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in desperate need of assistance. We had a
man in place within the hour. This degree
of flexibility can only be achieved by having
local engineers and gives the local reseller
a huge advantage.
“CSL concentrate on their productivity
allowing them to control and reduce their
costs thereby allowing them to be able
to offer a service which is as financially
competitive as national dealers but far
more efficient and effective for their
customers.”
Sam Elphick,
Sales Director,
Lex
Business Equipment
:
“We consider
ourselves as a local print provider, but
with a national reach. The majority of our
clients are based within a 60-mile radius
of our headquarters in Bury, Lancashire.
It is though the case for several of our
clients that their head office location is in
Manchester, with the addition of four or
five other offices throughout the country.
“The primary benefit of being a local
print provider is the level of customer
care we can give – from regular review
meetings to discussing our clients’ ongoing
needs, to ensuring prompt attendance to
fault calls; usually within 3-4 hours. For
those clients that aren’t ‘local’ we have
excellent support from our manufacturer
partners UTAX, Develop and Lexmark –
with the same escalations.”
Kevin Tunley,
Sales Director,
Midshire
:
“Local providers can offer greater
flexibility in the level of service. Customer
relationships are usually closer, as direct
contact and regular site visits are easier to
plan and achieve. They also have a greater
understanding of local business needs
and challenges, which national suppliers
may be unaware of. Many businesses now
have to highlight and demonstrate their
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility),
which can really only be achieved well by
working with a local dealer as opposed to
a national company. At Midshire, each of
our offices have developed close working
relationships with the local community
and support a number of projects and
initiatives.”
Matt Goodall:
“In most cases YES – I
believe that they do prefer to buy local and
support the local economy both financially
and as far as the jobs market goes. The
old saying of people buy from people is
true, and that commonality of being local,
understanding the area, the challenges and
the economy provides a link between you
and your customers.
“Occasionally we do see prospective
customers making a decision to move to a
large national, or an out of area company,
in many of these cases, we see them move
back as soon as they possibly can to a local
supplier.”
Scott Walker:
“On a personal level, I
always try to purchase local. Sometimes
it isn’t possible, but I’m a firm believer in
buying through ‘the little guys’.”
Mark Smyth:
“We experience a relatively
small number of clients that have a policy
to buy locally and that’s often based
on their local business community and
corporate social responsibility objectives
– where supply chain, travel and carbon
footprint for example, can have a dramatic
impact on providing the client with
products and services.
“This is also present with corporate and
multinationals and if you have national
coverage, then it’s about that coverage
and the availability of sales and services
professional resources available locally in
the field to meet their needs and demands
for account management and support. The
focus for most clients, especially corporate,
national clients, is about the ability to meet
SLAs, compared with SMEs who can be a
little less driven on SLAs.”
Andy Perkins:
“Yes, most customers
would prefer a local dealer, although there
are circumstances when national and
international companies have a global
agreement. Even then it’s interesting how
many will seek to find a way of using a
local reseller because they know from
experience that they are likely to receive
better service.”
Sam Elphick:
“I think more recently the
emphasis on ‘local’ purchasing has become
more prevalent. We are fortunate in that
due to our long-established reputation and
presence throughout the north-west, we
can be as competitive price wise as the
national providers, but our true advantage
is our local service. On this basis, I would
say that organisations do prefer working
with local suppliers.”
Kevin Tunley:
“Most customers prefer
to buy local. Generally, the feedback from
customers who have experienced both
national and local suppliers feel that
service response and the solving of issues
is easier to achieve with a local company
with a flatter management structure.
“At Midshire, we have developed
a network of regional offices that can
offer all of the benefits of local service
and account management, but have the
ability to offer national coverage when the
account requires. Our board of Directors
and Senior Managers across this network
share best practice, knowledge, ideas and
strategy to ensure each office remains
innovative and competitive.
“Local dealers also have the ability
to offer a wider range of solutions – i.e.:
network support, audio visual products and
services, communications etc. Customers
are always looking to reduce the stress
involved in dealing with a number of
different suppliers, whose products
interlink within their business. So a single
supplier that they can rely on and trust
really helps in this respect.”
PITR:
In your experience do people
prefer to buy local?
continued...
Sam Elphick
Sales Director
Lex Business Equipment
Andy Perkins
Director
CSL Business
Machines
