There are three levels of the supply chain in the office products and supplies industry. Firstly, the manufacturer; secondly, the distributor; and then, the final link in the chain, the dealer or reseller, from whom the customer buys its desired product.
B2B e-commerce is set to grow 45%, eclipsing $1.1 trillion by 2020, and is too big a deal to ignore. The annual market in the United States for ink and toner is $25 billion and, although declining at a modest 1% or so per year, is primed for change.
I've just concluded a mini-marathon series of blogs that attempted to provide a detailed overview of the workings of the office supplies component of the office products industry. It's a big, complex industry, and nothing simple about a Twenty-Five Billion Dollar ink and toner market that keeps twelve OEMs, with combined global sales of $170 billion, afloat!
