The UK’s office products trade association BOSS has initiated an International agreement on European standardisation in the OP industry. BOSS recently met with members of ESOTA – the European Stationery and office Products Trade Association – to discuss whether global players wished to support a pan-European initiative to standardise areas such as product classifications and to facilitate messaging interoperability for the industry. All companies participating in the meeting were unanimous that the proposal was worth pursuing and that they would be prepared to fund a pan-European technical working party to drive it forward.
Louis Demetriou, secretary of ESOTA, comments: “Within the next two weeks ESOTA will be distributing questionnaires to the International reseller community asking them to identify the main issues that they would wish this technical working party to focus on.
“From this, we will be able to identify key areas of common interest that the working party will work on to scope a project with relevant budgets and timescales. This is certainly a very favourable step in reducing costs on an International level by introducing standard formats for business transactions.”
The companies involved in the meeting were Interaction (Belgium), Spicers (UK), Corporate Express (Germany), Altenar Kreis (Germany), Euroburo (Netherlands), JM Bruneau (France), Staples (Belgium) and PBS Network (Germany). It is expected that Office Depot/Viking, Lyreco and Guilbert, who were unable to attend this first meeting, will want to participate in future meetings.
The first meeting of the working party is scheduled for mid-March. Further information can be obtained from Louis Demetriou on +44 (0) 845 450 1565 or email louis@bossfed.co.uk.
30-Jan-2003
