Office Choice (Australia), TriMega Purchasing Association (USA), Novexco (Canada), Office Friendly (United Kingdom) and Inovocom (South Africa) will join together under the IOPA banner (International Office Products Alliance) to drive collaboration among the management teams of each company in the areas of Private Label, Best practice sharing, Corporate & Dealer benchmarking and Business model enhancement.   

 

Pioneered by Office Choice CEO Brad O’Brien, the alliance has been born as a “direct result of the desire for increased collaboration by each company to build and enhance the support and services provided for the benefit of the members of each dealer group.”

The alliance will see a yearly schedule of online meetings and international conferences to bring the companies together. The firest meeting will be held in June 2018 in conjunction with the OPI European Forum in the UK, where the roadmap for the next two years will be determined.

Office Choice CEO Brad O’Brien commented: “Office Choice is delighted to have been able to bring these great companies together and I am looking forward to working with each company to fulfil the ambitions of the alliance. Each company has been successful in its own market and so pooling resources and learning will be extremely advantageous for all involved. We have built a strong relationship with each company over the past few years and it is a testament to the progressive mindset from all involved that we have been able create this alliance.”

 

Mike Maggio, president of TriMega Purchasing Association, said: “We are pleased to be working with these progressive organisations from around the world and look forward to benefiting from their experience and know-how as we share best practices across our platforms”.

Ian Wist, chairman of TriMega added: “The primary focus of each of these unique organisations is to better serve the independent dealers in our respective markets. By better understanding how similar organisations operate, our board of directors will create a stronger organisation for our members.”

Denis Mathieu, CEO of Novexco, said: “The IOPA is an exceptional opportunity for Novexco to pursue further its strategy, enhance knowledge and provide ingenious solutions in its market. Novexco, the largest Canadian-owned distributor of office and furniture supply in Canada, is delighted to join this alliance. We look forward to sharing and capturing best practices and new trends, with an end-goal of maximising our customer experience.”

 

Julie Hawley, managing director of Office Friendly, said: “Office Friendly is delighted to become part of this illustrious and inspiring international alliance. The UK office products market is evolving at a fast pace and, in turn, we are evolving our strategic direction for the benefit of all our members. By aligning with like-minded groups, globally recognised in their own countries as market leaders, IOPA is the next natural and progressive step."

 

Craig Noyle, founding director of Inovocom, said: “The Inovocom Group, which includes the Office Active, Office Club Africa and Alliance Furniture Dealer groups, is honoured to have been included within this prestigious international alliance. Being the leading dealer group in the southern African region, we look forward to sharing our knowledge of the African market with our peers, as well as the solutions that we have had to adapt for the African market. We believe this alliance will bring huge benefit to our dealers as well as our local industry by exposing us to international trends and best practices within the office products industry. Inovocom looks forward to working with our alliance partners.”