Vol 98 March 2014

MARCH 2014 R50.

INC VAT

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

OFFICE PAPER EXPOSÉ

CARING FOR YOUR TECH TOOLS THE LOW-INCOME CUSTOMER NEGOTIATING TRADE AGREEMENTS

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 FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Bill André - bill@shop-sa.co.za NATIONAL OFFICE Web Master: Neil Caetano Design and Layout: Neil Caetano 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.shop-sa.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

32 | INDUSTRY NEWS Industry-related news and trade business announcements 34 | ECO PAGES A green sustainability update, sponsored by Mondi

SALES SAVVY

08 | DOES VOLUME MAKE UP FOR LOW PRICE? Mark Hunter discusses how best to protect your profits 26 | TARGETING THE LOW-INCOME CUSTOMER The low-income customer represents both brand loyalty and a combined purchasing power

BUSINESS SAVVY

06 | MAKING IT TO THE LINE Gavin Moffat examines who manages the deadline 24 | INCUBATING BUSINESS START-UPS A look at incubators and entrepreneurial finance for business start-ups 28 | NEGOTIATING A WIN-WIN STRATEGY How to negotiate trade agreements 39 | 10 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TIPS Data tells a fascinating story of business survival

22 | 35% OF DEALERS ARE IN FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY A round-up of global business successes and industry challenges as reported by OPI this year 30 | DIRECT DIGITAL COMMUNICATION Digital signage enables retailers to reach customers with dynamic, tailored messaging 47 | WIN THIS! Write in and win giveaway products

FUTURE WAVE

MEDIA PRINTED BY Colorpress (pty) ltd.

IN EVERY ISSUE

Office paper sponsored by

Published by

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BEST OFFICE PAPER How best to sell office paper and help clients choose a suitable product

SPECIAL FEATURES

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

Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation

www.shop-sa.co.za | www.facebook.com/shopsa.za

NEWS

CONTRIBUTIONS 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 discretion.

Stationery sponsored by

Vol 98 | March 2014

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MEAN TO CLEAN IT ACCESSORIES Maintain your investment in office machinery by following these simple cleaning guidelines

02 04 05 36 40 48

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

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editor’s letter

Short shrift marketing doesn’t touch bottom

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ave you ever stopped to consider how much time you spend in a day engaging faceto-face with other people, and how much time you spend communicating via an electronic device?

The answer might be slightly shocking unless you live in a retail world. For negotiators in the trade (see page 28) human contact will thankfully remain pivotal.

However, such opportunities present themselves less and less in both our business and social lives. For many of us, we work and live in a “new” world. Not so long ago, we would dress up to attend the cinema; book tickets for a night out at the ballet; meet at friends’ homes for three- or four-course dinner parties; or take a Sunday drive to see new things.

Nowadays, petrol makes people think twice about where they travel; the entertainment budget is the first to be shaved; and a growing epidemic of seriesswops via USBs have replaced dinner parties, whether one owns a television or not.

One friend admits to climbing into bed with her laptop every night, hooked on her latest series of choice, and saying after each episode “just one more” – in fact, she has gone so far as to label it her

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“digital heroin”.

What does this all mean? It means that daily it gets more challenging to authentically connect with other people in a meaningful way.

It means that we continue to lose trust in mass marketing tactics because, well, there are so many mass marketing tactics out there to try to handle.

It means maybe the big wheel will turn full circle, and the humble road rep will become our most trusted asset and business advisor.

We still want to look someone in the eye, have a chat about something nonbusiness related, and shake hands with a smile when we part.

Thankfully, the POPI Act will put paid to the less scrupulous mass marketing tactics out there. In our Office Paper feature on page 10, paper industry representatives reassure us that they understand the importance of experiencing the feel of real paper.

I must admit that unsolicited SMS advertising annoys me somewhat.

Another friend of mine says gleefully that she won’t send a “stop” mail reply to the advertiser – which would cost her – but rather lets the company continue to send the advertising and pay for her SMS advert.

Every time she receives one, she adds another superfluous rand to their bill. A practice of reverse marketing surely? I have taken to polishing my cell phone screen every time I receive one – read our cleaning products for IT accessories on page 20 – so at least something positive will come of it.

Another question that needs to be asked is how relevant and resonant is the current marketing material you are sending out? Is the association between your brand and the channel that you are utilising positive for the consumer?

How can you keep a balance between retaining and gaining markets in both the “old” and the “new” world way?

I would go so far as to say that the truly enthusiastic consumers desire the original experience. The real mainstays to the brand markets are not buying into the digital overflow. Perhaps even young people are aware of the flotsam that gets carried on the short shrift surface and are looking for deeper waters in terms of value and authenticity. Look at the return to vinyl records, vintage clothing and toys, retro furniture, classic cars.

As the world becomes overloaded with throw-away products and mass digital marketing, we are seeing a return to the value of brands that have stood the test of time.

Yes, you can read this magazine on our Web site at www.shop-sa.co.za or you can subscribe and get your very own copy of a fingers-to-paper, high-gloss printed magazine posted to your home or office.

Wendy Dancer in Johannesburg or myself in Cape Town can come visit you in your office and enjoy a personal exchange … we may even bring cookies.

Tell us who you are, keep us informed of your brands and let us help you deliver your message in the pages of a trade magazine that has been in existence since 1906. We see the value in it and hope you do too. m Vol 98 - March

2014

crime alert

Could this happen to you?

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ast year, a South African company had reason to fire one of its drivers. Seeing a window of opportunity, the ex-employee, who was still in possession of his branded uniform, arrived at a supplier’s warehouse with adjusted documentation and proceeded to take possession of that week’s current stock delivery. It was only 30 minutes later when the “new” driver arrived to collect stock that the supplier realised the stock had been released to a fraudster - albeit one they were familiar with.

In another incident, which took place in 2013, a large manufacturer fired an employee for stealing money.

Unbeknownst to the manufacturer, the ex-employee approached one of their customers and asked for a job. The customer did call the manufacturing company for a reference, but did not speak to the head of the company - only to the next-in-line manager. The person was duly employed by the client. When

the ex-employee again stole money, this time from their new employer, the client company took retributive action against the manufacturer. It cost the manufacturer R10 000 in compensation to their client.

These two stories raise the following questions: • Do you follow due process when hiring and firing staff, including retrieval of branded uniforms; informing the industry and clients that the person is no longer employed by you; and notifying the industry about a new staff member who will be temporary custodian of both parties’ goods? This is especially relevant when it comes to key employees leaving from either the finance or orders departments.

• Do you do adequate criminal history security checks when hiring new staff and get at least three verbal recommendations on the person in question?

PLATINUM SPONSORS:

GOLD SPONSORS:

SILVER SPONSORS:

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 info@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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Vol 98 - March

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crime alert

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Web Buttons

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Do you have adequate security in place with which to monitor and follow up on crime incidences such as CCTV, booms and a guard at the gate to monitor vehicle registration numbers and get drivers’ identification?

Do you report crimes to your local police station so that the relevant authorities can gather information about fraudsters and their modus operandi in order to better police the industry as a whole?

www.parrotproducts.biz

www.chafrica.co.za

•

Do you report criminal activity to shop-sa so that the industry is made aware of individuals and their modus operandi, thereby assisting the industry as a whole to prevent crime?

Call (011) 781 0370 or (021) 780 1209, or e-mail editor@ shop-sa.co.za with your crime alert and help prevent criminal activity from taking place in the industry. m

www.silveray.co.za

www.redfern.co.za

email: sales@redfern.co.za

THE LABEL SPECIALIST Stick with the best!

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www.nikki.co.za

www.hortors.co.za

www.rexelsa.co.za

www.bop.co.za

www.interstat.co.za

www.towerproducts.co.za

www.kmp.co.za

®

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www.shop-sa.co.za

www.treeline.co.za

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business landscape ACKNOWLEDGMENT GAVIN MOFFAT can be contacted on gavin@puruma. com or follow him on www.twitter.com/gavinmoffat

Making it to the line Does the deadline manage you, or do you manage the deadline?

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nce a month, a deadline rolls around to submit my article for the My Office magazine. I’ll usually get an e-mail from the editor with a friendly reminder about when it is due. You’d think because I have been doing this for a while the reminder would be unnecessary and I’d be ready with a piece. But that’s not how I - or for that matter, many people - function.

When the deadline is thousands of minutes away, we are not in the least bit inclined or motivated to begin the task - let alone to make a great deal of headway. When the deadline is a week or two away, it is still too far and there is little doubt that there are other pressing matters that prevent us from jumping in the deep end and beginning what will no doubt not be an easy task.

Then the day comes and the deadline is directly over our heads. We begin to feel much like those staring at the guillotine may have felt - like we are about to lose our minds. Depending on your personality and ability to cope with varying degrees of stress, you may or may not feel an impending sense of doom at an approaching deadline.

We’re a funny bunch. We’re all made of the same material but testing our mettle results in the differences becoming more distinct.

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So how do you respond to an imminent deadline? Do you bury your head in some other work? Do the opposite and find everything under the sun to do except what is needed? Do you knuckle down and get it done? Do you take the opportunity to go shopping and buy something to make you feel less stressed, and then return to the scene of the deadline only to realise that your purchase did not help at all?

I have a relatively good tolerance for high stress situations, so I only begin to feel edgy when I receive the second or third reminder e-mail from the editor. At that point the fight or flight response kicks in - and I then decide to fight, which, in this case, means battling that “thing” that will not retreat or capitulate. I fight by finally going to battle, armed with the knowledge that my defences can no longer sustain the onslaught of excuses I make.

If you’re like me, then more often than not that’s when you produce the best goods. Do you thrive under pressure? Well then isn’t the rest of life just a little boring?

If you have employees or team members who show this “last minute” trait, maybe you should see how you could better work with them. Use their “under pressure” skills to your advantage.

Give them the impossible, last-minute task and watch them whizz through it with excellent results. They are not lazy; they are just motivated by something different.

I’ve just received the second reminder e-mail from the Ed. What shall I write about this time? m

Vol 98 - March

2014

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sales savvy ACKNOWLEDGMENT MARK HUNTER is The Sales Hunter, author of HighProfit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price. He is a consultative selling expert committed to helping individuals and companies identify better prospects and close more profitable sales. To get a free weekly sales tip, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com.

Does volume make up for low price?

How best to protect your profits

T

he phone rings and the sales manager hears on the other end the all-too-familiar plea of a salesperson.

The salesperson tries to convince the sales manager that it makes so much sense to offer the prospect a discount to get them to finally become a customer.

Of course, the salesperson has the expectation that this prospect will quickly become a high-profit customer. The sales manager has heard the same plea hundreds of times before, and yet for some reason, the salesperson and the lack of current sales suddenly make offering a discount very attractive.

It’s as if we’re watching the unveiling of a very slow accident that is completely avoidable and yet happens anyway. The salesperson gets it into their head that the only way to close the deal is by discounting the price. They just need to convince their sales manager to go along with it. When this occurs, a major shift happens with how the salesperson does their job. No longer are they selling to the customer; now they’re selling to the sales manager. The problem with this is simple: a salesperson gets paid for selling to customers. That’s how both the top-line and the bottom-line are made.

If you’re reading this and you’re a salesperson, here is some very simple advice. Contrary to what you believe will happen, you will never make up in long-term profit what you’re about to give up with your immediate discount. Sure, there are always exceptions to this, but such exceptions are similar to winning the lottery. Is it doable? Yes. Is it probable? No.When you discount the price, the new price is now the price of value the customer

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is willing to pay. When they’re offered the price once, they will expect it again and again. When you attempt to move the price to the “normal or regular” price, they see it as a price increase.

Even if you do get the price up to the “normal or regular” price, you’re still behind the profit curve because of all the product you sold to the customer at the lower “discounted” price.

I hear this argument a lot: “You don’t understand. If I didn’t offer the discount, I would never have had the opportunity to move the price up, because they would never have become a customer.”

My response is always the same: “So what? It doesn’t matter.”

In your quest to get the customer, you cut your price. But you did so much more than that. What you did was cut your profit, dollar for dollar. That is a very simple fact of what happens when you cut your price. It’s highly unlikely you cut the cost of your goods or services, because your goal is to get the customer to experience what you can do. That means the only place to cut is your profit.

Here’s the deal: your ability as a salesperson is not in how much you sell, but in how much you earn for your company. It’s the bottom-line profit that counts, and anytime you reduce your price, you’re slashing your profit.

There is not a sales manager out there of any quality who will allow any salesperson to spend their valuable time trying to sell internally. The focus must be on external selling. Focus first on creating value by determining the needs of the customer. Then position your product or service as the solution, and do so at full price.

This is the only strategy that ensures you are not only protecting profit, but also ultimately in a place to increase it. m Vol 98 - March

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The best office paper for the job Office paper comes in an array of colours, finishes, weights, sizes and brands. Help your client choose the best product for their purposes

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how to sell ho would have thought a few decades ago just how important an A4 sheet of white paper would become? Used in almost every type of business transaction, reaching for it is as familiar as reaching for your toothbrush.

In the US, Vanderbilt University Medical Centre spends over R6,4-million annually on office paper for its copiers and faxes, laser and ink jet printers. The average office worker uses 10 000 sheets of copy paper every year. Nelson Mandela recently wrote a will on a single sheet of A4 paper in which he asked to be buried on a remote hillside in his ancestral home of Qunu.

Paper remains very much a fact of our everyday life, with multi-purpose copier paper the workhorse most commonly used across industries, from school crafts to government presentations. This is because multi-use papers deliver reliable performance in a variety of office imaging equipment; are economical and competitively priced; and are available in all common sizes.

However, there are five other categories of paper to consider: laser printer paper; inkjet printer paper; colour copier paper; recycled paper; and security paper.

Along with standard-sized paper, there are other types of paper products that fall under the heading of printer paper too. These include photo paper, labels, stickers, cardstock, canvas, textured art paper and envelopes. One of the most important types of paper available is security paper. This paper is designed to help deter document fraud by embedding covert security features - such as hidden words - that will appear when a document is scanned or copied.

It is essential we consider where our paper of choice comes from, how it was produced and which of its inherent qualities make it suitable for the job at hand.

What to look for in paper •

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Smoothness - the smoother the paper, the sharper the printed image; the lower the number, the smoother the paper.

For example, laser printer paper is optimised for use in laser printers. It improves printer performance, especially for colour and complex graphics.

Inkjet printer paper ensures images print cleanly without bleeding.

Whiteness - the whiter the paper being printed on, the better colour and black and white copies will look.

Grammage - the weight of the paper (grammage) runs from 80gsm to 160gsm and choice is determined by the application. The higher the weight, the thicker the individual sheets of paper.

Printing sharpness - provided via a combination of paper finishes and weight.

Runnability and copier performance - consistent, reliable performance helps reduce printer wear and tear.

Appearance and two-sided use - how well paper prevents light from shining through it is referred to as the

www.shop-sa.co.za

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paper’s opacity. Multi-purpose paper is fairly translucent and you can see shapes and shadows through it. Heavier paper will be thicker and therefore opaque. This is important if printing presentations with a lot of colourful charts and graphs. Thicker paper will resist the ink bleeding through to the back.

Colour - the colour of the paper is determined by what it will be used for, such as brochure work.

Sustainability - does your office paper have an FSC certification? Always look for the Forest Stewardship Council logo (FSC), as this ensures that the timber used to produce the pulp was grown in a responsible manner and has been certified so by FSC. Paper dust - don’t ignore the printer’s manual as a guideline for the types of paper to be used in it. Manuals usually specify the types and sizes of paper that should be used for optimal printing results. Poor quality paper can clog up expensive machinery by shedding “paper dust”.

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how to sell Mondi Mondi’s premium brand is the locallyproduced Rotatrim A4 and A3 papers, which caters for all office printing requirements. It is part of Mondi’s Green Range of products. The Green Range consists entirely of FSC-certified paper, sourced from well-managed forests.

It is totally chlorine free (TCF) paper which is 100% recycled. This range allows consumers to obtain great quality without compromising on environmental sustainability.

Mondi prides itself on the production of a smooth and white (160 CIE) sheet, which aids machine runnability and delivers high-quality results. Mondi’s Rotatrim brand has been known for many years as the better performance paper.

It is a brand which has been built on performance, and all of the characteristics which have earned it this reputation are still in place. Reliability and a guarantee of hassle-free running means that users never have to worry about problems like paper jams.

Double-sided printing is becoming increasingly important as businesses look to cut costs and maximise consumer spend. Mondi’s Rotatrim paper uses Eucalyptus pulp in the manufacturing process to provide bulk to the product, ensuring a “thick” sheet of paper with excellent opacity.

This results in a reduction of showthrough on double-sided prints. With Mondi Rotatrim, users can be assured of quality results whether the paper is running through a photocopier, laser printer, inkjet printer or fax machine.

Mondi views sustainability as integral to the success of its business. In South Africa, the company owns and manages one of the largest FSC-certified plantation units in the world. This accreditation means that the company’s plantations are managed in a responsible and sustainable manner.

The company has a comprehensive approach to managing its footprint, which includes focus areas such as responsible forestry practices, managing water impact, investing in energy efficiency and self-sufficiency at mills, and community development.

Mondi actively supports enterprise development and black economic empowerment through Mondi Zimele - a small business development support organisation that provides funding, business development and market linkages for future suppliers within the

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Mondi forestry value chain.

Mondi has also supported the Wetlands Programme for over 10 years, with a focus on protecting and rehabilitating wetlands in South Africa.

On 20 February 2014 Mondi Group and WWF International announced that they will work together in a three-year strategic partnership to focus on increasing

environmental stewardship in the packaging and paper sectors. The partnership sends a strong message that addressing environmental sustainability makes good business sense. The partnership will focus on minimising the impacts of Mondi’s operations on forests, the climate and water systems. It also encourages sustainable practices in the industry.

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Seven advantages of Double A paper •

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Good runnability - with the modern rotary cutting machines for sheeting the paper, paper jams in copiers are greatly reduced.

Printing sharpness - due to standard smoothness control, the even paper surface allows for good toner transfer, which makes the copy as sharp as the original.

Excellent smoothness - by sourcing fibre pulps from selected raw materials, Double A can control the quality of its paper production. Every sheet of paper has a smooth surface which is useful for printing and copying.

Bright appearance – highquality raw materials and modern production technologies give the paper greater whiteness, which lends itself to high print contrast.

Prolongs copier performance - thanks to sharp cutting edges from the rotary cutting machines, there is a low dust content when printing or copying. Low dust content prolongs the life of the copier.

Two-sided use – the high opacity of Double A paper is derived from a special innovation in raw materials resulting in improved doubledsided prints.

Longer storage period for documents - first-rate raw materials, combined with modern technology and acidfree paper, provides a longer storage time for documents.

my office magazine

Antalis Antalis offers a range of “easy to choose, easy to use” environmentally friendly office papers some of which are exclusive to the company. The company’s white multi-functional range includes Double A, Kalaari, Rotatrim and Typek.

The premium grades such as IQ Selection Smooth and Color Copy, along with a range of Speciality grades like Image Coloraction a range of tinted bond papers, Black Album boards as well as Fine Papers which provide users with a superior range of options for their business communication.

Kalaari is part of the Antalis range of office papers. Kalaari is manufactured using pulp from sustainably managed plantations to preserve natural forests.

It is an environmentally friendly A4 multi-functional white copier paper and is FSC™ mix-source certified. It is inkjet and laser guaranteed, is suitable for high speed copying, has a CIE whiteness of 160, has excellent opacity, a smooth surface, and is acid free with archival quality.

Kalaari is specially designed for trouble-free use in all office machines. It is available in A4 80gsm, packed 500 sheets in a ream with five reams in a box.

Double A is made up of 100% virgin wood fibre from environmentally sustainable sources. Here, 90% virgin fibre is sourced from vacant spaces around Thai farmers’ rice paddies in Thailand – a project known as Paper from KHAN-NA. A premium quality office paper manufactured since 1991, this A4 size paper is ideal for both photocopying and printing purposes. It has a number of unique qualities: extra whiteness; high opacity; superior smoothness; and the ability to reproduce copies that are as sharp as the original. The paper’s smoothness significantly improves the photocopying process, thus reducing paper jams, while the quality and consistency of pulp density in every sheet enables better toner absorption, resulting in sharper copies.

The high opacity of the paper also allows both sides of the paper to be used without ink or toner seeping through to the other side. High-quality prints can be made on both

sides, and paper can be recycled more effectively.

Aside from the quality plant breed, Double A has chosen production technology to ensure that every paper tree is turned into high-quality paper.

Color Copy is available in A4 and A3 sizes, in gloss, silk and uncoated papers. It has a special surface treatment for improved full-colour printing on colour lasers and copiers. This provides good results for documents such as presentations, direct mailings, manuals, corporate plans and business cards.

The advantages of this are seen in the grade of toner/image transfer; a highquality print; smooth feeding; a reduction on machine wear-and-tear; and long-term protection against fading.

Image Coloraction is new to the Antalis range and consists of tinted, multifunctional papers and boards used for colour coding office systems and will add maximum impact to any business document. The Image Coloraction range is available in bold and pastels tints in A4 80gsm and 160gsm.

It is produced from elementally chlorine-free pulp, made from responsibly managed wood forests. Image Coloraction is FSC-certified 70% mix-source and can be used for easy identification amidst other paperwork, colourful invitations, leaflets and tickets, eye-catching presentations and reports.

It is available in Pastels, Mid, Bold and Neon colours, as well as in Rainbox packs. It can also be successfully litho printed for economical brochures, pamphlets and note books.

IQ Selection Smooth 160gsm (CIE 166) premium office paper is a superior multi-functional paper. It is extra smooth and very white. It offers good opacity and is excellent for full colour printing results on colour inkjets, colour laser printers and copiers. It comes in A4 and A3 sizes and 90gsm and 160gsm thicknesses.

Antalis Office endeavours to meet the on-going needs of resellers, stationers, retailers and office machine manufacturers.

Not only does the company offer a range of FSC-certified papers produced from responsibly managed forests - which allow consumers to be more discerning and more creative, delivering an improved end product – but it also offers a range of industrial packaging products to complement the range of office papers. To find out more “Just ask Antalis” www.antalis.co.za Vol 98 - March

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Freedom Stationery Established in 1987 in Isithebe, KwaZulu-Natal, Freedom Stationery recently celebrated its 25th birthday.

The last quarter-century has seen the stationery manufacturer grow from a fledgling competitor to a wellrespected leader in its field.

The rapid growth of the brand has resulted in Freedom Stationery setting up six fully-fledged branches with nationwide distribution.

The company has grown its export market, and currently trades with Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and other neighbouring countries.

In 2000 the company invested in an extrusion, injection moulding and conversion plastics plant in Cape Town. By July 2003 this division was moved to Isithebe, leaving the

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Cape Town plant as a distribution warehouse.

The plastic division specialises in filing sleeves, display books, presentation files, secretarial folders, pencil cases, rulers and other polypropylene products.

In July 2003 the company acquired a distribution warehouse in Midrand, Gauteng.

This move allowed Freedom Stationery to be in close proximity to its existing customers, resulting in increased market share and new business.

The new premises in Gauteng also allowed the company to expand its business further, as the province is known as the gateway to business on the African continent.

In 2003 the company acquired the MARLIN brand of stationery, and still supplies a comprehensive range of MARLIN home, office and scholastic accessories.

In August of the same year, the company obtained machinery for the manufacture of lever arch files and ring binder files, as well as a printing machine for design covers. The demand for these new products grew and by July 2004 Freedom Stationery had also acquired a company in the Kempton Park area that manufactured files. The file plant still trades under the name South African File Manufacturers.

The addition of MARLIN KIDS, a brand of children’s stationery, was announced in August 2007.

By April 2008 the company had opened its East London branch, and

by October the company was certified as ISO Vol 98 - March

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9001:2008 compliant.

In 2012 Freedom Stationery added two new branches to its family: the Prospecton, Durban branch, which houses sales and warehousing, and the Port Elizabeth branch.

Freedom Stationery opened its sixth branch in Bloemfontein in May 2013.

With a fleet of delivery vehicles, Freedom Stationery Bloemfontein is now geared for service delivery to customers in the Free State and Northern Cape.

The company is currently certified as a level-three BBBEE contributor.

Its core business is the manufacturing of scholastic books, with volumes in excess of 100-million books per year.

The company also proudly boasts the title of largest manufacturer of scholastic books in the southern hemisphere. m jackaroo_SA-Ad_A5_OK.pdf

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office sanitation

Mean to clean IT accessories Maintaining your investment in office machinery – and maintaining your health in the office – is as simple as following these cleaning guidelines

F

ax machines, copiers, monitors, computers, phones, keyboards and scanners are touched every day by any number of staff going about their work day. Added to this is the accumulation of dust, fibres, food and liquid spills which can result in lowering the operating efficiency of your office machinery and increasing the risk of health issues in people.

Telephones topped the charts in most offices globally as the bacteria-ridden piece of equipment, followed by desks and computer keyboards.

“The phone is typically the dirtiest piece of equipment in an office because it goes straight to your mouth, and you never clean or disinfect it,” says microbiologist Dr Charles Gerba.

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How to Read the manual for each piece of office machinery, as they have their own set of unique requirements. It will also refresh your memory on procedures you may have forgotten, such as economy mode or double-sided printing.

Ensure there is good airflow around office equipment and that it is not placed up against walls where heat and humidity caused by improper airflow can result in damage. Dust your equipment with a lint-free cloth and anti-static cleaner periodically. Severe dust build-up can interfere with the proper functioning of the equipment and decrease its life span.

Keep toner on hand so you can replace it as needed. Read your manual to learn how to remove and insert new toner cartridges and how to best dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way.

Don’t leave dead batteries in batteryoperated equipment as, especially in coastal regions, they are likely to rust and damage the equipment. Dispose of batteries by placing them in special Vol 98 - March

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collection boxes. Uniross, for example, has joined forces with Pick n Pay and selected Makro, Builders Warehouse and Stax stores to collect and sort batteries, and dispose of them safely.

Retain all boxes, instruction manuals and maintenance agreements in a specific place. If you are not using an item of machinery, return it to its box and store it away in a storage facility.

Heat build-up can cause problems for any computer. Generally, when temperatures inside the case rise above 35°C (95°F), the risk of damaging important internal

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components increases greatly. The most common cause of overheating is the accumulation of dust inside the computer. The electrical components in a computer generate heat and fans inside the computer help move the air to keep the components cooled to normal operating temperatures.

Inadequate cooling can cause excess heat to build up inside the case which can damage components. Constantly hearing the fan may indicate that the computer is not running as efficiently as possible and that there is a problem with accumulated dust clogging the air vents.

Spray compressed air into vents and keyboards to rid these areas of dust.

These handy tools allow users to dust intricate areas in computer keyboards, typewriters, telephones, photo equipment and delicate household items. Be careful when using them so the air doesn’t push the dirt further into the device.

The TFT or LCD screen is one of the most expensive components of your notebook or desktop computer and they’re very sensitive to dust, fingerprints and even coughs or sneezes. Commercial anti-static screen cleaners, which are available from office-supply or computer stores, work best when cleaning monitors and glass components. Be sure to choose the right cleaner for the right surface.

Anti-static cleaners offer protection against dust and can also be used to

clean casings for computers, printers, fax machines, televisions, phones and video and audio equipment.

These cleaners also work well to clean desktops and desk-blotter pads.

Alternatively, use distilled water applied with a soft, lint-free cloth that won’t scratch to clean monitors and glass components. Be sure that the LCD screen is dry before closing it or using the computer. Do not use any solutions that contain acetone, ethyl alcohol, toluene, ethyl acid, ammonia or methyl chloride. Never touch the LCD screen with your fingers, as this can cause the pixels to burn out.

Take your mouse apart and clean the track ball inside to keep it free of dust build-up and allow the ball to roll smoothly.

Use commercial cleaning solutions sparingly to clean the plastic casings of your equipment. You may use a spray lubricant to get rid of hard-to-remove smudges.

Do not place anything heavy on your computer laptop or notebook.

When using a carrying case or backpack, do not overstuff the carrying case. This can apply extra pressure to the laptop case and LCD back.

Handle your tablet or notebook with care to maintain its appearance. If you are concerned about scratching or abrasion, you can use one of the many cases sold separately. Many tablets have an oleophobic coating on the screen; simply wipe the screen with a soft, lint-free cloth to remove oil left by your hands. The ability of this coating to repel oil will diminish over time with normal usage, and rubbing the screen with an abrasive material will further diminish its effect and may scratch your screen.

Use the self-clean feature on your Vol 98 - March

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office sanitation fax machine periodically. Check your manual to learn the recommended schedule for using this feature.

Lubricate the lens shafts of your copy machine with lubricating oil and a soft, lint-free cloth. Use the lubricating oil on the scanner and side rails as well.

Run power cables and electrical cords behind or under the desk and use cable protectors to keep them from collecting dust and getting tangled.

Use a surge protector to prevent electrical surge damage from affecting any computer components.

When using a halogen desk lamp, remember not to touch the halogen bulb with your fingers. The smallest residue of oil from a human hand can rub off on the bulb, creating an atmosphere where the bulb warms too quickly when the lamp is turned on, causing the bulb to explode. Disposable rubber gloves work well by protecting the bulb while still allowing easy manoeuvrability.

Avoid having food and drinks around office equipment. Provide a canteen so staff are not forced to eat their lunch at their desks. Clean out a keyboard by turning it upside down and blasting a shot of compressed air between and under the keys. Cleaning kits also provide dust brushes or you can keep a mini vacuum cleaner near at hand.

Wipe the keys with a damp clean cloth or use cotton swabs. Never spray liquid cleaner directly on the keyboard. If liquid or dirt gets under the keys, they will stick and will not be able to make contact, thus preventing the key from working.

www.shop-sa.co.za

If a key does get stuck, unplug the keyboard and pry off the key cap. Clean the key cap thoroughly, and spray the underneath area with a contact cleaner – a solution typically used to clean electrical contacts.

Check all equipment cooling fans are working properly. A build-up of dust and lint on the fan is a sign that there’s also a build up inside the equipment.

You may need to call the relevant service provider to do an internal maintenance check.

Wipe down your desk and surrounding items with a disinfecting wipe once a week.

Keep a hand sanitizer at your desk and use it throughout the day.

Wash coffee mugs and glasses on a regular basis.

Keep a handy box of wipes or tissues on your desk in case of unexpected spills and if you are sick don’t go to work. However, avoid using paper towels, toilet paper, tissue paper, or clothing to wipe any type of screen.

These materials can scratch the display.

Dr Gerba says he’s noticed a decline in the number of bacteria in most offices he’s tested over the last four years, thanks to the use of antibacterial products.

“We see more use of disinfectants and hand sanitisers than we used to in offices,” he notes. “If office hygiene hasn’t been adopted yet in your workplace, now’s the time to set some guidelines.”

By using these tips, employees and employers could potentially cut absenteeism in half by reducing the typical two to three colds per employee each year – a figure which doubles for workers with children - and protect the longevity of your investment in automated office equipment. m

Excessive heat issues in computers The following list, provided by HP, describes some of the issues caused by too much heat in the computer: Symptoms: • Games stop responding during play.

• Windows stops responding during use.

• Fans inside the computer become louder because they are spinning faster to remove the heat.

• When starting the computer, it sometimes stops at a black screen and does not open into Windows.

Windows usually stops responding when it does open.

• Mouse and keyboard stop responding.

• Computer unexpectedly restarts or displays a fault message in Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP. • Windows 95, 98, and ME “Frequent Fatal Exception”, “Illegal Operation”, or “General Protection Fault” error messages occur in several software programs.

Causes: • Dust inside the computer.

• A new component, such as a hard drive, is added. The extra component causes the power supply to work harder and generate more heat. Extra heat also radiates off the new component and adds to the temperature inside the case.

• Over time, some cooling fans might slow down and wear out, depending on the usage of the computer.

• A high ambient room temperature.

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international focus ACKNOWLEDGMENT All information reprinted courtesy of www.opi.net – full magazine and digital newsletter subscription available at www.opi.net

35% of dealers are in financial difficulty A round-up of global business successes and industry challenges as reported by OPI since January 2014

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uch is said about the plight of dealers: that 35% of them are in financial difficulty is the latest figure being bandied about in the UK. On the flipside, a healthy 65% are doing reasonably well - and Universal Office Products is one of them.

Adveco CEO Millan Alvarez-Miranda is “very satisfied” with the group’s 2013 sales and profitability performance, despite the difficult market conditions in Europe – and especially in Spain.

The wholesaler has already announced cost-cutting initiatives that will see 160 Spanish jobs go in 2014 and 2015.

Consumer electronics retailer Radio Shack has said it will close more than 1 000 stores in the US after Q4 samestore sales slumped 19%. Radio Shack said that even with the closures, it would still have more than 4 000 stores across the US – including 900 dealer franchise locations. CEO Joe Magnacca says the closures form part of the company’s fivepoint plan to turn Radio Shack around, which includes repositioning the brand; revamping the product assortment; reinvigorating the stores; operational efficiency; and financial flexibility.

US print group Cenveo has said its envelope division achieved 3,5% organic sales growth for Q4 2013. According

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to CEO Bob Burton, direct mail was responsible for much of the growth in the envelope division, and he highlighted credit card mailings in particular.

Online sales at consumer electronics retailer Best Buy grew by 26% in the fourth quarter. The company revealed that Q4 2013 sales for its domestic online division reached $1,57-billion – almost 13% of its overall sales of $14,47-billion for the quarter. This was up from 10% in the corresponding quarter the year before.

Chinese stationery manufacturer China Stationery has revealed sales dropped by more than 9% in 2013. The drop in sales, from $320-million in 2012 to $294-million last year, was blamed on the economic slow-down in Europe and America. Its patented products division was also blamed, with sales down 29,5% from $101,8-million in 2012.

China Stationery’s non-patented products made for better reading with sales in 2013 virtually flat at $220-million.This performance was attributed to strong performance by the company’s filing and storage and expandable files products.

International office supplies vendor Acme United said it achieved record sales of $89,6-million in 2013 on the back of back-to-school products and first aid kits. Acme CEO Walter Johnsen said: “We achieved record sales, strengthened our product offerings across all our brands

and acquired a superb facility in North Carolina to consolidate many of our operations.”

Document and information security vendor Martin Yale reported a sales drop of 12,5% for 2013. The company blamed weakness in the worldwide office products market and increased competition in the information security category for the falls in sales and profit.

Business supplies reseller TAKKT reported a 2,6% decline in organic sales in 2013.

Weaker toner sales saw supplies revenue at HP fall 3% in its Q1 2014 results. CEO Meg Whitman blamed “aggressive” price competition from Japanese vendors and an increase in clones and remanufactured products.

UK document and print management firm Balreed said its sales grew by 23% to just over $48,5-million despite “challenging economic conditions”. Group marketing director Gary Downey says, “We achieved $8,4-million of organic growth, winning new clients and growing our share of existing clients”. ”Avery’s parent company has said the label maker performed better than expected as it reported Q4 sales of $138,6-million.

PaperlinX is expecting to post a full-year underlying loss of up to $7,2-million (before taxes) after revealing that worldwide trading fell Vol 98 - March

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international focus below expectations. The Australianbased paper merchant singled out the UK as one of the weak markets.

Australian stationery supplier Officeworks is targeting the B2B sector after announcing half-year sales of $673-million. The company said part of the profit growth was down to lower costs and reduced operational complexity.

The numbers came on the back of a year where Officeworks upgraded many of its 152 stores and invested in its Web site.

Sales at UK wholesaler Spicers fell 15,8% in the six months to the end of October 2013. The wholesaler’s sales for the first six months of its 2013/14 financial year were $187,4-million compared with $222,8-million in the same period last year. Better Capital said that new routes to market were “gaining good traction”, but were not sufficient to offset declines in the general market for office products. The investment firm also admitted that service issues with Spicers’ new national distribution centre were incurring “substantial additional costs”, and that “significant resources” were being devoted to manage these issues. Turkey-based reseller Akoffice has

reported double-digit growth for 2013.

The company, which is the strategic partner of Lyreco in Turkey, had sales growth of just under 12% last year.

A previous winner of European Office Products Awards Regional Reseller of the Year, Akoffice also said it had experienced a record start to 2014 – with growth of just over 31% in January.

UK business equipment supplier Slingsby has warned that the company is likely to post a larger pre-tax loss for last year than previously expected. The company blamed a “challenging” trading climate and “increasing price pressures” for the expected loss. John Waterhouse, non-executive chairman, said both factors combined last year to “suppress” order revenues and ultimately force directors to re-evaluate the company’s position.

Waterhouse said that order volumes were “encouraging”.

“The board believes that in spite of the difficult market conditions the recent implementation of our new IT infrastructure will place the company in a stronger position to leverage our substantial key account base.”

European distributor group Interaction

has revealed an 8% growth in sales for its Q-Connect brand in 2013. The group said the growth, which resulted in overall sales of $201,1-million last year, was down to strength in its traditional products such as toners and cartridges, but also increased interest in its technology and EOS supplies.

European distributor ALSO saw net sales rise by more than 3% to $9-billion last year. The company – Europe’s third largest IT distributor – also earned net profit of $69,5-million in 2013.

French reseller Fiducial Office Solutions has reported a 3,4% decline in sales for the 12 months ended 30 September 2013. France’s number three office supplies contract reseller saw sales fall to $295,9-million from $306,3-million a year earlier. The company said that a large part of the decrease was due to not renewing several low-margin contracts in what is a very price competitive market. m

Comments on the current South African office products industry is welcomed at editor@shop-sa.co.za.

business landscape

Incubating business start-ups Every start-up with a great business idea could grow into something better with the right skills support, finance and infrastructure

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business incubator is a programme designed to assist a small business in its development and growth phase by offering both business assistance - such as access to financial assistance, loans and venture capital - and support in the form of equipped work space, coaching, mentoring, advice and access to networks and education.

Research has shown that the successful completion of a business incubator programme dramatically increases the long-term survival rates of start-ups.

Much like banks providing loans, business incubators reserve the right to select the companies with which they want to work based on what they perceive to be a workable business model and strategy. Entrepreneurial business owners are required to meet qualifying criteria as set out by the incubator policy.

Unlike tertiary education facilities,

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there is no graduation from an incubation programme on a defined date. Rather, a set of pre-agreed criteria or benchmarks, which include revenue goals, company size or market share, define the ending of the agreement.

South Africa has a thriving SME sector and government is highly supportive of incubators because they are seen as effective aids in the sustainable growth of the economy. In South Africa, for example, SMMEs currently contribute more than 40% of the GDP. The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) was established in December 2004, through the National Small Business Amendment Act (29

of 2004), and is an agency of the Department of Trade & Industry (dti) mandated to develop, support and promote small enterprises.

Says Seda CEO Hlonela Lupuwana: “Before small enterprises can start creating jobs, they first have to stabilise and become sustainable. However, many start-ups do not survive the most difficult phase of any small enterprise - the first year or two of operation.”

The dti itself administers about 15 incentive programmes and has been able to step up lending through the Black Business Supplier Development Programme, by appointing key partner organisations in South Africa’s Vol 98 - March

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provinces and providing cost-sharing grants for technology and business support services to black-owned small enterprises.

Their Co-operative Incentive Scheme provides cost-sharing grants to cooperatives to purchase equipment or carry out enterprise support, while the Export Marketing and Investment Assistance Scheme helps businesses to attend national pavilions, trade missions and trade shows.

Aurik is an incubator that invests in and builds small businesses into medium sized businesses and then sells them. According to Aurik: “The job of an entrepreneur is to build the business into something that will be attractive to a buyer in the future – after all, your business is your pension. Our approach focuses on enabling entrepreneurs to systematically manage and gain control over their business.”

Raizcorp is Africa’s only unfunded for-profit business incubator model, which provides full-service business support programmes that guide entrepreneurs to profitability. Raizcorp has created Prosperation – its own unique, world-renowned model of business www.shop-sa.co.za

incubation.

Endeavor is a non-profit organisation that identifies and assists high-growth entrepreneurs in emerging markets around the world, providing support for entrepreneurs who are transforming their communities, industries and countries with their visionary ideas.

South African specialist risk finance firm Business Partners Limited has set aside over R1-billion to invest in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 2013/14.

“Annually, new funds will be split approximately between real assets (50%), those being property investment into purchases, joint ventures and financing of owner occupied properties; traditional family-owned, lifestyle small and growing businesses (40%); and high impact and risk deals (10%),” says executive director Christo Botes. “Despite the challenging economic environment, we are finding that South African SMEs are still growing and there is an appetite for SME finance.”

Pick ‘n Pay and the Sunday Times launched its Small Business Incubator in 2008 and helps to get business owners to a level where a buyer would want to

procure from them. Success is measured by growth in turnover.

ICT has been a focus of much funding and Luvuyo Rani is one such success story.

His chain of Silulo Ulutho Internet cafés, which started out as a small business in Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats and today extends to 18 stores in Khayelitsha and five in the Eastern Cape, has seen as many as 10 000 students complete education programmes, right up to advanced computer literacy programmes.

It all started eight years ago when Rani, who worked as a teacher in Khayelitsha for five years, started selling refurbished computers out of the boot of his car in the Western Cape township.

“At the time when I was teaching, the Department of Education was just starting to introduce Outcomes Based Education and teachers needed computers,” he says.

But soon after selling the computers, Rani found out that the teachers weren’t using them at all.

“They were gathering dust and this bothered me,” he says. “The teachers had no skills to use them, and they didn’t have access to the Internet.”

This is what sparked his idea to start a business that would give people in Khayelitsha access to the Internet and teach them how to use computers as well as how to access the information stored on the Web. For just R6, Rani’s customers can access the Internet for one hour, whereas some Internet cafés in the Eastern Cape charge as much as R30 an hour.

“This is simply unaffordable for most people,” he says. “Even if you just have R2, you can go onto the Internet for 15 minutes,” he says.

As part of its computer sales division, Rani has entered into a partnership with mobile provider Vodacom. Customers who buy computers from Silulo can access prepaid Internet services using a 3G connection from Vodacom, the dongle for which is part of the deal.

It is important for anyone considering entering a business incubator to assess each of the potential partnerships available on the market for compatibility with their own long-term goals.

Some programmes provide free assistance while others enter into a profit-sharing model. Whatever individual needs a business and its owner may have, there are several incubators that will cater for them. m my office magazine

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sales savvy

Targeting the low-income customer Meet the untapped market of the low-income customer, representing both brand loyalty and combined purchasing power

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esearch on strategic innovation has historically been focused on first world companies and consumers.

In recent years, however, companies are reconsidering their product development and high-end (and costly) infrastructures in the hunt for market share in the field of the low-income consumer.

This shift in focus is partly be due to having reached saturation, as well as the cutthroat competitions in long-established markets. This makes companies more prepared to approach new markets that they previously thought had no money or were impossible to reach.

Says consultant Peter Finley at ATKearney.com: “For the right companies, serving low-income consumers can lead

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to significant growth – years of near double-digit growth in China, Indian and other emerging markets underscore how quickly wealth can accumulate and change hands in the modern global economy. As companies vie for firstmover advantage, consumers have already begun forming loyalties to brands and shops – preferences that will become more apparent as their purchases and expenditures increase.”

But how should companies approach it? “Innovation in developing markets has less to do with finding new customers than addressing issues of product acceptability, affordability, availability and awareness,” says Jamie Anderson of Sloanreview.com.

The low-income customer is one that has fewer resources but offers different cultural backgrounds, especially in Africa. South Africa is described as the “gateway to Africa”, and many companies looking for growth are testing the waters in sub-Saharan Africa. Much research has already been done across borders by corporations such as Deloitte and Accenture.

Accenture has provided concrete steps and recommendations reports on how companies can tailor their strategies to the challenges and opportunities in Africa, such as in The Dynamic African Consumer Market Exploring Growth Opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Essentially, most agree that the key to capturing this market is developing more affordable products and services. Each and every rand holds meaning; choices are made carefully. Benefits need to be wellcommunicated, making engagement an essential base for marketing.

“The low-income market is a viable and highly untapped market. Their combined purchasing power and brand loyalty make them extremely important consumers, but understanding their specific and unique needs is crucial,” writes Knowledge Resources.

Tailored interactions are critical, as is involvement with communities. Says Louis Seeco, director of Elements Advertising and author of Marketing the Same Difference: “We continue to have advertising and marketing messaging and imagery that is informed by a Western construct of reality. In

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Caroline Banton of Demand Media offers the following marketing strategies for low-income consumers, from the website http://yourbusiness. azcentral.com Feature special deals and generics Retailers can offer two-for-one deals on private and generic brands that appeal to the shopper looking for value. The more bargains offered, the more likely value shoppers are to frequent a business and make a purchase. Other successful strategies include loyalty cards that offer rewards. Low-income consumers who are paid by the day often shop on a daily basis; reducing packaging size on products can lower the cost per unit for these consumer while still giving the impression of quality and value for money.

order to change the environment, marketers need to (culturally) immerse themselves in the households and communities that consume brands.”

Capitec Bank is one such brand which has addressed “affordability, availability and awareness” by simplifying banking with its development of an all-inclusive banking solution Global One. By harnessing the power of technology, it has made the banking interaction easier and simpler, where part of the appeal is that customers do not have to have a smartphone but can utilise the services through GSM (global system for mobile communications) - an open, digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services.

This is not only appealing to the lowincome market either. In a distressed economy, many middle- to high-income consumers are relooking their outsized expenditure and going where they find reduced pain points.

“When I looked at the bank charges I was paying, it made the move an easy deduction,” says businessman Marcus Marcon, who recently switched his banking to Capitec.

“Why should I be paying such high banking fees when I can get the same service made available for less? I don’t need all the frills.” www.shop-sa.co.za

“Success in the developing world demands an understanding of, and adaptability to, certain purchase triggers that are peculiar to low-income consumers,” says Peter Finley.

Three triggers must be addressed: • Product relevance - products and services must be designed, distributed and presented in a format that meets the unique requirements of each customer demographic.

• Proximity and exposure appropriate distribution and media channels must be employed to connect effectively with a target market.

• Perceived value - rather than concentrating solely on developing “low-cost” products to entice prospective low-income customers, successful firms will focus on maximising the overall value proposition of their products.

In order to succeed, perhaps it is our own perceptions about the low-income earner (and research sources) that should be looked at. Seeco puts an interesting slant on it with a recent Twitter feed: “I live in Sandton and I am not paying top dollar for that. I live in Alexandra Township.” m

Partner with other organisations Partnering with government and non-governmental organisations can open up avenues and markets that are difficult to reach otherwise.

Government agencies and local welfare organisations can incorporate your products into their programs and make them visible to the low-income consumer. Financial investment from government-sponsored groups may help a company develop local contacts for resources and raw materials, helping to keep operating costs low and prices down.

Stay small According to Rosalind Davidson of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, low-income consumers tend to use neighborhood stores rather than large supermarkets and department stores; some lack communication skills and experience anxiety in talking to sales people.

Staying small and hiring local staff that connect well with consumers is appealing; word-of-mouth recommendations are heavily relied upon, especially in making major purchases. Getting out into the community and meeting people oneon-one personalises the business-tocustomer relationship and provides information as to how best to meet customer’s needs.

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business skills

Negotiating a win-win strategy

Trade agreements are reached by intense dialogue within a bargaining forum that finds resolution of differences and enables the final striking of an agreement. Here’s how…

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trade agreement is a legally enforceable agreement in which two or more parties commit to certain obligations in return for certain rights. In a business-tobusiness (B2B) context this can range from a simple one-page purchase order for the sale of goods to an extremely complex thousandpage document for a trade level agreement between multinational businesses.

The starting point of most trade agreements is finding a common ground recognised by both parties. They must be willing to negotiate and find favourable terms in which to proceed with a legal document. What is not so easily portrayed on paper is the level of trust and personal creditability required in order to reach a win-win trade agreement.

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Gone are the days when it was acceptable to try corner maximum agreement with a competitive adversarial stance.

Today’s business world sees more measured leaders with a long-term view. Backed by a solid set of negotiation skills, they are perceptive to the benefit of approaching the trade bargaining table in the same way a business partner would.

Contract structures Every contract agreement follows a basic structure: • The pre-contractual phase is where parties identify products or services and possible sources of supply; and set their objectives down.

• The contractual phase sees the creation of a formal relationship between buyer and seller, and involves contract negotiation. Within the bargaining phase, it is important to prioritise what the tradables are. Be prepared with a fall-back position should the initial objectives not be met.

• Parameters also need to be explored, such as the setting Vol 98 - March

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•

•

•

up of best and worst trading limits of the range or product lines.

Discussion around related items, such as training, workshops, catalogue funding, any additional tradables and creative solutions, needs to take place.

The formal phase covers ordering and logistics; placing of purchase orders; delivery of goods and services; invoicing; and payment authorisation and payment.

A post-processing phase sees gathering information for management reports, such as trade statistics.

The final phase sees clarification, paraphrasing, summarising and conclusion of the agreement to be made into a formal document.

Negotiation mistakes According to The Free Dictionary, what is important is: “to ensure that both parties entering into the contract are lawfully capable of agreeing to contracts (such as whether an individual has the authority to represent their organisation). A contract also cannot be enforced unless the actions agreed upon are legal in the jurisdiction where the contract is made.”

According to author James K Sebenius, negotiation “mistakes” in bargaining for a trade agreement are cited as: • Neglecting the other side’s problem; • Letting price bulldoze other interests; • Letting positions drive out interests; • Searching too hard for common ground; • Neglecting BATNAs (best alternative to a negotiated agreement); and • Failure to correct a skewed vision.

Negotiation skills Ultimately, negotiators in a trade agreement will require the skills of active listening; the ability to read body language; and the ability to measure and interpret the other party’s style of verbal communication. Listening will foster opportunities to find areas of compromise during a meeting.

The other half of communication is being able to express ideas and state a case clearly - and repeatedly, if necessary – until the other party www.shop-sa.co.za

understands the full picture or the other’s perspective, and is clear about the proposed details of the agreement.

A second skill in negotiations is that of emotional control. Long, drawn-out negotiations can be frustrating. However, when emotions take control power is ultimately lost and leads to loss of trust.

According to Luanne Kelchner of Demand Media, “Individuals with negotiation skills have the ability to seek a variety of solutions to problems.

Instead of focusing on his ultimate goal for the negotiation, the individual with skills can focus on solving the problem, which may be a breakdown in communication, to benefit both sides of the issue.

“Leaders with negotiation skills are those who have the ability to act decisively during a negotiation. It may be necessary during a bargaining arrangement to agree to a compromise quickly to end a stalemate.”

Examples of negotiation pitfalls Examples of negotiation pitfalls are clearly illustrated in the two cases below.

On April 12, 2012 the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Apple and five major US publishers for colluding to raise the price of e-books.

According to Top 10 Negotiation Stories of 2012, written by Programmes on Negotiation staff at Harvard Law School, three of the publishers settled the suit; two others and Apple have been unwilling to settle.

By January 2010, the publishers negotiated a new business model for e-book pricing with Apple as it prepared to launch the iPad: in exchange for a 30% sales commission, Apple would let the publishers set their own prices for e-books.

For the publishers, this pricing model appeared to be a vast improvement on their wholesaling arrangement with Amazon. After at least one of the publishers threatened to delay release of its digital editions, Amazon reluctantly replaced its flat $9.99 price for e-books with Apple’s model, and prices rose industry-wide to about $14.99 on average.

The DOJ’s lawsuit suggests that the negotiators and attorneys involved may have neglected to thoroughly analyse whether their agreement would truly create value for consumers - and thus whether it fell within the parameters of US antitrust law. In the flush of

hammering out a deal that appears to create synergy for everyone involved, negotiators sometimes neglect to consider how their agreement could affect outsiders, an oversight with ethical and legal implications.

In Top 10 Negotiation Failures of 2013 Keith Lutz looked at how Barnes & Noble has been pressing publishers to make steep concessions to enable its survival against Amazon.com and other online retailers. The bookstore chain reportedly negotiated for significantly reduced wholesale prices for Simon & Schuster’s books and also tried to charge the publisher more to display its titles in its stores. Simon & Schuster resisted.

In January 2013, after months of impasse, Barnes & Noble significantly reduced its orders of Simon & Schuster titles and engaged in other hardball tactics, such as refusing to book the publisher’s authors for in-store readings.

Given that Barnes & Noble sells about 20% of consumer books in the United States, Simon & Schuster editors and their associated agents and writers were “apoplectic” about the bookseller’s decision to use them as a bargaining chip, the New York Times reported in March 2013.

In August, the two companies issued a joint statement saying they had resolved their disagreement. The details remain unknown, but any gains they achieved would be undercut by the profits each side lost during the months of impasse. Such hardball tactics often end up undercutting both parties to a negotiation. m

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sales savvy

Direct digital communication Digital signage is eye-catching and enables retailers to reach customers with dynamic, tailored messaging

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igital signs enable retail and consumerfocused businesses to share information about their products and services and highlight marketing promotions in realtime - in a lobby, while customers are waiting in line, or in the store itself. Television screens can be placed around a university campus with the day’s class schedules, while monitors at airports provide up-to-date flight schedules and security warnings.

In fact, digital signage applications are limited only by your imagination.

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Digital signage is often referred to as narrowcasting, retail TV, captive audience networks, out-of-home television or electronic billboards.

Whatever the terminology, digital signage delivers information with live, on-demand video, graphics, animations, text and other Web content, on a high-quality display to a targeted audience at a targeted time for a more interactive in-store experience.

Dynamic digital signage can grab a customer’s attention and influence their purchasing decision right at the point of purchase. Because it is instant, promotions of various products and brands to various target markets can be adapted in a short period of time for instant dissemination.

With the combination of compelling,

consumer-engaging content and a dynamic, high-definition digital signage display, customers cannot help but stop and stare.

Axel Vera is a consultant who managed the entire Walmart TV network in Mexico. Writing on the Wirespring blog, he says: “When trying to explain the benefits of installing an ad-funded digital signage network, I’m often asked the same question again and again: ‘isn’t it just an expensive way of replacing my printed promotional material?’

“I think people still compare the cost of installing the network with the cost of printing brochures and posters once.

While the benefits of digital signs might be obvious to many of us, there are still plenty of people who don’t understand Vol 98 - March

2014

sales savvy

the additional value that digital signage can offer over traditional signage.

“When you compare the costs of designing and printing ads, shipping them to each location and being sure they are displayed, you’ll see that the monthly cost of the traditional method isn’t too far away from the cost of buying the equipment for the digital signage network.

“Production and distribution costs are only a part of the whole equation, though. Another thing you have to estimate is the value of the ads being shown, typically by calculating the impressions - or opportunities to see that you can make at the same space at each store. If you install a digital screen, you’ll have the ability to run several ads in the same piece of real estate (but with fewer impressions for each).

“With a traditional printed ad tacked to the wall, you can’t use that same spot for another ad at the same time.

While the opportunity to see each piece of content may be lower, the ability to put multiple items in the same highwww.shop-sa.co.za

value location is very compelling for advertisers, so the real value of each spot remains pretty high. I’m not the kind of guy that will tell you to replace all of your printed stuff with digital, but using digital for high-value locations is a great way to squeeze more value out of your high-traffic or high-impact areas.

“The right content mix will absolutely make more sales,” says Vera. “I’m not talking about flashy, expensive, high production value content either. You can use simple tools on your own PC to create the right kind of ads as long as you know the right messages to transmit to your customers.

“Digital sign networks have turned out to be amazingly useful for moving the products that were sitting in the warehouse, great for temporary promotions, and truly excellent for promoting new arrivals — all of which were either too expensive or too difficult to accomplish with static posters.”

One Digital Media is the largest supplier of digital signage in Africa with over 9 000 screens nationwide

and best represent how modern retail digital display signage solutions are evolving rapidly to meet the shift toward building retail spaces for the new super consumer.

“There are few sectors that are quite as disposed to reinvention as retail.

With a history spanning thousands of years, the business of selling goods to consumers has been forced to repeatedly adapt itself to changing environments and public expectations,” says One Digital Media CEO, Andrew Ridl.

“In many ways, flexibility and agility are hardwired into this segment’s corporate DNA. “The modern retail environment is no different. Purchasing habits have evolved considerably since the days of small street markets and neighbourhood grocers. The modern super consumer now expects retail outlets to be finely attuned to their personal changing needs, to respond in realtime, and to offer pertinent information to allow them to (accurately) make a purchase decision.” m my office magazine

31

industry news Instant resignations a problem for employers The employment of an employee can be terminated by the death of the employee, by their retirement, by dismissal, by mutual agreement or at the instance of the employee.

Normally, if the employee terminates employment they do so by retiring or resigning and giving advance notice in writing. The amount of notice that the employee is supposed to give depends on a number of factors. Firstly, if there is no contract between the employee and employer providing for a notice period then the notice period as provided for by labour legislation must be applied. For example, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) provides that employers and employees covered by the BCEA must give, in writing: • One week’s notice if the employee has up to six months’ service; • Two weeks’ notice if the employee has between six months’ and 12 months service; or • Four weeks’ notice if the employee has 12 months’ service or more.

Secondly, an employment contract can provide for periods of notice longer than those prescribed by legislation as long as the employee is not required to give more notice than the employer is required to give.

Sometimes the employee just leaves without giving notice or works only a portion of the notice. This can cause operational problems for the employer who then does not have sufficient opportunity to make alternative arrangements to get the work done.

In cases where the employee fails to work out the required notice the employer is only too pleased to accept this. But, if the employer fails to object to the absence or shortness of the notice period being worked out, the employer is required to pay the employee out in lieu of the unworked portion of the notice.

A bigger problem arises for the employer when they need the employee’s services for the full notice period. This need could exist because: • The employer needs the employee to complete a handover of his duties; • There is a lot of work that still needs to be done; • Certain tasks can only be done by the employee; • It will take time to find a suitable replacement; and • If clients need to be given advance warning of the employee’s departure due to a special working relationship between the employee and the client.

What can employers do if employees leave without working the required notice? Firstly, the employer can apply to court to issue an urgent order of specific performance. This is an order requiring the employee to work-in the required notice Secondly, the employer could apply to court for damages caused by the employee’s failure to work the notice. However, should the employer sue for damages, they would have to be able to quantify and prove specific losses attached to the employee’s breach of the notice agreement.

For example, if the employer could show that it lost an order worth R1-million due to the employee’s premature departure, the damages claimed from the employee would be R1-million.

In the case of SAMRO versus Mphatsoe the employee failed to work the notice that the employer believed he was contractually required to work. The employer therefore sued Mphatsoe for damages equivalent to the earnings that employee would have been paid for the period of the unworked notice. The Court decided that this basis for arriving at the damages amount was

32

my office magazine

legally incorrect. It said that a suit for damages can only be satisfied by the amount of loss actually suffered by the plaintiff.

However, as the employer was unable to show that it had suffered any specific loss, the Court was unable to award any damages. The Court commented that, if the employee breaches the notice agreement the actual damages caused could be zero or could be a lot more than the amount of the employee’s earnings.

The Court also decided that a clause in the agreement providing for a “calendar months’ notice” will not always mean that notice must be given on the first of the month for the end of the month. The intention of the parties as to the notice period was more important in this regard.

The outcome of this case makes it clear that: • It is difficult for employers to force employees to work-in their agreed or statutory notice; • Should the employer claim damages it must clearly identify and quantify the losses actually suffered; and • Where the employer wants notice to be given on the first day of the month the employment contract should specifically provide for this instead of merely requiring a calendar months’ notice.

Article written by lvan lsraelstam, chief executive of Labour Law Management Consulting.

He may be contacted on (011) 888 7944 or visit www.labourlawadvice.co.za.

Vol 98 - March

2014

Epson brightens education at St Dominic’s school

Michael Springer, MD of Pitney Bowes South Africa.

Pitney Bowes receives internationally recognised ISO certification Efficient processes are the vital signs of a successful business. This is the philosophy of Pitney Bowes South Africa, which prides itself on its service levels and capacity to add value to customers’ businesses.

The company, a leading provider of customer communication technologies, has proven that its management systems are on a par with its parent company, Pitney Bowes International, by acquiring an ISO 9001:2008 certification.

This standard is based on quality management principles, including a strong customer focus, the motivation and involvement of top management, and a process mind set which looks to continual improvement.

“Achieving the ISO certification meant taking a hard look at our entire system, and analysing the ways in which we could both simplify and optimise our existing processes,” says Luigi Pistilli, service manager at Pitney Bowes South Africa.

“ISO does not change procedures, but it gives recognition to our work ethic, and guarantees best practice a level of service excellence for our customers,” he adds.

“Achieving the ISO 9001 standards for management systems was important to the company as it generates quality and measurable processes. These processes, in turn, provide measurable and quality services to our customers, which includes optimising customer interaction during the sales cycle,” says Michael Springer, MD of Pitney Bowes South Africa.

According to Springer, there are many other benefits of being ISO certified, including optimal stock management and improved levels of collaboration between management and staff.

He continues: “Using ISO 9001:2008 helps to ensure that our customers get consistently high quality products and services which, in turn, bring many benefits to their own businesses. This is the cornerstone of our success.”

The company specialises in offering software, mail stream solutions and office equipment to help businesses communicate with their customers more effectively and drive profitable growth. www.shop-sa.co.za

St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls, an independent school in Boksburg, Gauteng, has installed 65 Epson EB-485Wi interactive short throw projectors, accompanied by as many sets of Epson ELP-SP02 Active Speakers in its classrooms, as part of a R5-million plus network and technology facilities upgrade.

This commitment to multi-sensory input in education positions the school as a leader in using technology to enhance the already high quality of education it offers its learners.

“The school had installed several interactive whiteboards before the upgrading project started, but we identified the need for an effective, standard approach in all the classrooms when we planned our investment in improving the school,” says Harry van der Brugt, ICT manager at St Dominic’s.

“Marcus Retief of Compute Corporate Technology Solutions suggested a combination of the Epson EB-485Wi interactive short throw projector and a set of Epson ELP-SP02 Active Speakers for each of the 65 classrooms and other teaching facilities. After a successful trial in a junior school classroom, we agreed to proceed with the installation,” he says.

Apart from the fact that the projectors offer outstanding value for money, Van Der Burgt and his team found the Epson short throw projectors appealing because they offer high performance, are network ready and are supplied with interactive pens that integrate interactive functionality into one machine, without the constraints or expense of an interactive whiteboard.

Teachers can make notes on projected images shared over a network or on content from DVD or BluRay players, tablets and cameras, making it easier than ever to expand on the content of a lesson, in realtime. Because two pens are supplied with each projector, it is possible for more than one user to “make notes” simultaneously, encouraging greater interaction in the classroom.

The projectors deliver 3100 lumens of colour brightness and 3100 lumens of white brightness, using 3LCD three chip technology for trueto-life colour and brilliant images. They were discreetly mounted on classroom walls at St Dominic’s, but can also be used freestanding.

“The interactive multimedia teaching style that is made possible with the Epson EB-485Wi projector enhances students’ concentration and information retention,” says Dean Jules, product manager at Epson South Africa. “Teachers are also no longer limited to the content of standardised textbooks – they are able to draw on the Web to enhance their teaching in realtime, which is of tremendous advantage in current events, science and technology subjects, where developments are happening faster than text books can be printed.”

Contact Compute Corporate Technology Solutions on (011) 767 7300 or via sales@compute.co.za.

my office magazine

33

eco pages

A green affair

Two Green Apples for CCM

The Green Organisation holds the annual International Green Apple Awards in November at the House of Commons in London.

To be nominated for the awards is an honour. Creative Chemical Manufacturers (CCM) received awards for two technologies within two separate sectors.

The Snap ‘n’ Care fridge sanitation unit was a winner within the Products and Recycling sector. Food worth billions of euros is unnecessarily disposed of each year. The Snap’n’Care anti-pathogen “fridge stick” massively reduces wastage.

No Cemi was a winner in the Health section. This hospital-grade disinfectant is made from natural extracts and it is free from standard antibiotics. This is significant in a world where antibiotic resistance is causing a problem.

The awards were collected by Neil

McClelland, MD of Liquid Glass Coatings - a CCM partner organisation.

“The winning of the awards confirms that we are truly innovative and this fact is now recognised on the world stage,” says McClelland.

“We were sharing the platform with some of the world’s largest multi-national organisations, who have enormous R&D budgets, yet our technologies caused a massive amount of interest and were recognised as being ‘world class’.”

Both of these technologies form part of the portfolio of CCM’s award-winning products and are immediately available.

For further information, visit www.ccminternational.eu.

“Regardless of how lavish and impressive you want your upcoming event to be, you should be taking the environment and sustainability into account.

“This can be done in a myriad of effortless ways while still maintaining a high standard of sophistication and professionalism,” say Event Affairs managers Megan Buchanan and Lindy Srubis.

Corporate and social events alike can benefit financially from “going green”, making the objective all the more attractive.

Below are a few subtle tips that can help you “green” your event: • Electronic invitations – while sending out printed and handcrafted invitations for your event might have its charm, sending out electronic invitations via e-mail or Facebook is a sustainable option for many businesses. You also have more flexibility with e-invites, so you can get creative to your heart’s content.

• Recycling – you don’t have to be too garish about it, but when choosing decorations, select those that can be recycled too. Substitute balloons and tinsel with seasonal flowers and food items such as lemons in glass vases, flowers in ice-blocks or authentic table pieces.

• For the love of water – while it’s great to offer all of your guests some bottled water, it is more suitable and environmentally friendly to have jugs of water available. Put glass jugs in the fridge beforehand and garnish with mint, lemon, cucumber or sprigs of herbs.

• Think out of the party favour box - by selecting gifts with minimal packaging or favours that can be reused, you and your guests will benefit.

For instance, beautifully decorative cupcakes, small flower plants or classic chalk board name tags are bound to be reused at home.

• Purchase seasonal or locally-grown free-range foods - not only will you wow your guests with local flavours but, by using fair trade coffee and tea, and local craft beers and wines, you can support regional, sustainable businesses too.

eco pages

Making the Cape Argus cycle race sustainable

W

hen thousands of cyclists and spectators take to the streets to participate in the annual Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Momentum Cycle Tour, very few people spare a thought for the dedicated and hardworking team of waste collectors who are working diligently to ensure the litter discarded along the route is picked up and recycled.

Each year, a dedicated team of litter busters from the nearby Ocean View and Masiphumelele townships near Kommetjie are employed and trained by Plastics|SA. They take charge of the post-event cleanup operations to ensure that no litter or waste is left behind on the streets after the race, and that the waste generated at the event is recycled.

This strategy, known as event greening, is about making socially and environmentally responsible decisions when organising or participating in an event, and contributes to a cleaner and greener South Africa.

“Thanks to the collective effort between the organisers and the service providers,

we have fine-tuned our strategy of collecting and recycling the litter on the day, making the race one of the most environmentally friendly sporting events in the world”, says John Kieser, sustainability manager for Plastics|SA and co-ordinator of the cleaning crews Working closely with race organisers and waste management partners such as WastePlan, the Rotary Clubs of Oostenburg and Strand, and the City of Cape Town, Plastics|SA has been able to consistently exceed expectations when it comes to the collection and recycling of the waste discarded during the various races that form part of the annual highlight on the cycling calendar.

“In previous years, we have collected on average 12 000kg of waste during the race, of which we were able to send an impressive 9 730kg (82%) for recycling.

“This year, we will aim to even improve on this figure as part of our ‘zero plastics to landfill’ strategy,” Kieser says.

Because a large section of the 109km route actually takes place in a national park, any litter left behind could have a devastating effect on wildlife.

To this end, the organisers of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Momentum Cycle Tour are also constantly trying to find

new ways to ensure the event remains sustainable and eco-friendly.

“This year, they launched a ‘Stash Your Trash’ campaign, which encourages cyclists not to throw their empty gel sachets, wrappers and other litter on the road, but to rather hold on to it so they can dispose of it in the designated bins at the next refreshment station,” Kieser says.

Once the intrepid team of waste collectors, wearing their bright yellow t-shirts, have gathered all the garbage along the route, it is trucked to the Kraaifontein Material Recovery Facility (MRF) where waste management company WastePlan is responsible for the sorting and the recycling of the waste.

“On the Monday following the event, we do one final drive along the route to make sure the clean-up crews have snapped up every last bit of rubbish,” Kieser explains.

“As a charitable organisation, we are committed to ensuring that our actions cause no harm. In an area as stunning as the Cape Peninsula, it is critical for us to make sure that the success of our event does not come at the expense of the natural beauty that surrounds us,” says Renee Jordaan, operations director of the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust. m

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my office magazine

Vol 98 - March

2014

product showcase

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Vol 98 - March

2014

business savvy

10 financial management

ACKNOWLEDGMENT Written by Anton Roelofse, regional GM, Business Partners Limited, a specialist risk finance company for formal small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which structures unique, individualised financing solutions for entrepreneurs. Call (021) 464 3600 for further information.

tips for tough times

The data gathered over the years by Business Partners Limited tells a fascinating story of business survival

F

igures compiled by Business Partners Limited regional GM Anton Roelofse show that 34% of businesses failures are caused by poor financial management.

Add to that the 12% that fail because of poor record keeping, and it becomes clear that almost half of all business failures could have been avoided had the business owners done something to improve their financial management.

In contrast, only 12% of business failures are caused by bad economic conditions. If ever there was a succinct and powerful argument for focusing on your financial management, this is it.

Here are 10 ways in which you can survive the tough year ahead through better financial management: Limit your capital expenditure It is very easy to over-extend in a weak economy. One can safely say that when a business expands, for example by opening up a new branch, the owner will underestimate the operational difficulty and the cost.

When that happens in an economic slump, the results can be fatal. The danger is even higher if you extend into unfamiliar markets or industries.

As a general rule, don’t try to expand during an economic downturn.

Don’t cut back on marketing The first thing that business owners tend to cut back on in times of trouble is marketing, because the results of a business’s marketing effort are less immediate and tangible than, say, production.

It therefore seems that a business can do without it for a while. But this is generally a mistake. If anything, when times get www.shop-sa.co.za

tough, a business should increase its visibility in the market.

By all means, stop spending on wasteful marketing projects. But the focus on your business’s marketing must become sharper, and you and your team must increase your time and energy on marketing.

Learn about financial management You don’t have to be an accountant or be trained as a financial director to know a thing or two about finance. The most successful business owners know their shortcomings and hire financial experts.

As an owner-manager, you must be able to understand and use the main outputs of a good financial management system.

For example, do you know what the current assets/liabilities ratio of your business is? Do you know what it should be? Do you know your debtors turnover, your creditors turnover and your stock turnover? Do you have targets set up for these?

If you don’t, it is time to learn the basics. Do a course, read a book or sit down with your accountant or auditor for some lessons.

Review your debtor management system Here is a quick checklist to ensure that your business has robust systems to allow you to sell on credit and survive a downturn.

Do you have: • A credit vetting process?

• A credit policy – rules of who gets how big a credit limit?

• Proper records of your debtors and their activities?

• A monitoring system to ensure that debtors remain within their terms?

Review your creditors Remember that times are tough for your creditors too. This means that some are going to clamp down on any further credit, but some may be willing to give

you better terms because they need your business. Renegotiate and review your terms.

Check your stock system Stock is tied-up cash, and in tough times you need to free up as much cash as possible. Keep the minimum stock levels you can get by with.

It will require that you know the stock turnover for all your lines, so that you can focus on getting rid of your slowmoving stock by negotiating to return it or replacing it with faster-moving items.

Manage your bank account A core feature of your credit record is how you manage your back account.

Stick to your limits and arrangements with the bank; deposit all your cash so that your account reflects the true size of your turnover; and be proactive when you see trouble brewing. Let the bank know if an arrangement can’t be met.

Improve your invoicing A good invoicing system will ensure that your invoices are sent out on time.

It will have built-in mechanisms to make sure invoices are paid on time and to follow up if they’re not.

Sell unproductive assets Let go of any emotional attachment to old, unproductive assets or pet projects that didn’t work out. Sell them and use the cash – and space – more productively.

Have a plan Every business owner has a plan: some in their heads, some scribbled down on random notes, and some in more formal formats.

Somehow, the most successful business owners are those whose plans: • Include detailed cash-flow forecasts; • Are routinely updated – at least once a month; and • Are routinely used, studied and referred to. m my office magazine

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WireBind W20

MultiBind 230 Comb & Wire

See page 46 for contact details Palm Stationery Manufacturers - Chalks and Crayons Power Stationery-Powerstar

Envelopes, Peel and Seal PaperGeni RBE - Papersmart

D

ERASERS & ERASING / CORRECTION FLUIDS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Tippex tape, bottle and Pen BSC Stationery - Treeline, BIC, Artline, Faber Castell, Pentel, Pilot, Staedtler, Pritt Freedom Stationery - Marlin Max Frank - Uni Palm Stationery Manufacturers - Tape/Erasers Pentel S.A (PTY) LTD - Hi-Polymer and Ain eraser, correction tape and pens Power Stationery-Powerstar

DESK SETS AND ACCESSORIES BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Desk Set Solo Delux BSC Stationery - Treeline Freedom Stationery - Marlin Krost Office Products Ledger Systems - Falcon Products Rexel Office Products - Rexel Eco Range DIARIES, PLANNERS AND ORGANISERS CTP Stationery - CTP Brand Hortors Stationery - Legal diaries Rexel Office Products - NOBO planners, refills and T-card kits South African Diaries - For all your diary needs DICTATION - TRANSCRIPTION Olympus Audio S.A - Digital Voice Recorders, Transcription Kits and Accessories.

Powerhouse Dictation for Philips - Dictation, transcription, meeting recording, mini-tapes, foot pedals, accessories DRAUGHTING AND DRAWING OFFICE SUPPLIES CTP Stationery - A4 Poster Boards

E EMBOSSERS AND ENGRAVING Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Ideal & Trodat Embossers (pocket, desk and electronic), Trotec ENVELOPES AND MAILING BSC Stationery - Leo Envelopes, Jiffy CTP Stationery - Commercial envelopes Global envelopes Grafton/Star KZN ENVELOPES Merpak Envelopes - Simplistic, full range of printed and plain envelopes Narayan Wholesaler - Wholesaler of Quality

F FAX ROLL MANUFACTURERS Rotunda FILES AND FILING African Filing Systems - Top retrieval filing and arching products BSC Stationery - Treeline, Mobifile CTP Stationery - Full range of quality DONAU brand Flip File - Executive display files, expanding files, Document folders, dividers Freedom Stationery - Edo / Unifile Palm Stationery Manufacturers - Lever arch, Ringbinder files, Manilla flat folders Grafton/Star Kolok - Geha (Binding machines) Palm Stationery Manufacturers - leaver arch, ring binder files, manilla flat folders.

Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd. - Display book Vivid, document file, clip file and presentation file Rexel Office Products - Prima and Rexel ranges Specialised Filing Systems - Top Retrieval, Archive and Off-Site Tidy Files - Filing solutions

41

FOLDERS BSC Stationery - Treeline, CTP Stationery - DONAU Brand Freedom Stationery - Marlin Palm Stationery Manufacturers - View files, polypropylene & board folders Tidy Files - Specialised

www.rexelsa.co.za ClickBind 15

ThermaBind T400

SOURCE PRODUCTS HERE FORMS - LEGAL AND MISCELLANEOUS Hortors Stationery - complete range of custom, company, miscellaneous, magisterial, etc.

FURNITURE - OFFICE & SCHOLASTIC Krost Office Products - accessories New Era Office cc - Specialising in all office furniture desks, chairs, credenzas, boardroom tables, etc Reboni Furniture Group - Manufacturing and distribution of educational and office furniture Specialised Filing Systems - Cabinets, Shelving and Hi-Density

G 42

GUILLOTINES AND TRIMMERS AZ Trading - DSB, Kobra Beswick Office Products - Fellowes, Vivid Rexel Office Products - SmartCut and ClassicCut W Vos & Co - Ideal

I INDEX TABBING AND DIVIDERS 3M SA - Post-it flags, Flag pen and highlighter BSC Stationery - Treeline, Flip File CTP Stationery - DONAU Brand board and P.P Flip File - Index Tabs, Flip tabs Freedom Stationery - Marlin Palm Stationery Manufacturers Grip Binders 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.

J

M

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

MAILING TUBES CTP Stationery

L LABELS BSC Stationery - Treeline, Tower, Midmadex 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 LAMINATING MACHINES AZ Trading - DSB, Speedlam, Lamiace Beswick Office Products - Fellowes Kolok - GEHA and Galaxy Parrot Products - Parrot A4 and A3 Laminators Rexel Office Products - GBC and Rexel ranges W Vos & Co - PEAK & Renz.

LAMINATING POUCHES AND MATERIALS AZ Trading - A0 to ID card size Beswick Office Products - Fellowes Kolok - GEHA, Penguin laminating pouches and rolls Parrot Products Rexel Office Products - GBC LEGAL STATIONERY Hortors Stationery - All legal registers, forms, diaries etc LETTER TRAYS Krost Office Products

MARKERS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Permanent Markers, Highlighters, whiteboard BSC Stationery Sales - Treeline, Collosso, Penflex, Artline, Maxi, Pentel, Pilot, Bic 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

O OFFICE ERGONOMICS Beswick Office Products - Fellowes Back/ Wrist/Foot support; Notebook riser stand

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

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

Atlantis Clutch, BU4 Clutch BSC Stationery - Treeline, BIC, Pilot, Pentel, Uni, Staedtler, Henkel Freedom Stationery - Marlin / Edo Max Frank - Uni Palm Stationery Manufacturers Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd - Hotshot, Mechanical Pencil, Techniclick Pencil.

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 PAPER AND BOARD Antalis South Africa - Office paper and packaging solutions BSC Stationery - Apex Paper - Typek,Rotatrim 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 Power Stationery-Powerstar RBE - Papersmart Rexel Office Products - Prima Paper & Board TRIBE - TRIBE Inkjet Paper and Film PAPER FOLDING MACHINES W. Vos & Co - Ideal PENCILS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - BIC Evolution Graphite, BIC Matic Clutch ,Velocity Clutch,

PENCIL SHARPENERS Freedom Stationery Palm Stationery Manufacturers Power Stationery - Powerstar PENS BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Clic, Crystal, Orange and Prismo BSC Stationery - Treeline, BIC, Pilot, Pentel, Uni, Staedtler, Henkel, Lexi, Penflex 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 BSC Stationery - Treeline, RBE 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 POINT OF SALE PRINTER ROLLS PaperGeni Rotunda 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

43

Technical Systems Engineering - Suppliers of quality compatible cartridges and bulk inks for Epson, Canon, Lexmark, HP and Samsung PUNCHES AND PERFORATORS Beswick Office Products - Kangaro BSC Stationery - Treeline, STD, Rexel Freedom Stationery - Marlin Krost Office Products Parrot Products - Parrot range of punches Power Stationery-Powerstar Rexel Office Products - Rexel

www.rexelsa.co.za Fusion 3100L

Fusion 5000L

Fusion 5100L

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

S 44

SHREDDERS AND ACCESSORIES AZ Trading - DSB, Kobra, Roto, Repairs to all makes Beswick Office Products - Fellowes Kolok - GEHA entry level and high-end shredders Nikki Distributors - Nikki shredders Parrot Products - Parrot range of value shredders Rexel Office Products - Rexel range W Vos & Co - Ideal.

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

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

STACK

SCRAPBOOKING Rexel Office Products - Trimmers and guillotines Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Making memories, Clearsnap, Marvy, Ranger, Bazzill, Carl

SHUT

DONE

SPECIALISED STATIONERY AND BOOKBINDING Ledger Systems - Law reports and periodicals SPIKE FILES Grip Binders STAMPS, STAMP PADS AND INKS Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Trodat, preinked stamps, stamp and fingerprint pads STAPLING MACHINES AND STAPLES Beswick Office Products - Kangaro BSC Stationery - Treeline, STD, Rexel Freedom Stationery - Marlin Krost Office Products Interstat Agencies - Genmes Parrot Products - Parrot range of staplers Rexel Office Products - Rexel range

STORAGE SYSTEMS CTP Stationery - Archiving Systems Suspension Files Kolok - VERBATIM (hard drives, USB sticks etc), HP Specialised Filing Systems - Filing Tidy Files - Filing solutions

T TAPES 3M SA (Pty) Ltd. - Brand Scotch® MagicTM BSC Stationery - Sellotape, Brother Freedom Stationery Palm Stationery Manufacturers TELECOMMUNICATIONS NIKKI Distributors - Siemens office phones TELEX ROLLS AND TELETEX PAPER Rotunda 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

STATIONERY SUNDRIES - SCHOLASTIC BSC Stationery - Treeline, Pritt, Henkel, Staedtler, Pentel, Pilot, BIC, Artline, Penflex CTP Stationery - DONAU Scissors and cutting knives Freedom Stationery - Marlin, Edo and Unifile Palm Stationery Manufacturers - New Wave Power Stationery-Powerstar

Autoplus 60 X

STENCILS Freedom Stationery

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 TRANSFER LETTERING AND SIGNS

Autoplus 80 X

Autoplus 100 X

buyers’ guide

See page 46 for contact details

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

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

45

DID YOU KNOW? • Buyers’ Guideis 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.

• Contact Wendy to book space on wendy@shop-sa.co.za or Tel: 011 781 0370

www.rexelsa.co.za Autoplus 175 X

Autoplus 250 X

Autoplus 500 X

Autoplus 750 X

CONTACT DETAILS HERE 3M 011 844 9202

PvtBag X926, Rivonia, 2128

7

011 806 2388

Customer Serv: 0800 118 311

African Filing Systems

(

011 392 3628

14 Isando Road Isando

(

011 607 7600

debbie@parrot.co.za

IXAXoffice@gmail.com

7

011 615 2502

www.parrotproducts.biz

Penflex

Kemtek Imaging Systems

(

011 896 5279

www.africanfiling.co.za

(

011 624 8000

Box 86173, City Deep, 2049

(

021 521 2400

Box 36964, Chempet, 7442

7

086 540 6892

info@africanfiling.co.za

7

0866 101 185

labelling@kemtek.co.za

7

021 521 2402/3

info@penflex.co.za

Antalis South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Kemtek Imaging Systems - Cape

Pentel S.A (Pty) Ltd

(

011 688 6000

Box 6893, Johannesburg, 2000

(

021 521 9600

Box 181, Cape Town, 8000

(

011 474 1427/8

Box 202, Crown Mines, 2025

7

011 688 6162

marketing.office@antalis.co.za

7

021 551 5032

brenth@kemtek.co.za

7

011 474 5563

www.pentel.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 - KZN

Powerhouse Dictation

(

031 700 9363

Box 15685, Westmead, 3608

(

011 887 1056

info@speech.co.za

7

031 700 9369

Sandim@kemtek.co.za

7

086 555 3833

www.speech.co.za

Kemtek Imaging Systems - PE

Power Stationery

(

041 582 5222

Box 15685, Westmead, 3608

(

032 533 4003

Box 1305, Verulam, 4340

7

041 582 5224

clinth@kemtek.co.za

7

032 533 3254

powersta@netactive.co.za

Kemtek Imaging Systems - PTA

Pyrotec

(

012 804 1410

PO Box 816, Silverton, 0127

(

021 787 9600

PvtBag X1, Capricorn Square, 7948

7

012 804 4286

johlettat@kemtek.co.za

7

021 787 9791

tower@pyrotec.co.za

RBE Stationery Manufacturers (Pty) Limited

KMP (

021 709 0190

Box 183, Steenberg, 7947

(

011 793 7321

sales@rbe.co.za

7

021 709 0199

kmppty@iafrica.com

7

011 793 7348

www.rbe.co.za

Kolok Unlimited - Head Office

Reboni Furniture Group

(

011 248 0300

Box 4151, Johannesburg, 2000

(

086 173 2664

7

011 248 0381

infojhb@koloksa.co.za

7

086 627 7737

Kolok Unlimited - Cape Town

www.reboni.co.za sales@reboni.co.za

Redfern Print Services - Cape Town

(

021 597 2700

Box 6385, Roggebaai, 8012

(

021 552 9680

Box 403, Milnerton, 7435

7

021 297 2799

infoctn@koloksa.co.za

7

021 552 9681

sales@redfern.co.za

Redfern Print Services - Durban

Kolok Unlimited - Durban (

031 570 4900

Box 4206, Riverhorse Valley East, 4017

(

031 205 9598

dbnoffice@redfern.co.za

7

031 569 6880

infodbn@koloksa.co.za

7

031 205 7092

www.redfern.co.za

Redfern Print Services - Johannesburg

Kolok Unlimited Polokwane

(

086 111 4407

www.aztradingcc.co.za

(

015 298 8795

Box 862, Ladanna, 0704

(

011 837 4119

Box 1445, Crown Mines, 2025

7

011 792 9732

sales@aztradingcc.co.za

7

015 298 8315

infopol@koloksa.co.za

7

011 837 8917

jhboffice@redfern.co.za

Beswick Office Products

Kolok Unlimited - Port Elizabeth

Rexel Office Products

(

011 433 2686

Box 82319, Southdale, 2135

(

041 406 9900

Box 3163, North End, 6056

(

011 226 3300

www.rexelsa.co.za

7

011 680 2166

info@beswick.co.za

7

041 406 9920

infope@koloksa.co.za

7

011 837 2781

admin@rexelsa.co.za

BIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Rotunda

Kolok Unlimited - Namibia

(

011 474 0181

PO BOX 43144, Industria, 2042

(

00264 (61)370500

Box 40797, Ausspannplatz, Namibia

(

021 552 5135

Box 189, Maitland, 7404

7

011 474 6068

16 Maraisburg Road, Industria, 2042

7

00264 (61)370525

valne@kolok.com.na

7

021 551 3070

rotunda@iafrca.com

BSC Stationery Sales

Kolok Unlimited - Nelspruit

Royce Imaging Industries

(

011 420 3250

Box 278, Brakpan, 1540

(

013 758 2233

Box 4338, White River, 1240

(

011 792 9530

www.royceimaging.co.za

7

011 420 3322

sales@treeline.co.za

7

013 758 2235

infonel@koloksa.co.za

7

011 792 9480

sales@royceimaging.co.za

CTP Stationery

Kolok Unlimited - Bloemfontein

Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Head Office

(

011 226 5600

Box 43501, Industria, 2042

(

051 433 1876

PvtBag X01, Brandhof, Bloemfontein

(

011 262 1400

Box 931, Wendywood, 2144

7

011 474 9242

sales@versafile.co.za

7

051 433 2451

infobfn@koloksa.co.za

7

011 262 1414

trodat@rse.co.za

Empire Toy & Stationery

Kolok Unlimited - Botswana

Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Cape Town

(

011 614 2243

Box 261524, Excom, 2023

(

00267 393 2669

PvtBag B0226, Bontleng, Gaborone

(

021 448 7008

Box 931, Wendywood, 2144

7

011 614 3075

empire@netactive.co.za

7

00267 317 0762

clemencem@vbn.co.bw

7

021 448 7014

cpt@trodat.co.za

Flip File

Rubber Stamp & Engraving Co - Durban

Krost Office Products

(

021 638 3105

Box 2190, Clareinch, 7740

(

011 626 2067

Box 75401, Gardenview, 2047

(

083 377 4109

Box 931, Wendywood, 2144

7

021 633 6942

ashly@flipfile.co.za

7

011 626 2912

sales@krost.co.za

7

031 266 1082

dbn@rse.co.za

Freedom Stationery - Johannesburg

South African Diaries

KZN ENVELOPES

(

011 314 0953/4

Box 6459, Halfway House, 1685

(

031 465 3992

P O Box 41259, Rossburgh, 4072

(

021 442 2340

Box 4862, Cape Town, 8000

7

011 314 0957

gpsales@freedomstationery.co.za

7

031 465 1669

info@kznenvelopes.co.za

7

021 442 2341

phoneyman@sadiaries.co.za

Freedom Stationery - Cape Town

Staedtler SA (Pty) Ltd

Ledger Systems

(

021 557 9152/3

36-38 Silverstone Rd Killarney Gardens

(

011 433 1808

Box 82586, Southdale, 2135

(

011 579 1600

www.staedtler.co.za

7

021 557 9155

cptsales@freedomstationery.co.za

7

011 433 8863

info@ledgersystems.co.za

7

011 608 3497

admin@staedtler.co.za

Freedom Stationery KZN (Head Office)

Specialised Filing Systems

Max Frank

(

032 459 2820

Box 478, Mandini, 4490

(

011 921 1811

Box 200, Isando, 1600

(

011 477 0640

7

032 459 3255

sales@freedomstationery.co.za

7

011 921 1569

sarah.schoeman@tigerbrands.com

7

011 477 3528

Freedom Stationery - East London (

043 731 2422

Box 14111 West Bank 5218

7

043 731 2421

elsales@freedomstationery.co.za

Global Bag And Sportswear Manufactures

Maynards - Olympus Audio S.A / Olivetti Distributors (

0860 00 1922

www.specfiling.co.za

Star Stationers and Printers

sales@maynards.co.za

(

031 569 1061

luke@starstat.co.za

www.maynards.co.za

7

031 569 1094

www.starstat.co.za

Technical Systems Engineering

Merpak Envelopes

(

031 305 6507

P.O Box 18586, Dalbridge, 4014

(

011 719 7700

sales@merpak.co.za

(

011 708 2304

Box 1532, Northriding, 2162

7

031 301 6553

www.globalbags.co.za

7

011 885 3174

www.merpak.co.za

7

011 708 1799

sales@tse.co.za

Global Envelopes

Tidy Files

Narayan Wholesaler

(

031 465 5544

envelopes@absamail.co.za

(

083 444 0959

7

031 465 5634

www.envelopes.co.za

7

011 869 7243

narayantextiles@gmail.com

(

011 943 4210

www.tidyfiles.co.za

Topmark (

011 837 8045

(

031 705 8713

Suite 69, PvtBag X4, Kloof, 3640

(

011 334 2013

Box 10383, Lenasia, 1821

7

011 837 7442

7

031 705 8714

jacquie@gordons.co.za

7

011 334 7358

kuban@neweraoffice.co.za

Tower (Division of Pyrotec) - Cape Town

Gordon’s Productions

New Era Office cc

info@topmarksa.com

(

021 787 9600

(

011 262 0777

Box 550, Bergvlei, 2012

(

0860 006731

cpt@nikki.co.za

7

021 787 9791

7

011 262 0780

sales@graftonpaper.co.za

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Tower (Division of Pyrotec) - Johannesburg

Grafton/Star Paper Products

Grip Binders (

011 421 1300

Nikki - Cape Town

orders@tigerpaper.co.za

PvtBag X1, Capricorn Square, 7948

(

011 611 1820

59 Lepus Rd, Crown Mines, 2025

(

0860 006731

dbn@nikki.co.za

7

011 611 1834

tower@pyrotec.co.za

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Tower (Division of Pyrotec) Durban

Nikki - Durban

Hortors Stationery (

011 620 4800

Box 1020, Johannesburg, 2000

Nikki - Johannesburg

(

031 701 0192

Box 594, Pinetown, 3600

7

086 612 4663

orders@hortors.co.za

(

0860 006731

jhb@nikki.co.za

7

031 701 1285

tower@pyrotec.co.za

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Tribe

Impala Vuwa Stationery Manufacturers (

036 634 1535

Box 389, Ladysmith, 3370

Nikki - Pretoria

(

011 314 4746 (Jhb)

Box 6280, Halfway House, 1685

7

036 634 1890

impalastat@mweb.co.za

(

0860 006731

pta@nikki.co.za

7

021 386 4261 (Cpt)

tribe@global.co.za

7

0800 204868

www.nikki.co.za

Versafile

Impression Management (

DBN 031 777 1222

www.impression.co.za

Nor Paper

(

JHB 011 708 7743

sales1@impression.co.za

(

011 011 3900

(

CPT 021 592 0847

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

(

011 620 4000

Pencil Park, Croxley Close, Herriotdale

7

086 681 8256

rcurrin@gp.waltons.co.za

031 569 6550

Box 201707, Durban North, 4016

(

031 507 7051

viran@palmstat.co.za

7

031 569 6559

interstat@mweb.co.za

7

031 507 7053

www.palmstat.co.za

021 551 9555

Box 36696, Chempet, 7442

(

011 011 3900

info@papergeni.co.za

7

021 557 5456

Capetown@interstat.co.za

7

011 011 4099

www.papergeni.co.za

Box 43501, Industria, 2042

7

011 474 9242

sales@versafile.co.za

W. Vos & Company (

011 493 7139

www.wvos.co.za

7

011 493 8807

info@wvos.co.za

Paper World

(

041 453 2558

Box 27693, Greenacres, 6057

(

012 250 1477/8

info@paperworldsa.com.

7

041 453 8504

pe@interstat.co.za

7

012 250 0322

www.paperworldsa.com

my office magazine

011 226 5600

PaperGeni

(

Interstat Agencies - Port Elizabeth

(

Palm Stationery

(

Interstat Agencies - Cape Town

46

Parrot Products

IXAXA Office Furniture

(

Vol 98 - March

2014

win this

Win

Write in and stand a chance to win one of the fabulous hampers on offer. Send your contact details to competitions@shop-sa. co.za with either Dye and Prints or Beswick in the subject line.

Fabric Craft Products for Retailers

Win a Fellowes I-Spire Ergonomic Hamper Fellowes has launched a new range of designed accessories, the I-Spire Series, which offers both style and comfort for the small or home office.

Following a philosophy of form meets function, the ergonomically designed accessories provide optimal comfort at the workstation. Designers have focused on modularity and integration while keeping style in mind.

The hamper includes the following products: •

As fibre and textile crafts increase in popularity, the demand for a good fabric craft dye has grown. Early on it became apparent that customers are not sure exactly how to work with dye, and so a range of lush full-colour books and DVDs was created to teach them how to use these products properly.

Customers often approach their in-store merchandiser for help and advice. Now retailers can simply sell them the books and DVDs along with the dyes and stamps, and they have everything that they need to craft on their own – all from one convenient source.

Melanie Brummer has more than 20 years’ experience in manufacturing textiles for the fashion industry. Her titles, Contemporary Dyecraft and 50 Silk Scarves, both with Metz Press, are available in book stores around the country and offer consumers access to her wealth of expertise.

Shop-SA and are Dyes and Prints giving away five gift hampers, each with a retail value of R1 077.00, to five retail stores that carry arts and crafts products.

You can try out the products and ask your customers what they think of them.

Each giveaway hamper includes: 1 x Jaclyn Stamp 1 x 50 Silk Scarves book 1 x silk scarf 42cm x 200cm 1 x box of five dyes - Favourite Five 1 x box of three dyes - Rainbow Box 1 x box of black dye

•

•

•

The Wrist Rocker enhances typing and mouse control by redistributing pressure points to relieve pain and discomfort. The smooth, effortless rocking motion minimises stress on your wrist joints.

Prevent back ache, fatigue and poor circulation with the Lumbar Cushion and Foot Cushion. Both provide additional support for workers to help prevent the discomfort associated with sitting for long periods of time.

The innovative 5-in-1 Document Lift features a document holder, whiteboard, magnetic board, clipboard and tablet stand.

Elevate your laptop with the Laptop Lift. It provides a better viewing angle which prevents back and neck strain.

For more information visit www.fellowes.com

R165 R185 R165 R298 R183 R81

For a free e-book detailing how to tie-dye T-shirts with children, send an e-mail to info@dyeandprints.co.za with the words “Shop-SA Rocks!” in the subject line.

www.shop-sa.co.za

my office magazine

47

punchline

Here’s to happy days 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 JANUARY ISSUE “They told me to think out the box” - sDiane Wolpert

48

my office magazine

Vol 98 - March

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.shopsa.co.za to receive your free magazine subscription.

•

• Learn 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 like-minded professionals in the workplace environment.

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

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

O.ZA

WWW.SHOP-SA.C