On our fancy new website (ahem!) and in our branding, we emphasise the words Flexible, Secure and Scalable – and we talk about the benefits of consolidation in relation to suppliers, but what does that actually mean for customers?
Well, it means that we know that a one-for-all approach just doesn’t work, so we aim to be as flexible as possible for our customers, tailoring services and sourcing products to meet their requirements on a case-by-case basis.
Security in business has become so important over the past couple of decades, especially in the digital landscape. Through our work with clients in our Managed Print division, we have seen the importance of building security into everything we do and implementing robust solutions that have the capability of protecting our customers’ networks and data from bad actors and weak links. We now work with that ethos in mind across all divisions of our business.
We started out as a small business ourselves and we know the importance of being able to provide straightforward products and solutions for smaller businesses and start-ups and we still offer that.
However, as we have grown, so have our capabilities to ‘scale up’ and offer more comprehensive business solutions for larger customers with multiple sites, complex support and aftercare needs and requirements for more personalised solutions.
Less is Really More!
Lots of companies claim to be a one stop shop for all sorts of business solutions but when push comes to shove, they are actually outsourcing most if not all of the expertise they claim to have. That’s where we’re different. When we were first starting out, we recognised that to be able to add on and scale up product offerings and services successfully, we also needed to hire experts and bring them in-house.
Our internal MPS and Digital Signage sales and support teams are personally trained by Stacked suppliers and partners such as; HP, Xerox, PrintReleaf, PaperCut and NowSignage to keep their product knowledge up to speed, and make sure they are able to deliver the best possible customer experience on every interaction.
Our in-house purchasing team have relationships with hundreds of suppliers across many different areas and pride themselves on being able to source almost anything for our customers. It doesn’t matter if it’s not in our catalogues, we will do our best to get it for you, just ask.
We also have dedicated experts for each division; Managed Print, Digital Communications, Business Process Automation and Workplace Solutions who can talk you through the products and services available in each area and find solutions that work for you and your business.
The Benefits of Supplier Consolidation That Affect Your Bottom Line
Supplier consolidation can reduce risk – with fewer suppliers to manage, your company can spend more time on regulatory and quality requirements.
Sticking with one supplier for various business areas also means that you have access to more cohesive spend analytics which may help you streamline and optimise your own purchasing processes.
We know that the time spent sourcing products, arguing with suppliers, and on general admin for different points of contact in numerous companies can mount up. This can cause internal issues like breaks in process unless you have the resources to manage it. Having one supplier for multiple business areas removes this headache and frees up time for your staff to spend on customer facing or revenue generating activities.
If you are switching back and forth between suppliers, none of them really get to know you, your business, or your processes. Staying with one supplier gives them the opportunity to refine their offering to you and your specific needs.
There is a common misconception that reducing your supplier base affects your ability to negotiate better terms but in fact the opposite is actually true. If you have a strong relationship with one key supplier and they are familiar with your business and your needs, then this knowledge enables them to go the extra mile to preserve and strengthen your relationship. This is certainly true for us here in Stacked, the more we know about our customers, the more we can do for them. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case with a supplier that you don’t have any history with.
When a customer places their trust in us, we take that very seriously. We endeavour to do our best to make every interaction they have with our company a positive one and we promise to regularly seek and act on their feedback.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the people we serve and the people we hire to serve them. Once we keep that focus at the core of everything we do, then we are always heading in the right direction.