(Norwell, MA) January 9, 2003…Contract stationers remain one of the power channels in the office products industry. While many businesses are merging or disappearing, contract stationers remain strong and continue to grow despite the struggling economy. The key to contract stationers’ success is that they provide products to customers at the lowest cost with the highest level of service. Contract stationers perform an important function in the office products industry. They are capable of supplying a very wide range of products to customers in a number of locations in a very short period of time. They are also able to provide a variety of valuable services to their customers, including customized invoicing, usage reports, electronic ordering, stockless office procurement, desktop delivery, and business forms management services. The major challenge for contract stationers is an ever-increasing competitive climate in the marketplace, driven largely by price differentiation, as well as value-added services. To successfully continue, contract stationers must negotiate and make deals with product manufacturers, and closely examine their own operations for cost efficiency. The major investment at this time is technology. New technologies allow contract stationers to improve on business processes such as order fulfillment, inventory control, and customer service. Technology lowers operating costs and improves the efficiency of the business. In a new report entitled Contract Stationers: Efficient and Tech-Savvy, CAP Ventures examines and analyzes the market potential for this channel. The report provides a brief history of the channel, profiles major national contract stationers, discusses the role of communication supplies, and provides forecast data. The complete report is available immediately to clients of CAP Ventures’ Communication Supplies Consulting Service. To learn more about the study or to make a purchase, please contact Stewart MacDonald at (781) 871-9000, ext. 175 or [email protected].