Office Supplies for Entertainment World (a)

Abstract

Global Paper was a major player in the worldwide office products market. They had served the Entertainment World West Coast business for many years. Entertainment World had issued an RFP for global supply of their office products, asking for a proposal with maximum mutual partnership benefits. How should Global Paper respond to the request? This case is one in a series of four cases on value-based selling. The (B) case provides the value mapping and value proposition. The (A) case provides the background.

Excerpt

UVA-M-0719

Office Supplies for Entertainment World (A)

The Product

Global Paper was a major player in the worldwide office products market, with $ 10 billion in annual sales. Global Paper operated 1,200 retail stores, catalog, public Internet, and contract operations. The retail stores, catalog, and public Internet served consumers, small businesses (1 to 19 employees), and medium-size businesses (20 to 99 employees). Contract operations served large businesses with 100 or more employees. Global Paper had one of the finest supply chain operations, with 30 U.S. warehouses, 3,000 trucks, and 4,000 drivers offering next business day delivery to nearly every household and business in the United States. It also had significant operations in Europe and Asia. Global Paper stocked and sold more than 10,000 products: office supplies, office machines, office furniture, computers, printers, and computer accessories.

The Market

The U.S. office products market was $ 200 billion in size and was growing at a rate of about 5% per year.

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Keywords: Value Selling marketing