Focus The recent OPI Global

‘Stronger together’ is an overused and rather clichéd saying. But sometimes it just fits the (non-political) bill perfectly – as it did coming away from the 10th OPI Global Forum held in Chicago at the end of May – by Heike Dieckmann

After a COVID-enforced two-and-a-half-year break, the OPI Global Forum finally returned to Chicago in May. And the world is certainly a different place today compared with November 2019, hence the tagline of ‘Making Sense of Chaotic Times’.

The opening session saw a high-level panel of senior executives setting the scene with their views on the business and workplace products sector as they see it in 2022. They included – in person – Essendant’s Harry Dochelli, Warehouse Direct’s Kevin Johnson and ACCO Brands’ Boris Elisman. Remotely tuned in were Steve Haworth from EVO Group and Harbinger National’s Mike Rowsey.

Between them, these leaders highlighted the titular pain points our industry is facing right now. One of them might seem somewhat peculiar but also strangely familiar: it’s, in fact, our ‘industry’ and how it’s defined. What is our ‘sector’, what products and services does it – or should it – comprise, and how is it organised? Importantly, what needs to change?

IDENTITY CRISIS

Judging by comments from panellists as well as conference attendees, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest our industry is going through a serious identity crisis.

That being said, does any of it even matter to the end user? Would consumers care whether they order a pencil from an office products company, cleaning materials from a business supplies firm or a laptop riser from a workplace solutions provider? Highly doubtful, but the need for (re)definition appears ever greater. As one panellist said: “Hang on to the good bits, but get rid of the bad ones.”

What consumers most certainly will care about is how and when they get their products and herein lies an issue which has been hugely exacerbated by COVID-19 – transportation and the last mile. Both have become major headaches given supply chain delays, extortionate global transportation costs and the reality of costly residential deliveries. But, the panel concluded, there’s also considerable potential here for the independent dealer community from a last mile perspective if it managed to work together in a cohesive and cooperative way.

Said residential deliveries and the whole topic of remote and hybrid working highlighted another big issue that is undoubtedly giving business leaders across the globe sleepless nights: company culture.

How do you create and foster that culture in an increasingly dispersed work environment? How do you maintain a sense of togetherness when the entire workforce operates on a semi-remote basis? Or, perhaps even worse, when a component of that workforce is on site due to the nature of the job – in a warehouse, factory or construction facility, for instance – while the remainder works from a home office?

As McKinsey’s Neel Gandhi pointed out in ‘The Future of Work and the Workplace’ presentation that followed, it’s a problem which is not going

Global Forum

22-24 MAY 2022 CHICAGO

to go away and will need to be addressed with great competence and thought. The absolute crucial thing to bear in mind – and this is something touched on in a number of forum sessions, including HON’s Kyle Marks’ pre-lunch assessment of ‘Emerging Workspace Dynamics’, is to convince employees that the destination is worth the journey.

In among several stark statistics which encouragingly also reflect the heightened emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace (for more on DEI, see Research, page 44), Gandhi referred to 75% of employees – on a global basis – preferring some form of hybrid work. A similarly high percentage (71%) of this demographic will likely look for other jobs if a hybrid environment is not supported.

Workers have new expectations in terms of convenience, comfort and social interaction, said Marks, and these require a new approach. “Aspects such as worker mobility, daily workplace migration practices and café amenities which aim to entice workers to return to the office are all changing. This new environment creates significant opportunity for our dealers, but the right solutions are vital in order for these operators to win and prosper.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The afternoon was nothing if not diverse and got delegates involved in and thinking about many of the challenges – and opportunities – that bedraggle our industry. The biggest elephant in the room is arguably also the hardest one to tackle because it is often out of the control of the individual, organisation or even the entire sector – it’s macroeconomics.

In a ‘fireside chat’ with OPI’s Steve Hilleard, Edgewater Research’s Eamon Kelly referred to some of the ‘bigger picture’ themes, predominantly from a B2C point of view. These include the impact of government aid on consumer spending during COVID, the recent softening in sales trends at major retailers, and the current and ongoing ‘rightsizing’ of customer behaviour and demand.

Kelly further touched on several of the worrying issues which ran like a red thread through the OPI Global Forum – inflation, supply chain pressures and deglobalisation.

All these were naturally also big talking points in the vendor panel that followed. Sentiments ranged from “we simply can’t push any more price increases through to customers – they won’t accept them” and “make yourself as efficient as you possibly can – it’s the only way to survive” to “last year took everyone by surprise; now there’s no excuse for not fixing supply chain issues”.

Another theme dictating discussions was the willingness to and the importance of working together. As Kelly, positioned on the periphery of our sector looking in, said: “There is a real endeavour to work together and find solutions – I’ve never known that from any other industry we track. My advice, from a macroeconomic standpoint, would be: distorted demand and customer behaviour will level off again – ride it out.

The same, he added, applies to the much talked about concept of onshoring or nearshoring: “Don’t succumb to knee-jerk reactions which might not actually address the issue. Instead, have a long-term plan.”

Two digitally focused presentations rounded off day one of the forum. Website expert Andy Crestodina gave a critique of the industry’s online presence (see ‘Be your own customer’, page 26) while Highlands’ Stu Conroy outlined the potential of live shopping (see Opinion, page 28).

The OPI Global Forum was a great opportunity to have all levels of the IDC together in one room sharing our successes, concerns and visions for the future. I am thankful I attended.

– Charlie Kennedy, Kennedy Office

The event offered a broad spectrum of interesting topics with many new impulses. I am looking forward to 2023.

– Franz Ratzenberger, COLOP

I thoroughly enjoyed the [event]. There is no substitute for spending two days with your peers in a thought-provoking and confidential environment. – Jordan Feigler, Victor Technology

I have been attending the OPI Global Forum for many years and always look forward to spending time with our industry’s leaders. The event is engaging, well organised and addresses current topics affecting our space across the globe.

– Peter Tilearcio, Central National Gottesman

I’ve yet to come across another industry that has a shared brotherhood like ours. It’s always enjoyable to be around this experienced group. – Terry Vigh, Avery Products

Excellent event with top-notch topics and presenters.

– Tim Triplett, Triplett Office Solutions

Distorted demand and customer behaviour will level off again – ride it out

Day two got delegates out of their slumber nice and early. Back by popular demand – from the OPI European Forum at the end of 2021 – was Brother UK’s charismatic Phil Jones with his take on ‘The Age of Entropy’.

It’s no mean feat to really engage an audience through a video recording. But Jones did exactly that – effortlessly (for more on his presentation, see Focus, OPI January/February 2022, page 26). And attendees soon forgot about the excesses of the night before and perhaps a slight lack of sleep when he appeared on screen after the recording, inviting comments and giving practical advice to a wide range of questions.

Before the culminating takeaway session, delegates were in for a treat with two panel discussions. To say they were highlights of the event would certainly do all other speakers a disservice. But it’s fair to say that these debates raised combined blood pressure levels and upped the tension in the room.

The first, ‘Changing Customer Behaviour and the Evolution of Sales’, inevitably referred to the pandemic period. But, judging by a hugely experienced panel which comprised the vendor, reseller and technology channels, most changes that occurred over the past couple of years were already bubbling away under the surface pre-COVID, seemingly just waiting to erupt. A few nuggets of advice by panellists were: Orbit Media’s Andy Crestodina, in his presentation ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, gave a 100-miles-an-hour critique of our industry’s internet presence. The most important thing, he said, is empathy. Is any part of the experience a visitor to your site is having frustrating? If so, why?

Taking a close look at the websites of some of the operators in our sector – from vendors such as ACCO Brands, 3M and Pukka Pads to resellers WB Mason, Shoplet and EO Group – Crestodina referred to some core fundamentals to get right. “Check with your reps what buyers are asking about” is top of the list, he advised. Then take a look at your site to see if the answers are there, clearly visible.

The best websites emulate a sales conversation, he added. Those in the e-commerce business should try and buy something from their own web shop. Pretend to be your audience for ten minutes a week.

For a more in-depth look at the anatomy of the “perfect” B2B website, look out for the September issue of OPI, where Crestodina will highlight ten checkpoints that any B2B brand or reseller should pay close attention to.

l You need a frictionless experience, otherwise you’ll lose customers. l Relationships with channel partners are more important than ever in a service, rather than purely transaction-based selling model. l Sales people will be driven by technology, but tech is merely a facilitator. Think more chatbots and live chat and less email, for example. l Focus on speed. As the customer demographic is changing to include higher numbers of millennials, their demands have become different. Speed and can-do is more important than ‘mere’ sales chat.

HEALTHY DEBATE

Rosemary Czopek from Gorilla Stationers was one of the panellists in this debate. She had some very interesting views on not only changing customer priorities, but also – somewhat controversially – on how to address them in terms of staffing (see Final Word, page 54).

The final session of the 2022 OPI Global Forum covered a topic that’s been rumbling on for years – the future of the independent dealer channel.

Another very knowledgeable group of people highlighted the need to evolve the sales approach, the absolute necessity to deep-dive into adjacent categories – often requiring M&A – and the imperative to provide a top-notch e-commerce experience. And it is these last two points that brought up the temperature in the room by a few more degrees, prompted by the reference to a recent letter by ISG’s Chairman Jordan Kudler to the group’s membership (see ‘ISG Chairman urges dealers to take control’ on opi.net).

Details of the debate cannot be revealed here, but there was a broad and amiable consensus that it’s high time the various parties got together and talked about the complexities of some of the current, often legacy, structures in place. Pricing, rebates, data, content and product availability should all be part of those discussions – all of which OPI will delve into over the coming months.

And so, with just the wrap-up to go, the 10th OPI Global Forum concluded. We had fruitful debates, core takeaways and a warm feeling that it was just excellent to get together again in person. It was also a good reminder of what a special industry we all work in – whatever we call ourselves.

The author would like to reiterate that all OPI forums operate under strict Chatham House rules in order to foster and encourage open and frank discussion. As such, we have expressly sought permission for all comments attributed to specific speakers or delegates and for any other – current or future – features relating to Global Forum content.