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Daily Telegraph
July 2008
Back in the days of the dotcom boom during the late 1990s, so called “e-procurement“ was supposed to
be the next big thing, and billions of dollars of investment were thrown into the sector. Like many
other dotcom investments, the short-term returns didn't match the long-term rhetoric, and much of the
money was wasted.
“You would imagine that most big companies would buy most of their goods using electronic methods,“
says Doug McLean, 47, chief executive of OCG, a stationery procurement specialist based in Redhill,
Surrey. “But it hasn't taken off as well as it might have done.“
OCG, which was also founded in 1999, is attempting to change that. The company began as a traditional
stationery seller, but evolved into a technology provider. Rather than sell software, OCG allows clients
to download its e-procurement platform at no cost, provided that they register with Netstationers, its
office supplies business.
The platform, says McLean, allows organisations with disparate sites to see precisely what each office
is purchasing, enabling significant cost savings from centralised buying.
One larger leisure client, for example, was spending £I.5m annually on office stationery - a figure that
it expects to trim to £lm this year with OCG.
OCG also says it saved a major national healthcare company £2.4m between 2005-2007. This kind of success
has aided growth and OCG has built turnover to £14m.
The surprise, says Mclean, is that the stationery supplies sector remains unconsolidated, with about 3,000
office supplies companies based in the UK.
“It's a huge £6bn-a-year market,“ he says, “and it's unusual for such a commodity market not to have been
to a few large players. We have made two small acquisitions but we found it is easier to build than to buy.
It's surprising that no major private equity firm has spotted an opportunity in this sector.“
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