Office Supplies
Market, Supplier, Risk and
Competitive Intelligence

Office Supplies Industry: Global Drivers and Constraints

The global office supplies market was estimated to value $247 Bn by 2020. By 2025, the market is projected to reach $272.8 Bn at a 2.6% CAGR.

• Items in the office supplies market include notebooks and pads, stationeries, and other office equipment. The report covers a detailed analysis of the office supplies market. It also covers non-core office supplies such as kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies, office furniture, facilities management, office IT peripherals.
• Category intelligence says that demand for the core office supplies such as pens, paper and toners will continue to reduce as we further transform to a digitized environment.
• Adoption of e-auctions and ERP integration is expected to increase which might affect the small retailers with less technological capabilities
• The global office solutions market can be divided into recurring spend products which are ordered on a regular basis (predominantly core office supplies and some non-core office supplies) such as pens, paper files and folders, clips, staplers markers, and other office stationeries and non-recurring spend products (Products that are ordered once and used for a long time span such as breakroom supplies, janitorial supplies, office machines, computers,  office furniture, and projectors. 
• The major cost components of global office supplies are raw materials, wages, profit margins, rent and utilities.

Office Supplies Market Size and Global Outlook

• The global office supplies market size was around $235 billion in the year 2017 and was expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.4% by 2020.
• North America and Europe office supplies market size grew at a rate of 1-3% with market size of $82 billion and $46.8 billion respectively in the year 2017.
• The Asia-Pacific had a market size of $60 billion while the Middle-East and Asia had a market size of $23 billion.
• The supplier landscape is witnessing a drastic change, as the major players, Staples and Office  Depot, are disinvesting in regions other than North America.
• The High Maturity Regions in the global office supplies market are countries like US, Western Europe, and Nordics (Germany, UK, France, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway and Ireland)
• As the global office solutions suppliers are expanding their portfolio of services, buyers can consolidate their supplier base resulting in cost savings
• Office supply industry trends 2019 show that Low Maturity Regions like Major parts of Asia, Africa and South America, e.g., Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Indonesia are dominated by local suppliers who also offer self-branded products. The global players have no presence in these regions.

Office Supplies Industry Trends

• IT integration and industrial automation have led to a growing demand for computer/printer supplies. The demand for the toner cartridges segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 9% through 2019.
• Suppliers in this industry have declining profit margins and are facing significant price competition. Digitization has led to the closures of many retail stores of office supplies over the past 5 years. Price has become a key deciding factor, followed by geographic coverage and supply assurance.
• Eco-friendly products are an emerging area in developed countries, where most service providers are seeking to expand their product base.
• Global suppliers are enhancing their service capabilities through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to secure office supplies contracts from large buyers. Office Depot and Office Max merged in the year 2013 and became the second-largest player in the office supplies industry.
• Streamlining supply chains with the help of a lead logistics provider (LLP) or 4PL is a major trend to look out for in this market.
• Supply chain network optimization is becoming a buzzword with more suppliers focusing on it in the office supplies market.
• Internet of Things (IoT) and CT to play a major role in the office supplies market.

Office Supplies Industry - Global Market Maturity

• The office supplies market is highly fragmented, and the maturity level of the buyers and the suppliers is low outside Europe and North America.
• Buyers are looking to consolidate their supply base in APAC, Africa, and the Middle East, but are finding it difficult as the global office solutions suppliers still do not have a strong presence in these regions.

Office Supplies Industry - Key Global Suppliers

• Staples - Geographical presence in North America, Europe, Australia, China, India, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Singapore
• Office Depot - Geographical presence in North America, Europe, Some countries of APAC
• Lyreco - Geographical presence in North America, Europe, Some countries of APAC and LATAM
• Amazon - Amazon Retail, which can serve small and mid-sized offices, has a global presence. Amazon Business, which serves businesses, is present in UK, US, Germany, France, Japan, India, Italy and Spain

Office Supplies Industry: Global Drivers and Constraints

Drivers

• Digital Trading Platforms amid Physical Distancing Norms due to COVID-19
• For successful functioning in the office supplies market amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which is significantly influencing people and companies’ decisions, manufacturers must introduce their digital portals and provide an extensive range of options to customers to reach their target audience.

WFH Trend Gains Momentum

• Large-scale exodus from conventional workspaces to a work-from-home environment has become reality across the globe. While many office premises stay closed with no occupancy and the majority of paperwork shifting to digital platforms, office stationery and supplies including desk supplies, paper products, and computer/printer supplies, are witnessing notable demand.

Constraints 

• Online Meetings amid WFH Culture
• With team meetings held online through video-conferencing apps, office supplies used in traditional offices such as notepads, pens, whiteboards, and markers have reduced. With empty office desks, there is a noteworthy decline in the usage of desk supplies.

• As snail mail marketing comes to a screeching halt with postal services disturbed and anxiety over COVID-19 infection via packages, mails, and letters, demand for mailing supplies has dropped. Besides private workspaces, all public workspaces providing customer services have also been shut down and are being replaced by digital substitutes thus adversely impacting the usage of paper stationeries.

Office Supplies Market Trends

• Supply chain integration is a likely trend that will not die soon in the office supplies market and so is end-to-end supply chain management (SCM) to ensure better visibility. This will promise a better end-to-end supply chain control.
• Third-party logistics (3PL) management is likely to occur as it enables outsourcing parts of the distribution in the office supplies market. This can help cut costs for suppliers.
• Suppliers will increasingly focus on the digital supply chains as it will make it easier for them to look at and make sense of even the most complicated supply chains. This is an emerging market trend that is likely to stay.
• While it might not necessarily be adopted by itself, rising digitization can push faster adoption.
• Certain manufacturers in the office supplies market are likely to opt for a centralized SCM approach to make decision-making easier and more efficient compared to before.

Category Intelligence on Office Supplies from Beroe covers the following:

• Information relating to market, supply, cost, and pricing analysis
• Hard to find data on cost and TCO models, supplier details, and performance benchmarks
• Macroeconomic and regional trends impacting cost, supply, and other market dynamics
• Category-specific negotiation and sourcing advice

Why should you buy this report?

The office supplies market report scrutinizes the regional markets of North America, Europe, LATAM (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina), APAC (India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, Vietnam, New Zealand), and MEA(Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria), as well as their growth potential. Analysts have utilized Porter's Five Forces Framework to examine both these developed and developing regions.  

The report looks into the reasons for the declining profit margins of the suppliers, the resulting price competition they are facing and hence, the various strategies they are implementing to overcome these challenges. Readers will find detailed profiles of global suppliers such as Amazon, Staples, Office Depot and Lyreco and their SWOT analysis in this report.

In order to analyze the market competition, the research report provides cost structure analysis with detailed spend categorization and benchmarks that will assist in optimal decision-making. To understand the evolving nature of the market, the report reviews the engagement models at the local and global levels, as well as their pros and cons, e-commerce business models, pricing models (matrix pricing vs single discount) and impact of contract length.  On the basis of the exhaustive review of the above parameters, the report provides a host of cost-saving strategies, negotiation levers and questions for optimal results.