OFFICE DEPOT

MR. VIGENER, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE PRODUCT WORLD OF OFFICE DEPOT EUROPA.

Regardless of the type of workplace, we offer our customers business supplies and services for more effective work. In addition to the classic range of paper, office supplies and stationery, our product range also includes the latest technologies, core office supplies, printing and document services, corporate services, plant equipment, furniture and school supplies. Office Depot Europe is represented in thirteen countries with the two core brands Office Depot and Viking as well as retail stores in France and Sweden.

Everything from our variety of products, fast service and mail order security to web, print, call center and account management. For key accounts, we also offer complementary services ranging from managed print services to storage provisioning. Our major customers particularly appreciate our large European presence.

WHAT DO CUSTOMERS PARTICULARLY APPRECIATE ABOUT YOU?

WHAT CHANGES HAVE THERE BEEN IN THE MARKET FOR OFFICE PRODUCTS IN RECENT YEARS?

Due to increasing digitalization and the growing importance of Internet retailing, it is well known that retailers of office products and stationery are facing more difficulties than in the past. The market volume is shrinking and the influence of digitization is making itself felt. A typical example is the shift from overhead projectors to screens. Countermeasures are needed to cushion the general trend: innovative ideas and fresh offerings. In the competitive market for office products, a high degree of flexibility is becoming increasingly important.

Over the past few years, we have been working to improve our positioning for the future with a new platform and design. We have already taken this route for the postal order business. Expertise in user experience and optimized options in ordering processes are extremely important for the future of the main players. Another major challenge is to adapt internal processes quickly to changing conditions.

HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH DIGITALIZATION AND WHERE DO YOU SEE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES?

APOLLON, THE IT SUBSIDIARY OF MEYLE+MÜLLER, ACCOMPANIES OFFICE DEPOT ON ITS WAY TOWARDS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. HOW DID THE PARTNERSHIP COME ABOUT?

In 2005, when Office Depot acquired Viking Direct, the Viking headquarters in Los Angeles was closed. The resulting consequence was that the prepress department had to be transferred to Europe. Office Depot was therefore looking for a service provider who could quickly turn this innovative idea into a practical solution. After considering various scenarios, we decided to work with apollon to develop a concept that combines their expertise and our needs. The result was a highly automated workflow, a major challenge even for apollon.

From our point of view, this is the best way to offer uniform work for departments at different locations. The solution ensures that processes can be controlled transparently and effectively. Using the platform developed for our purposes, we were able to deliver data from all connected countries to apollon via our local advertising departments as part of a unified process. At the same time, we were able to offer an in-house portal that gave all departments access to all assets, the printed products and pages. This is actively used by our call center as well as merchandising and marketing.

WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO CREATE A CENTRAL PORTAL SO EARLY?

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO USE ONLINE MEDIA NET AT THAT TIME?

As part of the usual selection process with various suppliers, we chose Meyle+Müller and apollon at the time because they had the most experience in mass production of catalogs. At this point, OMN was already being used successfully by two leading German mail order companies. In retrospect, this was also the right decision, as we can now look back on thirteen years of successful partnership at eye level.

OMN (Online Media Net) is a tool that optimally adapts to changes and needs and constantly evolves with time. The software suite as such is flexible enough to allow continuous improvements and updates.

DESPITE THE RESTRUCTURING OF YOUR COMPANY, THE SOLUTION IS STILL IN USE. WHY THAT?

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO MANAGE ASSETS CENTRALLY?

Despite our European orientation, data and images are identical in many cases. Therefore, it would not make sense to manage each individual database locally. The approach ensures that assets and products that need to be quickly integrated into a portfolio in another country are directly available. Centralized management of all assets helps reduce processing costs; the whole thing is error-intolerant and avoids redundancies.

It is particularly important that the image data and pages are available without interference and securely at all our sites. The system must also be equipped with automatic interfaces and processes for image processing, such as masking. An automated image comparison function helps to avoid duplicate images. From our point of view, OMN is one of the most stable and powerful systems for data control and data management.

YOU HAVE ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF IMAGE DATA. WHAT SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS DO YOU HAVE IN TERMS OF IMAGE DATA MANAGEMENT?

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN THE PRINT PRODUCTION OF CATALOGS TODAY? WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?

If you look at the trends in print publications over the last decade, it’s clear that print volumes have dropped dramatically. In the classic mail order business, the volume was reduced by half, because as a customer you now order more via the Internet. In general, and especially in the mail order sector, the catalog takes on a new function, with the task of bringing the customer online.

We are discussing our plan for cloud-based OMN enhancement, which will further automate part of our processes using new plug-ins and additional functionality.

WHAT OTHER JOINT PROJECTS ARE CURRENTLY BEING PLANNED?

WHAT WILL THE MARKET FOR OFFICE PRODUCTS LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE?

Traditional categories will weaken and manufacturers will try to counteract this trend by increasing quality. In the mail order sector, it is known that parcel shipments will increase, while the number of envelopes will drop drastically. All this will lead to further consolidation in the industry. Companies will only grow if they are well positioned within the existing market.