2022 was a turbulent year for the business products (BP) industry. As the world was gradually emerging from the restrictions of the COVID pandemic, it was hit by worldwide raw material shortages, inflation, and major currency fluctuations – as well as the far-reaching effects of the war in Ukraine.
All of these factors have forced BP vendors and distributors to ask some key questions:
- Although prices have been increasing in 2022, what has been happening with volume demand and what strategies are being put in place to lessen the impact of any falling sales and market volumes?
- What has been the impact of the war in Ukraine?
- What has been the impact of the fall of the Euro and pound against the US dollar?
- What is the current market penetration of Amazon & Amazon Business and what can resellers do to respond to Amazon?
- Which new product areas have emerged as opportunities in 2022?
- Which new channels/distributors have emerged as opportunities in 2022?
- How important are online marketplaces/platforms and which are the key players at present?
These vital questions all demand reliable answers from trusted sources. “The State Of The BP Industry 2022-2023”, the tenth edition of Martin Wilde Associates’ (MWA) and OPI’s annual research study, provides those answers, based on c45 in-depth and online interviews with some of the best minds in the industry – the senior executives of key BP companies in Australia, Benelux, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the USA.
As usual, the survey will also focus on the crucial KPIs for the industry:
- What are respondents’ overall revenue and margin trends in 2022 and 2023?
- What share of distributors’ sales are accounted for by JanSan supplies, breakroom/catering supplies, workwear/PPE and MPS in 2022 and 2023?
- What share of resellers’ sales are via the web in 2022 and 2023?
- What are resellers’ average order values in 2022 and 2023?
- What is the value of the core office products market in 2022 and 2023?
Once again, the research will also report on respondents’ perceptions of the main growth (and declining) product categories and channels in 2022 and 2023, as well as detailing the 2022 financial performance of the key 15 BP distributors in the US, Europe and Australia. Research for the study will commence in January 2023, with the report being published in April 2023.
Source: OPI
