United Stationers Opens New Orlando Facility

United Stationers has opened a new 400,000 square foot Distribution Center in Orlando, FL, The new facility will accommodate the distribution needs for oth United Stationers Supply and LagasseSweet customers and will replace existing facilities in Jacksonville and Tampa. Stocking 30,000 sku’s and $16 million of inventory, the facility will have the capacity to process over 3.1 million lines of merchandise per year. In addition, it is equipped with the latest in state-of-the-art technology as well as some environmentally friendly features. “The new warehouse is designed to better meet the growing needs of our customers in Florida and southern Georgia,” said Chris James, General Operations Manager.

Tap the Burgeoning Medical Market

Are you ready to tap into an audience that spends $135 billion every year? You can reach these elite professionals looking for everything that helps small and medium-sized businesses run smoothly – from staplers to servers to marketing services. Learn more about targeting medical group practice managers, the decision makers within the growing health care market and the largest industry in the U.S. Download the free white paper – “Market to a Professional Audience with Purchasing Power.” Click here to download the white paper.

Look for Additional Closeout Opportunities

Coming in Q3 there will be more opportunities to buy discontinued inventory at drastically reduced prices. Look for additional items added to our Closeout sale sometime in July. Our current 2008 Closeout Sale continues through May 31 and features great deals on discontinued furniture, ink and toner, filing, school supplies and more. Be sure to act fast as supplies are limited. Now there are two way to announce these incredible deals to your customers – Lined Out List Price and Consumer pieces. A Dealer Net Pricer is also available. Further details, including pricing and an update inventory list are available on the Resellers Classified Zone – click here.

Feeling the Pinch
At the Pump

Right now, business owners across the country are wondering how to pass increased fuel costs along to customers without driving away those customers. Although many small-business owners are reluctant to raise prices for fear of sending customers to a competitor, some contend this is not a temporary crisis that can be ridden out. With regular unleaded gasoline up 26% from a year ago and diesel prices up 40%, there is simply no way to keep eating those costs. It’s critical to be upfront and clear about why prices are being raised and instead of increase rates consider adding a fuel cost surcharge. Click here to read more.

Consumers Shift Buying Behavior in Tight Economy

Stung by rising gasoline and food prices, Americans are finding creative ways to cut costs on routine items like groceries and clothing, forcing retailers, restaurants and manufacturers to decode the tastes of a suddenly thrifty public. Spending data and interviews around the country show that middle- and working-class consumers are starting to switch from name brands to cheaper alternatives. Though seemingly small, the daily trade-offs they are making amount to an important shift in consumer behavior. “People have started to shift spending as if we were in a recession,” said Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis at MasterCard.
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Check Out Alera at
NeoCon This June

United Stationers is committed to providing greater value to the business consumer and greater profit opportunities to dealers. One of the best ways to accomplish both is when dealers sell Alera furniture. Alera fits so well into so many office environments, making the potential market enormous and the complete offering including casegoods, seating, storage products and wire shelving makes Alera the perfect choice. You can see the Alera line for yourself at United’s NeoCon exhibit – 7th floor, Booth 7062 – June 9 – 11 at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. You can find more information on Alera here.

What can we
do for you?
97% of customers remain with the reseller who originally signed them up for PurchasEdge. And, on average, customers who join the program increase their HP supplies purchases at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 36.5%. Visit the Web site to learn more about the latest member promotions.

When independent office products
dealers want to grow, they turn to software from ECi. Whether growth means adding new accounts or boosting the bottom line with improved operational control, ECi has solutions for dealers of every size and business model. Support for additional lines of business like furniture, equipment and jan/san; employees with practical industry experience; customer involvement in development — these are just a few of the reasons why more dealers rely on ECi software than all other industry-specific software packages combined.

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How to Stay
Well-Informed
If you’re not receiving OfficeLine magazine from United Stationers you’re not getting all the latest information on new products, new promotions, merchandising developments and everything you need to know about how to make your dealership more productive and more profitable.

Subscribing is easy. Just log onto the OfficeLine Web site, fill out the form, click on “submit” and you’ll be sure to receive the very next issue.

Small Business Remains Optimistic Despite Economy
The U.S. small-business sector remains positive in the face of trying economic times, according to a study published by market researcher Opinion Research Corp. While a majority of small businesses say the U.S. is now in a recession, only 14% say it is a serious recession. The small-business community remains more positive than the general public, with only 23% suggesting that the economy is very poor, compared with 40% of the general public. Click here to read more.