments. A good way to do this is to offer hands-free facilities, allowing staff and customers to sanitise hands regularly.

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Finding that elusive work:life balance With the aim of promoting career-orientated, more productive and professional administrative assistants, the South African Secretaries and PA’s Association (SASPA) brings you these tips for staying balanced In today’s challenging times, as you juggle the demands of both career and family, it can be difficult to find the correct balance between your work and personal life, leaving you feeling that you are not giving either of these areas your best effort.

To make any significant headway on this common dilemma, we need to implement changes to ourselves, our priorities and our outlook. While we can’t control the demands placed on us, we can control how we react to these demands – both internally and through our actions.

Here are five ways you can achieve a more harmonious work-life balance: Describe what harmony is for you write down your day-to-day schedule, remembering to give yourself the freedom www.shop-sa.co.za

to stray from it once in a while. Exercise, go for lunch, and enjoy life.

Learn to say “no” - if something doesn’t fit into your schedule or coincide with your priorities; don’t overwhelm yourself by taking on more than you can handle.

Know when work is over - one of the hardest aspects is actually switching off from work. Learn to turn off your computer, close the door and shut off for the day - both literally and mentally. Then make a conscious decision to enjoy time with family or friends.

Write down your light bulb moments should your inspiration light bulb spark, get a pen and paper and write it down. It will put your mind at ease if you have it down in a safe place to come back to later.

Make time for relaxation - remember to make time for yourself. No matter how insignificant it may seem, a few minutes of gym or meditation can do wonders.

Finally, in order to consistently perform at your peak, you will need to find the middle ground between perfection and compromising yourself.

Launched in 2006, SASPA offers free membership to nearly 6 000 secretaries, personal and administrative assistants nationally. To find out more about free enrolment visit www.saspa.co.za or call Claire Jettke on (011) 454 5505.

my office magazine

41

industry news

Piing app to revolutionise retail market

Shaping up for the future Recognising the huge potential of 3D printing, Kemtek has recently launched an exciting joint venture with KwaZulu-Natal-based Rapid 3D. The partnership aims to deliver leading international technologies and expert advice to industry players eager to benefit from 3D printing’s capabilities in packaging and beyond.

A family team, Dave, Pauline and Bryan Bullock of Rapid 3D are now able to offer advanced 3D printers and scanners from the world’s biggest personal and professional manufactures, including 3D Systems (incorporating Z Corporation, Rapidform and Geomagic), EnvisionTEC 3D and Vialux. Applications include re-designing of moulds, dies and mechanical parts; scanning and scaling up artworks; and generating CAD models from hand-made designs and tooling.

“We have numerous 3D printers available nationwide, ranging from R10 000 units to R10-million machines, depending on specific individual requirements,” says Dave Bullock.

“And for those businesses wanting a bureau service, we can apply our technical expertise and comprehensive industry knowledge to take a project from design concept right through to prototype.”

Local tech company Beaconeye is launching a new mobile app called Piing for the retail environment. One of the first in South Africa to use iBeacon (indoor proximity system) technology, the app will allow retailers to engage customers directly through their mobile devices, using Bluetooth Smart tech.

Once retailers sign up to the technology and customers have downloaded the free app on to their phones, they immediately start benefitting from tailored discounts and special deals.

Customers will receive points by simply walking into the store and passing products with beacons connected to them. They can also compete with friends on the app’s leader board.

Says Geran De Klerk, partner at Beaconeye: “iBeacon technology is brand new, having opened up a whole new level of engagement and marketing for retailers. We’ve all used shopping/ couponing apps before but it isn’t long before the app is either forgotten or deleted from the phone.

Now the user doesn’t have to remember they have an app. The app does all the work for you.”

Currently in QA (test phase), the developers plan to have Piing running over both iOS and Android by the December holidays.

More information is available at www.piingapp.com.

SSC Mobeni achieves ISO certification ISO Certification is the acknowledgement of excellence that South African manufacturers all strive for. Following hours of relentless preparation and extra work by employees and internal auditors, the Silveray Stationery Company (SSC) is proud to announce that the company’s Mobeni manufacturing plant has achieved the SABS audit approved ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System.

This is a major milestone in SSC’s 120 year history and more than proves the factory’s commitment to produce quality products.

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Pelikan may close toner factory as shares sold Pelikan Hardcopy’s Monchaltorf toner powder plant in Switzerland may close following the sale of 25-million shares to Singapore-based investors Caprice Capital International. A statement attributed it to “negative currency developments and changing market conditions”. The “lossmaking development of toner powder” and the “overcapacity” of the toner production market may force the company to close the site.

Vol 98 - November 2014

FOR TRADE ENQUIRIES: johannesburg (011) port elizabeth (041) bloemfontein (051) cape town (021) east london (043) kwazulu natal (031)

677-0000 391-8600 447-4641 936-5200 722-3781 462-2081

fax fax fax fax fax fax

(011) (041) (051) (021) (043) (031)

677-0016 374-4112 430-5912 936-5201 743-7359 462-0185

industry news

French bank to offer money transactions via Twitter

Takealot.com and Kalahari.com to merge

Groupe BPCE, France’s second largest bank by customers, is prepared to offer person-to-person money transfers via Twitter to French consumers, regardless of what bank they use, and without requiring the sender to know the recipient’s banking details.

The move co-incides with Twitter’s own push into the world of online payments as the social network looks for new revenue sources beyond advertising.

Twitter is racing other tech giants Apple and Facebook to get a foothold in new payment services for mobile phones or apps.

They are collaborating and, in some cases, competing with banks and credit card issuers that have run the business for decades.

Payment by tweets will be managed via the bank’s S-Money service, which allows money transfers via text message and relies on the credit-card industry’s data security standards.

Last month, Twitter started trials of its own new service, dubbed “Twitter Buy”, allowing consumers to find and buy products on its social network.

The service embeds a “Twitter Buy” button inside tweets posted by more than two dozen stores, music artists and nonprofits. Burberry, Home Depot, and musicians such as Pharrell and Megadeth are among the early vendors.

Rakuten Bank in Japan offers a similar “Transfer by Facebook” service that lets users of its mobile banking app send money to anyone in their Facebook friends list.

Source: reuters.com

Two of South Africa’s biggest online retailers, Takealot.com and Kalahari.com have announced plans to merge their operations.

Media and e-commerce group Naspers, which owns Kalahari, will fold the company into Takealot and take a 41% equity position in the company from its current majority shareholder, New York-based technology investment company Tiger Global Management.

In May this year, Takealot announced that it had raised $100-million (more than R1-billion) from Tiger Global Management, which may explain why the Kalahari brand is being ditched in favour of Takealot, even though Kalahari traditionally has had the stronger brand of the two.

When Tiger’s $100-million injection into Takealot was announced, Takealot CEO Kim Reid said the e-retailer would use the money to play a much more aggressive role in South Africa’s e-commerce space.

He added Takealot had enjoyed growth of more than 100% a year and wanted to increase that growth rate. “If you look at the size of the market right now, there is a R550-billion opportunity in which e-commerce is only just beginning to play a role.”

According to the announcement, the decision to merge Takealot and Kalahari was driven by the fact that, without scale, South African e-retailers “can’t compete against local brick-and-mortar retailers and foreign companies such as Amazon and Alibaba”.

According to Takealot, online sales account for only 1,3% of retail sales in South Africa, against as much as 14% in some developed markets.

The proposed merger is still subject to Competition Commission approval.

Inovocom announcements Office Club welcomes: Mo-Faya Inc, Bloemfontein; Inc Office Supplies, Witbank; and Supquip Office supplies, Witbank.

Office Club resignations: Express Stationers; Twin Place Trading; Neon-Ofi Projects; The Paper Case; and Magenta Stationers.

Office Active resignations: Koembheki Stationers, Kimberley; and Applebee, Gauteng.

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my office magazine

Obituary Allie Boureau, formerly of Silveray Durban, passed away in September. Boureau had been a stalwart in the industry for 40 plus years. He started with Silveray Durban and then moved to head office in Johannesburg in 1969. During his time there, he held various management positions, mainly in operations. Boureau retired approximately three years ago. Condolences go out to his family.

Vol 98 - November 2014

Y Y

E IN ADE IN MAD M G ERM AN G ERM AN

– glues anything, anytime.

– glues anything, anytime.

FOR TRADE ENQUIRIES: johannesburg (011) port elizabeth (041) bloemfontein (051) cape town (021) east london (043) kwazulu natal (031)

677-0000 391-8600 447-4641 936-5200 722-3781 462-2081

fax fax fax fax fax fax

(011) (041) (051) (021) (043) (031)

677-0016 374-4112 430-5912 936-5201 743-7359 462-0185

eco news

Green IT – the next step in sustainability

T

here is a gap in the market for IT service providers to meet the growing need to implement dedicated green IT budgets, strategies and solutions.

Hendrik Mansvelt, the University of Stellenbosch Business School’s (USB) 2013 top MBA student, has produced a thesis on how the adoption of green IT in South African can be advanced.

He found that green IT strategies were rare in South Africa, with only 7,9% of the 77 companies involved in his research stating that they have a comprehensive green IT strategy in place. Only 17,1% claimed they had a partial strategy in place, and 12,3% indicated a dedicated green IT budget.

With 40,8% aiming to have a full green IT strategy in place within the next five years, the time is right for IT service providers to take the lead.

The research focused specifically on “green IT initiatives that reduce the footprint of the traditional IT function and where opportunities exist to increase its level of adoption”.

He defines green IT as the efforts to “green” the production, use and disposal of IT equipment across the organisation in terms of energy consumption, emissions and lowering the carbon footprint. The technologies included in his research were server consolidation and virtualisation, cloud computing, storage virtualisation, print consolidation,

PC power management, new server rooms, IT equipment recycling, virtual desktops and advanced server energy monitoring tools.

Mansvelt found there is a strong desire for assistance in moving towards implementing dedicated green IT budgets, strategies and solutions.

“This creates a substantial opportunity for IT service providers to influence, educate and guide clients on IT strategies to establish and grow a profitable market for green IT. “The green behaviours of South African companies are very encouraging, with just over 70% reducing paper usage and recycling of paper products. However, it is noticeable that in green behaviour relating to the use of technology, such as turning PCs off, using energy saving modes on PCs, recycling of electronics and telecommuting to limit travelling, South Africa lags substantially compared to the rest of the world. IT service providers could play a leading role here to guide their clients in encouraging such behaviour within their organisations.

“Service providers should assist their clients in the formulation of their green IT strategies and dedicated budgets as this would translate into the adoption of green IT technologies over time. By doing so service providers would position themselves as the green IT provider of choice in the mind of the client, increasing the likelihood of securing any future green IT related business,” he concludes.

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eco news

Solar schoolbags light up rural children’s lives

Continental develops energy-efficient tyres Experts from a wide variety of fields at Continental Tyre are working closely together on the research and development, testing and production sectors to make the tyre of the future even more energy-efficient during the manufacturing, use and recycling stages of its life-cycle.

In the process, they call into question every tyre component, and where possible replace it with more environmentally-compatible materials.

The focus on greater sustainability also embraces the production process at Continental. Innovative technologies have been introduced at some of its plants to return waste rubber to the production cycle, enabling rubber from end-of-life truck tyres to be re-utilised during retreading, and the production of new tyres.

A targeted recycling volume of 4 000 tonnes a year at the ContiLifeCycle plant in Hanover, Germany, translates into a total annual saving of around 2 400 tonnes of rubber and 1 600 tonnes of filler materials such as carbon black and silica.

The latest product to join the Continental line-up is a special tyre developed for hybrid vehicles.

The new 17-and 18-inch Conti. eContact boasts a 30% drop in rolling resistance compared to a standard

tyre, yet achieves comparable dry road handling and braking. This increases the distance that can be travelled in electric mode and reduces the reliance on the internal combustion engine.

This new addition to the range made its debut in July 2014, and is the first summer tyre from Continental to be awarded top A/A grades for both wet grip and rolling resistance based on the new EU tyre label system.

A fascinating breakthrough development in Continental’s sustainability research and development is the “dandelion tyre”. The company has joined forces with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology in Germany with the objective of using natural latex obtained from the roots of the dandelion as a commercially viable substitute for natural latex from rainforest plantations.

Dandelions can be cultivated on land that is unsuitable for food crops, thus making it possible to create plantations adjacent to tyre manufacturing plants - with subsequent economic and ecological benefits. Most notably, it would reduce the dependence on rubber trees in rainforest regions which account for between 10% and 30% of the rubber in a car tyre, and an even higher proportion on truck tyres.

Source: www.bizcommunity.com

Thato Kgatlhanye of South Africa has been named a recipient of the 2014 Anzisha Prize, Africa’s premier youth entrepreneurship award, for her solar schoolbags concept.

Kgatlhanye’s business, Repurpose Schoolbags, upcycles plastic bags and integrates solar technology that charges during the day and provides light at night.

Discarded plastic shopping bags are turned into a retro-reflective textile that makes up the bags. An embedded small solar panel charges during the child’s walk to school and transforms into a solar lantern - providing sufficient light for study for up to 12 hours when fully charged.

One of the wonderful aspects of the concept is the children’s families don’t pay anything for the bags.

Disadvantaged schools with children who lack basic school supplies and walk long distances to and from the classroom each day are identified by Repurpose Schoolbags.

Giving Partners then purchase or donate on behalf of the students. Repurpose Schoolbags now has eight full-time employees and numerous plastic bag collectors. The bags are produced in a factory in Rustenburg, South Africa.

So far, 120 children have benefited from the solar schoolbags and over 10 000 plastic bags have been repurposed.

Rethaka is the parent company of Repurpose Schoolbags.

crime alert

Free and fair competition

C

ompetition law is governed by the Competition Act of 1998 and is overseen by an independent competition authority. This consists of the Competition Commission, the Competition Tribunal and the Competition Appeal Court.

The Act also confers on the competition authority’s extensive powers designed to prevent anti-competitive conduct.

Such conduct includes: • Restrictive horizontal and vertical practices; • Abuse of a dominant position; and • Horizontal and vertical mergers.

A restrictive horizontal practice is any agreement, co-operative or concerted conduct between competing companies which prevents or lessens competition in a market.

The specific prohibitions include: • Directly or indirectly fixing prices or other trading conditions; • Division of markets by allocating customers, suppliers, territories or specific types of goods or services; and • Collusive tendering.

A restrictive vertical practice is any agreement between a company and its suppliers or customers or both which prevents or lessens competition in a market. The practice of minimum resale price maintenance is considered as a specific prohibition. It is defined as any agreement or practice which has the effect of compelling or inducing a reseller of goods or services to charge a particular minimum resale price.

A supplier or producer is permitted to recommend a minimum resale price to a reseller provided that the recommendation is not binding and the words “recommended price” appear next to the stated price.

A dominant company is a company that has market power - including the power to control prices, exclude competition or to behave to an extent independently of its competitors, customers or suppliers.

A company that has a market share of at least 45% is deemed to be a dominant company. There are a number of practices that are prohibited, including charging excessive prices, inducing a supplier or consumer to refrain from dealing with a competitor, or selling goods or services below their marginal or average cost.

The Act has introduced a mechanism for the approval, evaluation and control of mergers.

There are three main types of mergers: Horizontal mergers, which takes place between companies operating in the same industry; • Vertical mergers, which take place between companies involved in a seller-buyer relationship in regard to the same or a similar product; and • Conglomerate mergers, which take place between companies with unrelated activities or products.

South Africa also has the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004 - a piece of legislation which tries to plug a loophole in the Competition Law. This loophole is the criminal charges that can be filed against officers and company executives for anti-competitive behaviour such as price fixing and rigging of tenders.

Small payments to facilitate routine administrative processes are sometimes called facilitation payments. Some countries’ laws even allow facilitation payments. According to South African law, however, facilitation payments are illegal.

Every SME must have a Code of Ethics in place, which staff must be made aware of. An easy-to-read BUSA SME Anti-corruption Guide is available for download at www.nacf.org.za.

Sources: www.antitrust.co.za; www. vdma.co.za; www.nacf.org.za •

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Keeping shop-sa members abreast of criminal and fraudulent activity in the stationery and office products industry To sponsor the Crime Alert page contact 011 781 0370 REPORT CRIME AT wendy@shop-sa.co.za Renew your Crime Alert sponsorship today! Call Wendy Dancer on 011 781 0370 to book your logo placement on the Crime Alert page as an industry leader in transparency, information sharing and anti-crime business ethics.

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my office magazine

Vol 98 - November 2014

Stripe up your llife. ife.

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Write in and stand a chance to win one of the fabulous prizes on offer below. Send your contact details to competitions@shopsa.co.za with either “Tower”, Wonderbag” or “Fila” in the subject line

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Stand a chance to win a back to school hamper from Tower. The hamper includes: Tower back to school hamper:

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Fluorescent Colour Code Labels: Fluorescent pink 19x25mm Fluorescent green 13mm Fluorescent orange 19mm White Sheet Labels: 20x75mm 16x22mm Lever Arch Labels: White Grey Fluorescent orange Fluorescent green Screen Cleaning Kit Faces (mixed colours) Teachers Labels (English) Stars: Mixed Fluorescent Colours Gold

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Self-adhesive Book cover 10m Roll Blue Border Labels Fun Book Labels: Transport Smiley Hearts (mixed colours) Adhesive Dots (removable) Adhesive Tape (permanent) A4 Printable Products: W225 Mini Labels W250 CD Labels Everyday Photo Paper 108gsm Premium Photo Paper 170gsm Learner Driver Sign (with suction cup) Tower Kids Magnetic Weekly Planner

Spoil your staff this festive season Win a Super Mario backpack Christmas is a time to give something back to those who make and tog bag a difference in your life, whether they are friends, family or staff members.

The local manufacturer of popular South African export Wonderbag has come up with the perfect solution that will take the stress out of Christmas shopping with their limited edition Festive Hamper.

Wonderbag is the ideal gift for anyone looking to save energy when cooking. Simply bring food to the boil for a few minutes before transferring it into the bag and leaving it to cook to completion.

One lucky reader will win this Festive Hamper, priced at R250, containing a plastic wash basin, a Wonderbag (valued at R200) and an assortment of essential grocery items.

To place your trade orders or to stock Wonderbag at your store, call (031) 536 8220, e-mail sales@nb-wonderbag.com or visit www.nb-wonderbag.co.za. Prices exclude delivery costs.

Fila Cartorama are offering one lucky reader the chance to win a Super Mario backpack and tog bag.

The 8cm expandable backpack has a thermoformed base and back panel. The shoulder straps and dual buckle fastening system are adjustable.

Inside there is a double compartment with drawstring and a small zippered pocket.

The bag is 600d polyester for greater durability.

FILA CARTORAMA SA (PTY) Ltd

We have a winner!

Winner of the Ferrari Backpack - Lindi Foot of Brackenfell

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my office magazine

Vol 98 - November 2014

Mini Stapler F5 and Punch Set Smart, portable, easy to use stapler with solid steel magazine and 2-strip loading capacity for efficient usage. Integrated staple remover.

Great for home and school/college use.

®

Features • Convenient top loading refill mechanism • Uses no.10 Rapid Standard staples • 5 year guarantee when using Rapid staples • Smart and compact, easy to use stapler • Staples up to 10 sheets of paper (80 gsm) • Integrated staple remover

The Rapid F5 Mini Stapler and Hole Punch set is everything you need to organise and file your papers in binders or trays.

The Rapid F5 Mini Stapler is a smart, portable, easy to use stapler which is ideal for home and school/college use.

Designed to staple up to 10 sheets of paper and uses Rapid No. 10 staples. It has a solid steel magazine and 2-strip loading capacity for efficiency. Comes complete with an integrated staple remover and is covered by a 5 year guarantee when using Rapid staples.

The Rapid FC10 Compact 2 Hole Punch is a strong metal hole punch with handle and base in reinforced ABS plastic.

It punches up to 10 sheets of paper and has an easy to empty confetti holder in the base. Small and compact, it can be stored or used on the move.

The set also includes a handy stapler remover in matching colours.

FOR TRADE ENQUIRIES: johannesburg (011) port elizabeth (041) bloemfontein (051) cape town (021) east london (043) kwazulu natal (031)

677-0000 391-8600 447-4641 936-5200 722-3781 462-2081

fax fax fax fax fax fax

(011) (041) (051) (021) (043) (031)

677-0016 374-4112 430-5912 936-5201 743-7359 462-0185

financial bytes Cross-border mergers and acquisitions garner new customers

Web Buttons

Africa’s share of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has grown by 7% in the past year as global and African companies alike seek access to customers and natural resources, reveals a new survey by global law firm Baker & McKenzie.

Multinationals investing in Africa are primarily motivated by the continent’s burgeoning middle class and increasing wealth.

“The search for a customer base is driving inward investment - Africa has a great untapped customer base, meaning capital is flowing into the region,” says Morne van der Merwe, head of Baker & McKenzie’s M&A practice in Johannesburg. “Meanwhile African companies are growing more confident and international in their outlook.”

Due diligence remains a challenge, though, with half of all survey respondents identifying establishing the credibility of revenue and financial accounts as the biggest hurdle to doing deals in Africa.

Source: www.bizcommunity.com

www.parrotproducts.biz

Ellies shares fall 20% to R1.13 Shares of electrical goods maker Ellies collapsed to a five-year low as uncertainty mounted around its upcoming rights issue and asset sale. The stock fell to a low of R1.13. It last traded at these levels in July 2009.

The company‚ which manufactures TV aerials‚ satellite dishes and electrical generators‚ announced that it would sell some non-core assets and implement a rights offer. The group also said it would reschedule its debt.

Profits were dragged lower by delayed projects‚ a weak consumer environment and its cash-hungry infrastructure unit Megatron‚ which Vunani Securities Analyst Anthony Clark expected to be the asset the company sought to sell.

Source: www.bizcommunity.com

JSE lists three new African currency futures The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has listed three new currency futures contracts which track the exchange rate between the rand and the Zambian kwacha, Kenyan shilling and Nigerian naira.

Currency futures allow investors as well as importers and exporters to protect themselves against the currency movement in the foreign country.

“The JSE is very excited about this new ground-breaking initiative as we have been working on this strategy for two years,” says Warren Geers, GM of Capital Markets at the JSE. “With Africa being a global investment destination it makes sense for the JSE as a major exchange player in Africa to be involved in providing appropriate products to mitigate currency risk and exposure when dealing in Africa.”

Source: www.businessday.co.za

www.chafrica.co.za

www.silveray.co.za

www.redfern.co.za

email: sales@redfern.co.za

THE LABEL SPECIALIST Stick with the best!

www.koloksa.co.za

www.nikki.co.za

www.hortors.co.za

www.rexelsa.co.za

www.interstat.co.za

www.kmp.co.za

www.towerproducts.co.za

®

www.penflex.co.za

www.treeline.co.za

product showcase

PERFORATORS Discover Classic Office Accessories New from Bantex. A range of perforators offering convenient new features with soft touch handle. An innovative confetti hatch easily disposes of confetti and a handle lock allows for compact storage.

The perforators come in 4 sizes and are available in 4 colours; silver, blue, black and red.

Tel: 011 473 9800 Web: www.bantex.co.za

MCBAG - VIVID Top quality lined utility bags. A front flap with inner zip. Comes in Assorted playful designs.

Embossed puller for easy opening.

Tel: 011 473 9800 Web: www.bantex.co.za

MCBAG - FLAIR Quality embossed PVC lined bag, with an embossed puller for easy opening. Comes in assorted trendy designs. The McBag Flair can be more than just a pencil bag. The trendy look lends itself to a cosmetic bag, or just fill with fun personal items.

Tel: 011 473 9800 Web: www.bantex.co.za

DESIGNER BINDERS The new lever arch designer file has been added alongside the 25mm ringbinder. A4 in bright modern youthful designs, have been developed to complement our 20cm round and 30cm flat pencil bags.

Tel: 011 473 9800 Web: www.bantex.co.za

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my office magazine

Vol 98 - November 2014

product showcase

BOSTIK DOES IT AGAIN! Always innovating, this time we’ve come up with a brilliant and creative idea! Every single 100g pack of Prestik will contain, at no added cost, a set of extra-special funky stickers…yet another use for the wonder product with101 uses!

The “wax-like” paper that ensures your Prestik pulls off easily is filled with smiley faced “reward” stickers – a free value-added extra for you to use and share with your friends and family anytime!

Doesn’t that just make you smile!

www.facebook.com/BostikSouthAfrica

Tel: 021 555 7400 • Fax: 021 552 1870 E-mail: marketing@bostik.co.za Web: www.bostik.co.za

STYLISH NOTEBOOK BACK PACK 17” - E863DB • • • • •

2 Main compartments 2 Side pockets Durable Zips Ergonomically enhanced Designed for a 17” laptop

Tel: 011 248 0300 Web: www.koloksa.co.za

DAS Since 1968, Das has been the world’s most famous and widely used self-hardening modelling material. It is mineral-based and gluten-free, and does not need to be fired, as it hardens when exposed to air. It is easy to polish and allows you to create solid, resilient objects that can be personalised and decorated to your liking using paints or fibre pens. It is particularly versatile and can be used to coat a wide range of different surfaces, such as wood, plastic, metal, glass, etc. It does not leave stains and washes off hands with water. It also can be machine-washed from most clothes at the 40°C setting. Available in white or terracotta. Comes in aluminium packs, which help it to keep its freshness for a long time, with a resealable tab on the back.

Tel: 087 150 3549 E-mail: sales@filacartorama.co.za Web: www.filacartorama.co.za

FILA CARTORAMA SA (PTY) Ltd

LYRA GROOVE Large ergonomic triangular graphite pencil. Medium hardness lead. Ideal for those making their first foray into writing. Body, 17.5 cm long, is triangular in cross-section, with no added synthetic substances. Natural anti-slip grip makes it easy to hold. Anti-slip grips on sides for the thumb, index finger and middle finger, giving you extra support and making the pencil easy to hold, even after you have sharpened it. Extra-resistant, anti-break, long-lasting lead. Space to write your name.

Tel: 087 150 3549 E-mail: sales@filacartorama.co.za Web: www.filacartorama.co.za

w w w . s h o p - s a . c o . z a

FILA CARTORAMA SA (PTY) Ltd

my office magazine

55

SOURCE PRODUCTS HERE A ADDING MACHINE, POINT OF SALE AND MACHINE ROLLS PaperGeni Rotunda ADHESIVES, GLUES AND SPRAYS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Correction Fluid, Glue sticks & Super Glue Palm Stationery Manufacturers - New Wave Freedom Stationery - Marlin ADHESIVE NOTES 3M SA PTY Ltd - Post-it ® ART, CRAFT, GRAPHIC AND DRAWING MATERIALS CTP Stationery - A4 coloured poster boards Freedom Stationery - Marlin Max Frank - Uni, Artline Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd. - Oil pastels and watercolour paint

56

B BAGS AND CASES D.O.S - iStay Flip File - Business cases.

Freedom Stationery - Space Case and Marlin Global Bag And Sportswear Manufactures Custom schoolbags ,tracksuits Kolok - Kenton Topmark - School Bags, Laptop Bags, Pencil Cases, Sports Bags, Luggage BATTERIES Nikki Distributors - Duracell Batteries Nikki Distributors - Energizer Batteries BIN RANGE Krost Office Products BINDING ACCESSORIES AZ Trading - Plastic Comb, Wire, Thermal & Covers CTP Donau - Donau files and slide binders, A4 poster board Parrot Products - Parrot Comb Binding Machines

Press Products - Twin Wire®, Plastic Combs, Plastikoil®, Binding Covers Rexel Office Products - Rexel and GBC

BINDING MACHINES AZ Trading - DSB, Neorel D.O.S - Prima, DSB Parrot Products - Parrot Comb Binding Machines Press Products - Twin Wire®, Plastikoil®, Plastic Combs Rexel Office Products - GBC and Rexel ranges BOARDS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - BIC Velleda School Whiteboards CTP Stationery - Flip Chart Pads Hortors Stationery - Legal Notices i.e. Basic Conditions & OSH Act and Leave and Absence Chart Freedom Stationery - Marlin Max Frank - Artline Flipchart Markers, Artline, Maxi whiteboard markers Palm Stationery Manufacturers - New Wave Parrot Products - Full range of boards and accessories. Custom boards printed to your specification Rexel Office Products - NOBO whiteboards, pinboards, easels and accessories. Quartet magnetic white/cork boards BOOK COVERS CTP Stationery - Poly Prop Donau heavy duty covers Empire Toy & Stationery - Butterfly paper Freedom Stationery Gordon’s Productions - contact paper woodgrain, marble, pattern designs. Magic cover back to school clear and coloured self adhesive paper.

(4M rolls, A4 and lever arch). Plastic coated brownkraft rolls and pre-cut polythene covers.

Grafton Paper Products Palm Stationery Manufacturers - brown paper rolls, poly rolls, gift-wrap RBE - Papersmart BOOKS AND PADS BSC Stationery - Treeline CTP Stationery - Impala and premier books and pads Freedom Stationery - Manufacturers

Hortors Stationery - Legal registers Impala Vuwa Stationery Manufacturers Palm Stationery Manufacturers Power Stationery - Powerstar RBE - NCR Business Books Rexel Office Products - Colourhide notebooks BOXES AND CARTONS CTP Stationery - Archiving Systems Rexel Office Products Specialised Filing Systems - Archive and Off-Site Tidy Files - Acid free archiving products

C CALCULATORS Kolok - HP Nikki Distributors - Truly calculators Palm Stationery Manufacturers - New Wave Power Stationery - Powerstar Rexel Office Products - IBICO CALENDARS CTP Stationery - Diaries assorted sizes CALLIGRAPHY Max Frank - Artline CANTEEN Kolok - Tea, Coffee, milk etc, Sunbeam (appliances), Cleansui (water filters and refills) CARBON PAPER AND FILMS RBE - NCR Business Books CD’S, DVD’S AND DISKETTES Kolok - Verbatim, Kenton CLIP BOARDS CTP Stationery - DONAU brand Parrot Products - Masonite and whiteboard CLIPS, FASTENERS AND PINS Freedom Stationery - Marlin Grip Binders - Essentials, Stephens, Penguin Tidy Files - Filing solution

Effortless binding with perfect results CombBind 100

CombBind 110

CombBind C200

CombBind C210

buyers’ guide

See page 46 for contact details Hortors Stationery - Legal diaries

COLOURING BOOKS Empire Toy & Stationery - Empire books Freedom Stationery - Marlin Palm Stationery Manufacturers - New Wave COMPUTER ACCESSORIES Kolok - Verbatim, Kenton Krost Office Products Pyrotec - Tower Inkjet-laser labels, business cards and photo paper COMPUTER CLEANING Kolok - ComputerCare Pyrotec - Tower computer cleaning range

Rexel Office Products - NOBO planners, refills and T-card kits, Quartet Monthly/Weekly planner

F

South African Diaries - For all your diary

FAX ROLL MANUFACTURERS

needs

Rotunda

DICTATION - TRANSCRIPTION

FILES AND FILING

Olympus Audio S.A - Digital Voice Recorders,

African Filing Systems - Top retrieval filing

Transcription Kits and Accessories.

and arching products

Powerhouse Dictation for Philips - Dictation,

BSC Stationery - Treeline, Mobifile

transcription, meeting recording, mini-tapes,

CTP Stationery - Full range of quality DONAU

foot pedals, accessories

brand Flip File - Executive display files, expanding

DRAUGHTING AND DRAWING OFFICE SUPPLIES

files, Document folders, dividers

COMPUTER CONSUMABLES CTP Stationery - Full range of DONAU files KMP - for computer consumables Kolok Unlimited - Penguin (Ribbons, Toners, Inkjets,) ,Till and fax rolls Redfern Print Services - Redfern inkjet/laser/ copier labels and a full range of stationery labels

CTP Stationery - A4 Poster Boards

Freedom Stationery - Edo / Unifile

E

Kolok - Geha (Binding machines)

COMPUTER HARDWARE Kolok Unlimited - Blazer UPS systems, Geha (Interactive white boards)

EMBOSSERS AND ENGRAVING

document file, clip file and presentation file

Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Ideal

Rexel Office Products - Prima and Rexel

& Trodat Embossers (pocket, desk and

ranges

electronic), Trotec

Specialised Filing Systems - Top Retrieval,

CORPORATE STATIONERY & GIFTING Star Stationers and Printers CRAYONS AND CHALKS Freedom Stationery - Marlin Palm Stationery Manufacturers - Chalks and Crayons Power Stationery - Powerstar

Ringbinder files, Manilla flat folders Grafton/Star Palm Stationery Manufacturers - leaver arch, ring binder files, manilla flat folders.

Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd. - Display book Vivid,

57

Archive and Off-Site ENVELOPES AND MAILING

Tidy Files - Filing solutions

BSC Stationery - Leo Envelopes CTP Stationery - Commercial envelopes

FOLDERS

Global Envelopes - CelloWrapped, peel+seal

CTP Stationery - DONAU Brand

and FullGum

Freedom Stationery - Marlin

Grafton/Star

Palm Stationery Manufacturers - View files,

KZN Envelopes

polypropylene & board folders

Merpak Envelopes - Complete range of quality

Tidy Files - Specialised

envelopes

D DESK SETS AND ACCESSORIES BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Desk Set Solo Delux Freedom Stationery - Marlin Krost Office Products Ledger Systems - Falcon Products Rexel Office Products - Rexel Eco Range DIARIES, PLANNERS AND ORGANISERS CTP Stationery - CTP Brand

CombBind C250 Pro

Palm Stationery Manufacturers - Lever arch,

WireBind W20

Narayan Wholesaler - Wholesaler of Quality

FORMS - LEGAL AND MISCELLANEOUS

Envelopes, Peel and Seal

Hortors Stationery - complete range of custom,

PaperGeni

company, miscellaneous, magisterial, etc.

RBE - Papersmart ERASERS & ERASING / CORRECTION FLUIDS

FURNITURE - OFFICE & SCHOLASTIC

BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Tippex tape,

Krost Office Products - accessories

bottle and Pen

New Era Office cc - Specialising in all office

Freedom Stationery - Marlin

furniture desks, chairs, credenzas, boardroom

Max Frank - Uni

tables, etc

Palm Stationery Manufacturers - Tape/Erasers

Reboni Furniture Group - Manufacturing and

Pentel S.A (PTY) LTD - Hi-Polymer and Ain

distribution of educational and office furniture

eraser, correction tape and pens

Specialised Filing Systems - Cabinets,

Power Stationery - Powerstar

Shelving and Hi-Density

MultiBind 230 Comb & Wire

www.rexelsa.co.za ThermaBind T400

SOURCE PRODUCTS HERE G

L

GUILLOTINES AND TRIMMERS AZ Trading - DSB, Kobra Beswick Office Products - Fellowes, Vivid Maynards Office Technology - IDEAL Shredders & Guillotines – SA Distributors Press Products - BindQuip Rexel Office Products - SmartCut and ClassicCut

LABELS Freedom Stationery - Marlin Nor Paper Pyrotec - Tower stationery, inkjet-laser labels Redfern Print Services - Redfern Inkjet/laser/ copier labels and a full range of stationery labels Specialised Filing Systems - Filing Tidy Files - Filing solutions LABELLING MACHINES Kemtek Imaging Systems - Distributor of Brother P-Touch Labelling System

I 58

INDEX TABBING AND DIVIDERS 3M SA - Post-it flags, Flag pen and highlighter CTP Stationery - DONAU Brand board and P.P Flip File - Index Tabs, Flip tabs Freedom Stationery - Marlin Grip Binders Palm Stationery Manufacturers Rexel Office Products - Rexel, Mylar and Prima board INKS KMP - for computer consumables.

Max Frank - Shachihata, Artline Rexel Office Products - Numbering machine ink Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Trodat, Noris fastdry, security, numbering, franking.

Laundry.

INTER-SCREWS / BINDING SCREWS Ledger Systems - Sole suppliers of Inter screws

LAMINATING MACHINES AZ Trading - DSB, Speedlam, Lamiace Kolok - GEHA and Galaxy Parrot Products - Parrot A4 and A3 Laminators Press Products - GMP Rexel Office Products - GBC and Rexel ranges LAMINATING POUCHES AND MATERIALS AZ Trading - A0 to ID card size Kolok - GEHA, Penguin laminating pouches and rolls Parrot Products Press Products - GMP Rexel Office Products - GBC

MARKERS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Permanent Markers, Highlighters, whiteboard Freedom Stationery - Marlin Interstat Agencies - Edding Max Frank - Artline , Maxi, Uni Parrot Products - White board, permanent and OHP markers. Wide range of highlighters Penflex - White board, flipchart, permanent markers, highlighters Pentel (Pty) Ltd. - Maxiflo, white board marker and paint marker Power Stationery - Powerstar MATHEMATICAL GEOMETRY SETS & ACCESSORIES Freedom Stationery - Marlin Palm Stationery Manufacturers Power Stationery - Powerstar MINUTE AND GUARD BOOKS Hortors Stationery - Company registers, minute books and other legal registers Ledger Systems - Falcon products

N NUMBERING MACHINES Rexel Office Products Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Reiner Dater/Numberer (manual/electronic), Trodat

LEGAL STATIONERY Hortors Stationery - All legal registers, forms, diaries etc LETTER TRAYS Krost Office Products

J

M

JANITORIAL Kolok - Goldenmarc (Cleaning products), Brooms, Mops and equipment.

MAILING TUBES CTP Stationery

O OFFICE ERGONOMICS Rexel Office Products - Kensington copyholders, risers, footrests, Rexel range of electric staplers and punches which reduces chances of RSI (repetitive strain injury) OFFICE FURNITURE IXAXA Office Furniture - Office furniture (Desks and Chairs) from reception to CEO’S office

Simply faster to the finish...

TM

Introducing the new line of Fusion Laminators

Fusion 1000L

Fusion 1100L

Fusion 3000L

buyers’ guide

See page 46 for contact details

OVERHEAD PROJECTION AND ACCESSORIES 3M SA (Pty) Ltd. - Overhead film, transparency, multimedia Kolok - Penguin Transparencies Max Frank - Artline Parrot Products - Data Projectors, OHPs, screens and rear projection film Penflex - Penflex Overhead projector pens Rexel Office Products - NOBO

Power Stationery - Powerstar Rexel Office Products - Rexel HB & Derwent Staedtler SA (Pty) Ltd - Tradition, Wopex, Technical, Clutch Pencils and lead PENCIL LEADS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Criterium 0.5mm leads Freedom Stationery - Marlin Max Frank - Uni Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd - Ain lead, standard lead - various grades

P PACKAGING Merpak Envelopes - Postsafe packaging range PAPER AND BOARD Antalis South Africa - Office paper and packaging solutions CTP Stationery - DONAU A4 poster boards Empire Toy & Stationery - Butterfly paper Freedom Stationery Grafton/Star Kolok Unlimited - Geha (paper media), EPSON, HP, CANON, Nor Paper Palm Stationery Manufacturers - Cubes and board Paper World Handmade Paper, Embossed Paper, Specialty Papers, Scented Paper Board, Paper Products Peters Papers - Rotatrim, Typek and Smart Copy Power Stationery - Powerstar RBE - Papersmart Rexel Office Products - Prima Paper & Board TRIBE - TRIBE Inkjet Paper and Film PAPER FOLDING MACHINES Maynards Office Technology - IDEAL Shredders & Guillotines – SA Distributors PENCILS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - BIC Evolution Graphite, BIC Matic Clutch ,Velocity Clutch, Atlantis Clutch, BU4 Clutch Freedom Stationery - Marlin / Edo Max Frank - Uni Palm Stationery Manufacturers Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd - Hotshot, Mechanical Pencil, Techniclick Pencil.

PENCIL SHARPENERS Freedom Stationery Palm Stationery Manufacturers Power Stationery - Powerstar PENS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Clic, Crystal, Orange and Prismo Freedom Stationery - Marlin and Edo Max Frank - Artline, Maxi, Uni Palm Stationery Manufacturers Penflex - Penflex ballpoints and rollerballs Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd - Superb Ballpoint, Energel Pen Power Stationery - Powerstar Staedtler SA (Pty) Ltd - Ball point, Fineliner, Gel and Pigment liner pens PEN CARBON BOOKS Freedom Stationery - Marlin Power Stationery - Powerstar RBE - NCR Business Books PERSONAL STATIONERY CTP Stationery - Home office and personal filing system, diaries Grafton/Star PLANNING BOARDS AND ACCESSORIES Parrot Products - Range of year planners, term planners, maps and in/out boards. custom printed boards designed to specification.

Rexel Office Products - NOBO planners

PRINTING Olivetti Imports - Distributors of Multifunctional Printers / Copiers Star Stationers and Printers Kolok - Epson, Lexmark (Hardware), Hp Printers, Oki (Hardware) PRINTER CONSUMABLES Impression Management - Prinart, Logic, Q-Ink, Sanchi, Oliser and ATIKMP - For computer consumables.

Ink Spot Suppliers - Suppliers of all brands of inkjet and LaserJet cartridges Kolok - EPSON (inkjet, large format etc), LEXMARK, HP, Brother (Toners and Inks), Oki (Toners, inks and Ribbons), Tally Genicom (Ribbons), Seikosha (Ribbons), Panasonic (Toners and Ribbons), Kyocera (Toners), Printronix (Ribbons), IBM (Ribbons), Ricoh (Toners), Fujitsu (Ribbons) Nor Paper PaperGeni Royce Imaging Industries - Remanufacturers and suppliers of inkjet and laser cartridges Technical Systems Engineering - Suppliers of quality compatible cartridges and bulk inks for Epson, Canon, Lexmark, HP and Samsung

59

PUNCHES AND PERFORATORS Freedom Stationery - Marlin Krost Office Products Parrot Products - Parrot range of punches Press Products - BindQuip Power Stationery - Powerstar Rexel Office Products - Rexel

R RUBBER STAMPS Max Frank - Schachihata X Stampers Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co. - Trodat RUBBER STAMP MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - AZ Liquid polymer, TROTEC laser engraver, flash system

POINT OF SALE PRINTER ROLLS PaperGeni Rotunda

www.rexelsa.co.za Fusion 3100L

Fusion 5000L

Fusion 5100L

SOURCE PRODUCTS HERE RULERS Freedom Stationery - Marlin Palm Stationery Manufacturers Power Stationery - Powerstar Penflex - PENFLEX rulers

shredders Nikki Distributors - Nikki shredders Parrot Products - Parrot range of value shredders Rexel Office Products - Rexel range Maynards Office Technology - IDEAL Shredders & Guillotines – SA Distributors

S

60

SCHOLASTIC SUPPLIES BSC Stationery Sales - Treeline CTP Stationery Empire Toy & Stationery - Butterfly Flip File - Flip File display books A5, A4, A2, A3 Freedom Stationery - Marlin and Edo Gordon’s Productions - contact paper woodgrain, marble, pattern designs. Magic cover back to school clear and coloured self adhesive paper. (4M rolls, A4 and lever arch). Plastic coated brownkraft rolls and pre-cut polythene covers.

Grafton Paper Products Impala Vuwa Stationery Manufacturers Max Frank - Artline, Maxi, Uni Palm Stationery Manufacturers Parrot Products - chalk boards/slates Power Stationery - Powerstar Pyrotec - Tower Adhesive Book Cover 45cm x 2m

SPECIALISED STATIONERY AND BOOKBINDING Ledger Systems - Law reports and periodicals

SCRAPBOOKING Rexel Office Products - Trimmers and guillotines Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Making memories, Clearsnap, Marvy, Ranger, Bazzill, Carl SHREDDERS AND ACCESSORIES AZ Trading - DSB, Kobra, Roto, Repairs to all makes D.O.S - Kobra Kolok - GEHA entry level and high-end

STAMPS, STAMP PADS AND INKS Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Trodat, preinked stamps, stamp and fingerprint pads STAPLING MACHINES AND STAPLES Freedom Stationery - Marlin Interstat Agencies - Genmes Krost Office Products Parrot Products - Parrot range of staplers Rexel Office Products - Rexel range

TAPES 3M SA (Pty) Ltd. - Brand Scotch® MagicTM Freedom Stationery Palm Stationery Manufacturers TELECOMMUNICATIONS Nikki Distributors - Siemens office phones

THERMAL ROLLS Rotunda TONERS AND CARTRIDGES KMP - Computer consumables Kolok - PENGUIN (Inkjets and Laser toners), EPSON, LEXMARK, HP. PaperGeni TOP RETRIEVAL FILING Optiplan a div of Waltons - Paper based top retrieval filing systems Specialised Filing Systems - Total Solution and more Tidy Files - Complete onsite and offsite filing solutions TOYS, HOBBIES AND GAMES Freedom Stationery Pyrotec - Toby Tower Stickers and Activities

STENCILS Freedom Stationery STORAGE SYSTEMS CTP Stationery - Archiving Systems Suspension Files Kolok - VERBATIM (hard drives, USB sticks etc), HP Rexel Office Products - Storage boxes Specialised Filing Systems - Filing Tidy Files - Filing solutions

STACK SHUT DONE

TABLET AND ACCESSORIES D.O.S - Clarys, iStay

TELEX ROLLS AND TELETEX PAPER Rotunda

SPIKE FILES Grip Binders

STATIONERY SUNDRIES - SCHOLASTIC CTP Stationery - DONAU Scissors and cutting knives Freedom Stationery - Marlin, Edo and Unifile Palm Stationery Manufacturers - New Wave Power Stationery - Powerstar

SCISSORS AND CUTTERS Freedom Stationery - Marlin Palm Stationery Manufacturers Power Stationery - Powerstar Rexel Office Products

The World Leader in Auto Feed Shredding

SLATES Freedom Stationery - Marlin Parrot Products - Whiteboard and chalk board

T

Auto+ 60X

TRANSFER LETTERING AND SIGNS Parrot Products - Vinyl lettering TRANSPARENCIES Kolok - Penguin transparencies for inkjet and laser OEM, Penguin and HP Transparencies Rexel Office Products - NOBO range

Auto+ 80X

Auto+ 100X | 100M

buyers’ guide

See page 46 for contact details

V VISITORS BOOKS/REGISTERS Ledger Systems - Falcon Products - visitors books, hotel guest register, restaurant reservation registers

61

DID YOU KNOW? • The Buyers’ Guide is an affordable way of highlighting your brands while also introducing up and coming new stockists to the trade.

• The Buyers’ Guide is a valuable sourcing tool to market your business and the brands that you carry.

• To book space, contact Wendy on wendy@shop-sa.co.za or (011) 781 0370.

www.rexelsa.co.za Auto+ 200X

Auto+ 300X | 300M

Auto+ 500X | 500M

Auto+ 750X | 750M

CONTACT DETAILS HERE 3M 011 844 9202

PvtBag X926, Rivonia, 2128

(

011 624 8000

Box 86173, City Deep, 2049

(

021 521 2400

Box 36964, Chempet, 7442

7

011 806 2388

Customer Serv: 0800 118 311

7

0866 101 185

labelling@kemtek.co.za

7

021 521 2402/3

info@penflex.co.za

African Filing Systems

Kemtek Imaging Systems - Cape

Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd

(

011 896 5279

www.africanfiling.co.za

(

021 521 9600

Box 181, Cape Town, 8000

(

011 474 1427/8

Box 202, Crown Mines, 2025

7

086 540 6892

info@africanfiling.co.za

7

021 551 5032

brenth@kemtek.co.za

7

011 474 5563

www.pentel.co.za

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Kemtek Imaging Systems - KZN

Peters Papers

(

011 688 6000

Box 6893, Johannesburg, 2000

(

031 700 9363

Box 15685, Westmead, 3608

(

011 677 9000

sadlerly@peterspapers.co.za

7

011 688 6162

marketing.office@antalis.co.za

7

031 700 9369

Sandim@kemtek.co.za

7

011 622 6646

www.peterspapers.co.za

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Cape Town (

021 959 9600

7

021 959 9640

Box 19231, Tygerberg, 7505

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Durban (

031 714 4000

7

031 700 9253

Box 284, Umhlanga, 4320

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Pretoria (

012 379 0060

7

012 379 0052

Box 4013, Pretoria, 0001

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Bloemfontein (

051 447 8681

7

051 447 6765

Box 1795, Bloemfontein, 9300

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Port Elizabeth (

041 486 2020

7

041 486 2219

Box 9088, Estadeal, 6012

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Pietermaritzburg (

033 386 2078

7

033 386 2078

Box 1425, Pietermaritzburg, 3200

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Botswana (

00267 391 2139

7

00267 397 5459

Box 1705, Gaborone

AZ Trading

Kemtek Imaging Systems - PE

Powerhouse Dictation

(

041 582 5222

Box 15685, Westmead, 3608

(

011 887 1056

info@speech.co.za

7

041 582 5224

clinth@kemtek.co.za

7

086 555 3833

www.speech.co.za

Kemtek Imaging Systems - PTA

Power Stationery

(

012 804 1410

PO Box 816, Silverton, 0127

(

032 533 4003

Box 1305, Verulam, 4340

7

012 804 4286

johlettat@kemtek.co.za

7

032 533 3254

powersta@netactive.co.za

Press Products

KMP (

021 709 0190

Box 183, Steenberg, 7947

(

011 493 6332

marketing@pressproducts.co.za

7

021 709 0199

kmppty@iafrica.com

7

011 499 1019

www.pressproducts.co.za

Kolok Unlimited - Head Office

Pyrotec

(

011 248 0300

Box 4151, Johannesburg, 2000

(

021 787 9600

PvtBag X1, Capricorn Square, 7948

7

011 248 0381

infojhb@koloksa.co.za

7

021 787 9791

tower@pyrotec.co.za

Kolok Unlimited - Cape Town

RBE Stationery Manufacturers (Pty) Limited

(

021 597 2700

Box 6385, Roggebaai, 8012

(

011 793 7321

7

021 297 2799

infoctn@koloksa.co.za

7

011 793 7348

sales@rbe.co.za www.rbe.co.za

Reboni Furniture Group

Kolok Unlimited - Durban (

031 570 4900

Box 4206, Riverhorse Valley East, 4017

(

086 173 2664

www.reboni.co.za

7

031 569 6880

infodbn@koloksa.co.za

7

086 627 7737

sales@reboni.co.za

Redfern Print Services - Cape Town

Kolok Unlimited Polokwane (

015 298 8795

Box 862, Ladanna, 0704

(

021 552 9680

Box 403, Milnerton, 7435

7

015 298 8315

infopol@koloksa.co.za

7

021 552 9681

sales@redfern.co.za

Kolok Unlimited - Port Elizabeth

Redfern Print Services - Durban

(

086 111 4407

www.aztradingcc.co.za

(

041 406 9900

Box 3163, North End, 6056

(

031 205 9598

dbnoffice@redfern.co.za

7

011 792 9732

sales@aztradingcc.co.za

7

041 406 9920

infope@koloksa.co.za

7

031 205 7092

www.redfern.co.za

BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Redfern Print Services - Johannesburg

Kolok Unlimited - Namibia

(

011 474 0181

PO BOX 43144, Industria, 2042

(

00264 (61)370500

Box 40797, Ausspannplatz, Namibia

(

011 837 4119

Box 1445, Crown Mines, 2025

7

011 474 6068

16 Maraisburg Road, Industria, 2042

7

00264 (61)370525

valne@kolok.com.na

7

011 837 8917

jhboffice@redfern.co.za

BSC Stationery Sales

Kolok Unlimited - Nelspruit

Rexel Office Products

(

011 420 3250

Box 278, Brakpan, 1540

(

013 758 2233

Box 4338, White River, 1240

(

011 226 3300

www.rexelsa.co.za

7

011 420 3322

sales@treeline.co.za

7

013 758 2235

infonel@koloksa.co.za

7

011 837 2781

sales@rexelsa.co.za

CTP Stationery

Kolok Unlimited - Bloemfontein

Rotunda

(

011 226 5600

Box 43501, Industria, 2042

(

051 433 1876

PvtBag X01, Brandhof, Bloemfontein

(

021 552 5135

Box 189, Maitland, 7404

7

011 474 9242

sales@versafile.co.za

7

051 433 2451

infobfn@koloksa.co.za

7

021 551 3070

rotunda@iafrca.com

D.O.S (Denton Office Solutions)

Kolok Unlimited - Botswana

Royce Imaging Industries

(

060 000 1777

info@dosptyltd.com

(

00267 393 2669

PvtBag B0226, Bontleng, Gaborone

(

011 792 9530

www.royceimaging.co.za

7

086 237 4614

www.dosptyltd.com

7

00267 317 0762

clemencem@vbn.co.bw

7

011 792 9480

sales@royceimaging.co.za

Empire Toy & Stationery

Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Head Office

Krost Office Products

(

011 614 2243

Box 261524, Excom, 2023

(

011 626 2067

Box 75401, Gardenview, 2047

(

011 262 1400

Box 931, Wendywood, 2144

7

011 614 3075

empire@netactive.co.za

7

011 626 2912

sales@krost.co.za

7

011 262 1414

trodat@rse.co.za

Flip File

Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Cape Town

KZN ENVELOPES

(

021 638 3105

Box 2190, Clareinch, 7740

(

031 465 3992

P O Box 41259, Rossburgh, 4072

(

021 448 7008

Box 931, Wendywood, 2144

7

021 633 6942

ashly@flipfile.co.za

7

031 465 1669

info@kznenvelopes.co.za

7

021 448 7014

cpt@trodat.co.za

Freedom Stationery - Johannesburg

Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Durban

Ledger Systems

(

011 314 0953/4

Box 6459, Halfway House, 1685

(

011 433 1808

Box 82586, Southdale, 2135

(

083 377 4109

Box 931, Wendywood, 2144

7

011 314 0957

gpsales@freedomstationery.co.za

7

011 433 8863

info@ledgersystems.co.za

7

031 266 1082

dbn@rse.co.za

Freedom Stationery - Cape Town

South African Diaries

Max Frank

(

021 557 9152/3

36-38 Silverstone Rd Killarney Gardens

(

011 921 1811

Box 200, Isando, 1600

(

021 442 2340

Box 4862, Cape Town, 8000

7

021 557 9155

cptsales@freedomstationery.co.za

7

011 921 1569

sarah.schoeman@tigerbrands.com

7

021 442 2341

phoneyman@sadiaries.co.za

Freedom Stationery KZN (Head Office) (

032 459 2820

Box 478, Mandini, 4490

7

032 459 3255

sales@freedomstationery.co.za

Freedom Stationery - East London

Maynards - Olympus Audio S.A / Olivetti Distributors (

0860 00 1922

Staedtler SA (Pty) Ltd

sales@maynards.co.za

(

011 579 1600

www.staedtler.co.za

www.maynards.co.za

7

011 608 3497

admin@staedtler.co.za

Specialised Filing Systems

Merpak Envelopes

(

043 731 2422

Box 14111 West Bank 5218

(

011 719 7700

sales@merpak.co.za

(

011 477 0640

7

043 731 2421

elsales@freedomstationery.co.za

7

011 885 3174

www.merpak.co.za

7

011 477 3528

Global Bag And Sportswear Manufactures 031 305 6507

P.O Box 18586, Dalbridge, 4014

(

083 444 0959

7

031 301 6553

www.globalbags.co.za

7

011 869 7243

www.specfiling.co.za

Star Stationers and Printers

Narayan Wholesaler

(

Global Envelopes

narayantextiles@gmail.com

(

031 569 1061

luke@starstat.co.za

7

031 569 1094

www.starstat.co.za

Technical Systems Engineering

New Era Office cc

(

031 465 5544

envelopes@absamail.co.za

(

011 334 2013

Box 10383, Lenasia, 1821

(

011 708 2304

Box 1532, Northriding, 2162

7

031 465 5634

www.envelopes.co.za

7

011 334 7358

kuban@neweraoffice.co.za

7

011 708 1799

sales@tse.co.za

Gordon’s Productions

Tidy Files

Nikki - Cape Town

011 943 4210

(

031 705 8713

Suite 69, PvtBag X4, Kloof, 3640

(

0860 006731

cpt@nikki.co.za

(

7

031 705 8714

jacquie@gordons.co.za

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Topmark

Grafton/Star Paper Products

Nikki - Durban

(

011 837 8045 011 837 7442

www.tidyfiles.co.za info@topmarksa.com

(

011 262 0777

Box 550, Bergvlei, 2012

(

0860 006731

dbn@nikki.co.za

7

7

011 262 0780

sales@graftonpaper.co.za

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Tower (Division of Pyrotec) - Cape Town

Grip Binders (

011 421 1300

Nikki - Johannesburg orders@tigerpaper.co.za

Hortors Stationery

(

021 787 9600

(

0860 006731

jhb@nikki.co.za

7

021 787 9791

PvtBag X1, Capricorn Square, 7948

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Tower (Division of Pyrotec) - Johannesburg

(

011 620 4800

Box 1020, Johannesburg, 2000

Nikki - Pretoria

(

011 611 1820

59 Lepus Rd, Crown Mines, 2025

7

086 612 4663

orders@hortors.co.za

(

0860 006731

pta@nikki.co.za

7

011 611 1834

tower@pyrotec.co.za

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Tower (Division of Pyrotec) Durban

Impala Vuwa Stationery Manufacturers (

036 634 1535

Box 389, Ladysmith, 3370

Nor Paper

7

036 634 1890

impalastat@mweb.co.za

(

011 011 3900

7

011 011 4099

Ink Spot Suppliers (

011 854 3013

7

011 852 3013

sales@nor.co.za

Optiplan a division of Waltons info@inkspotsuppliers.co.za

Interstat Agencies - Durban

Box 6280, Halfway House, 1685

021 386 4261 (Cpt)

tribe@global.co.za

086 681 8256

rcurrin@gp.waltons.co.za

Versafile

Palm Stationery

interstat@mweb.co.za

(

031 507 7051

viran@palmstat.co.za

7

031 507 7053

www.palmstat.co.za

(

021 551 9555

Box 36696, Chempet, 7442

PaperGeni

7

021 557 5456

Capetown@interstat.co.za

(

011 011 3900

info@papergeni.co.za

7

011 011 4099

www.papergeni.co.za

(

041 453 2558

Box 27693, Greenacres, 6057

Paper World

7

041 453 8504

pe@interstat.co.za

(

012 250 1477/8

info@paperworldsa.com.

7

012 250 0322

www.paperworldsa.com

14 Isando Road Isando

Parrot Products

IXAXoffice@gmail.com

(

011 607 7600

debbie@parrot.co.za

7

011 615 2502

www.parrotproducts.biz

my office magazine

011 314 4746 (Jhb)

7

Box 201707, Durban North, 4016

011 392 3628

tower@pyrotec.co.za

(

Tribe 7

031 569 6559

(

Box 594, Pinetown, 3600

031 701 1285

Pencil Park, Croxley Close, Herriotdale

031 569 6550

IXAXA Office Furniture

031 701 0192

7

011 620 4000

7

Interstat Agencies - Port Elizabeth

(

(

(

Interstat Agencies - Cape Town

62

Penflex

Kemtek Imaging Systems

(

(

011 226 5600

Box 43501, Industria, 2042

7

011 474 9242

sales@versafile.co.za

Vol 98 - November 2014

needful things

Needful things Take a look at our selection of needful things essential for back to school The Optima Lock Box holds 1.1 litre capacities and comes in green, blue, pink, purple, red and yellow. Minimum orders are 300 units with a purchase price of R6.30 each, excluding VAT. Call Plastixportal on (011) 824 5878 to order.

Add some bling to your life while keeping your cell phone protected and your money intact - with Mimco’s glitzy gold, silver and leopard print pouches and purses. Call Conversation Capital on (021) 418 1422.

The Coghlan’s Weatherproof Wallet adds weatherproof protection for bus cards and access tickets. Made for quick and easy retrieval, they retail for just R29 at www.takealot.co.za.

Easy for children to carry and separate keys, this funky, kid-friendly GriGri keyring from Pylones can be ordered through Bajo Brand Distributors on (021) 425 9344.

Perfect for home or office use, the Kiwi Leather Care Kit will have shoes shining in no time. Order direct at www.kiwicare.com.

www.shop-sa.co.za

my office magazine

63

punchline

Caption this!

Send us your funniest caption for the photograph below and you stand a chance to win a Rexel Laminator GBC Fusion 1100 A4 valued at R2 000. Send your Punchline and contact details to competitions@ shop-sa.co.za with Punchline in the subject line

Win

The Rexel Laminator is 33% faster than competitor machines, taking just 45 seconds to laminate a standard A4 pouch or 80 pouches per hour, with an additional cold setting for heat sensitive documents. Other features include: • Automatic switch off after 30 minutes of inactivity.

• Exit tray keeps pouches straight as they come through the heated rollers for a perfect, warp-free finish • Incorporates SureFlow™ Technology that reduces jamming significantly for stress-free laminating and maximum productivity • Laminates up to A4 size including ID cards, notices and certificates • Modern, compact design is easy to move around and suits most office and home environments • Single touch button interface: simple to use, no previous experience required • Three heat settings • Accepts 2 x 75 micron (150 in total) pouches, 2 x 100 micron (200 in total) and 2 x 125 micron (250 in total).

WIN ME WINNING CAPTION OCTOBER ISSUE Winning Caption: “Clap clap ‘sound musical’.” – Nicoline Kunneke, Waltons

64

my office magazine

Vol 98 - November 2014

SHOPPING FOR STATIONERY? NEED OFFICE PRODUCTS DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR? LOOK NO FURTHER… My Office magazine – the only accredited publication for the office and home products industry is mailed monthly to office professionals across South Africa.

Register on www.myofficemagazine. co.za to receive your free magazine subscription.

• L earn about cutting edge office technologies • How to work smarter and faster and with best business practice • Get updates on events, promotions and latest offers • Be inspired by the hottest trends in interiors, furniture, and workplace ergonomics • Do business with accredited industry suppliers.

Connect to the largest and most comprehensive database of likeminded professionals in the workplace environment.

Join this expanding community of office professionals, managers, procurement buyers and business owners now when you register on www. myofficemagazine.co.za

My Office magazine is the official publication of the Stationery, Home & Office Products Association of Southern Africa.

AGAZINE.CO.ZA

WWW.MYOFFICEM

Best quality, best value.

Innovative product range of stationery unmatched in Africa. Your solution for home, school and office.

BRANCH DETAILS HEAD OFFICE 7 Orange Street, Isithebe, 4490, tel: 032 459 2820, fax: 032 459 3255, email: careline@freedomstationery.co.za • DURBAN 26 Jeffels Road, Prospecton, 4133 tel: 087 350 7861 fax: 031 902 3293 email: sales@freedomstationery.co.za • MIDRAND 71 Roan Crescent, Corporate Park, Midrand, 1685 tel: 011 314 0953 fax: 011 314 0957 email: gpsales@freedomstationery.co.za • CAPE TOWN 36A Silverstone Road, Killarney Gardens, Kyalami Plaza 2, Cape Town, 7441, tel: 087 350 7863, fax: 021 557 9155, email: cptsales@freedomstationery.co.za • EAST LONDON 3 Nottingham Road, Westbank, East London, 5201, tel: 087 350 7862, fax: 043 731 2421, email: elsales@freedomstationery.co.za BLOEMFONTEIN 7 Bree Street, Hilton, Bloemfontein, 9301, tel: 087 353 7861, fax: 051 430 9816 email: bfnsales@freedomstationery.co.za

www.freedomstationery.co.za

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