Page 11 - BOSS Today Issue 11

wholesalers. “We didn’t actually start out with “We didn’t just want to do
But both Dunn and the buying, we are more interested catalogues when we started
directors of other buying groups in either marketing or in on this,” says Langdown,
will add that, while purchasing business development. We can suggesting that there is money
power remains perhaps their help drive their business forward. to be made here too. As most
help drive their business forward.
raison d’etre, there are plenty We are not so concerned about buying groups’ except for Office
of other benefits they now thumping the table just to get Club and Advantia offer BOSS
bring to their members as well. 2p off a bottle of Tippex.” membership as part of their
“We need to show we can do XPD in fact began life as a membership package, members
marketing services company – it
things differently from other marketing services company – it get to benefit from all the extra
dealers,” Dunn adds. “How do only moved into office products services such membership
you distinguish one dealer from when it noticed how many brings as well.
office product suppliers it had as
another when there are 5,000 office product suppliers it had as In addition to that, Integra
Ti
out there?” clients – and it is that side of the Tim m offers IT support and creative
David Langdown, managing business which Langdown likes design services, while Langdown
director of XPD, a group which to bring to the fore. “We felt we Beaumont: lists a range of extra services
includes Office Point, Office could do things better for them his members can gain – at
Star, and Simply Office, goes ourselves,” he says. “Wholesalers an extra cost. “We can offer
further, and prefers not to call Dunn at Superstat says they invoice discounting, factoring,
his organisations buying groups are helped in this aspect of their really do like credit processing, AA and
at all. “What is important is what work by having two wholesalers RAC membership, mentoring
we do for our members,” he says. in the industry whose to divide programmes for the owners, and
catalogues, by virtue of the huge and rule.” help with M&A,” he says. “We can
array of products they distribute, also offer training for staff.”
tend to be on the bulky side. Many of the groups say an
“The wholesalers’ catalogues can with the catalogues we increasingly important aspect
do a job, but they are not very produce?” he asks. to their work is the networking
easy to navigate,” he says. “We Dunn says the move into opportunities they can bring to
help dealers in putting their ecommerce is part of dealer their members, who, they claim,
marketing materials together.” groups moving from offering find the need to build up new
With the infiltration of purchasing power, through contacts more important than
the web and ecommerce marketing, to something much, any worries about revealing
into business life, of course, much more. industry secrets.
marketing has moved well His organisation has set Through another quirk in
beyond just print and paper up a special website, www. its history, XPD also owns an
too. Many dealer groups or thesupermarketonline.com, events management company.
buying groups offer some which allows customers to Langdown invited the agency’s
David services either for web hosting, make orders through one previous owner to one of
web design, or ecommerce.
XPD’s own events, and soon
central point. These orders,
Langdown: You usually have to pay extra however, are then distributed discovered he was thinking of
through Superstat and its sister
exiting. The new acquisition has
for this, although Langdown
“We are not says that once again, strength groups regional network to be helped in organising member
events, which in recent months
completed by the customer’s
in numbers is what makes the
thumping individual ecommerce solutions local dealer – who then gets the have focused on building up
social media campaigns.
chance to set up a permanent
his company can offer his
the table members so reasonably priced. new account and even cross- point of personally visiting every
Superstat tries to make a
sell when they deliver to the
“Could you really develop all
to get 2p of this on your own, so that customer’s door. “We now look new member when they join – if
off a bottle running an ecommerce site was to take sales right to the dealer’s they want a visit. “We talk about
where they want to go and what
only costing you £100 a month?
door,” he says.
Ancillary services are
of Tippex.” Or where you could personalise becoming more crucial too. is stopping them getting there,”
says Dunn.
every catalogue cover, as you
March 2012 | BOSS TODAY 11
Boss p6-p12.indd 5 06/03/2012 11:52