Offices expect them delivered, from stationery to office furniture

It’s amazing what kind of service providers are out there in the land of the rising sun. You can have practically anything delivered straight to your office desk. Snacks, stationery, office furniture and even massages are some of the more useful examples.

The big demand for such services has caused a very competitive industry to rise. The current leader of the market is Askul Corporation. The usual setup of these companies, which usually have a catalog as varied as 60,000 items, is they send out deliveries to fulfill orders placed through fax or the Internet. The max response time is around a day.

A reason why the demand for these deliveries is growing is because many Japanese are workaholics. Rather than spend time purchasing necessities such as food, supplies, and even equipment, employees would stay seated in front of their office desks, getting things done while delegating the task of procurement and delivery.

Let’s look at the example of Machiko Takai. She’s an employee at a TV commercial research company called tokoyo Kikaku Inc. She narrates about being surprised when she placed an order for new office chairs for her small office.

That’s because after placing the order in the morning, the delivery—around 20 chairs in all—arrived before the end of the day.

And on every Monday, Takai places orders for new supplies for the office, determined by the requests filed by the company’s 80 employees. The mail-order catalog which features what companies like Askul can deliver is as thick as a telephone directory, a testament to the sheer number of items these delivery companies handle.

Takai talks about the convenience offered by being able to purchase all those things, right from the comfort of her office desk. “It is extremely convenient because I can order a wide range of goods all at once, from notebooks to coffee,” she says. She also shared experiences with ordering items like stationery and even household golds with other suppliers.

Aside from the convenience offered by delivery, the delivery suppliers also offer another advantage. A spokeswoman for Askul says that their services save precious time and money because it helps out employees who don’t know everything about office management. Instead of fretting over the small details, she said, they can simply order a whole pre-packaged lot, like a complete set of office furniture, or a laser printer bundled with an extra supply of toner.

These two services amount at least 400 billion yen. That’s how big the office-delivery is in Japan today.

Surprisingly, Askul’s competitors for the hearts and minds of people seated in front of office-desks include Office Depot of the United States, which joined the Japanese game way back in 1996. Another competitor named Otsuka Corp. handles even more items than Askul, topping off at 65,000. Kokuyo started in 2001.

All companies in the industry have one thing in common: fast and faithful delivery. After taking order directly from a client, they direct the nearest warehouse—where the products are stored in bulk—to handle the shipment.

Except of course in the case of massuers. Career Associates Co. lets offices enjoy the business body care service, which sends 20 contract massuers if a company requests for them.

Posted on: Storage

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