PaperlinX opens new office in Shanghai, China

PaperlinX has opened a new business in China. The Shanghai-based office, staffed by local people with local knowledge, will serve both as a sales office for its rapidly expanding international trading business and as an Asian sourcing and procurement base for the Group’s operations worldwide.  The decision to open a China-based operation forms a key part of PaperlinX’s ongoing strategy to be a market leading materials merchant and to expand revenue streams beyond its traditional commercial print offering.

With a renewed focus on growth, PaperlinX is targeting expansion in non-paper products such as Industrial Packaging and Sign and Display. That strategy has already seen it purchase two additional businesses in the past year - Canterbury Packaging in New Zealand and Cadorit, a Swedish sign and display company.

Globally, the Group has put in place a series of measures to simplify its organisational structure, revitalise and improve efficiency; moves that underpin its commitment to drive performance improvements, strengthen the balance sheet and restore profitability.

The decision to consolidate its merchanting brands and trade throughout the UK and Europe as PaperlinX, has eliminated duplication in many areas and leveraging the power of one brand, is, according to Executive Director Andrew Price, “Helping us to maximise our buying power”.

“Within our ANZA businesses, we source significant volumes of product from China. Opening an office in Shanghai gives us the opportunity to leverage our procurement power globally; this will further enhance the Group’s supply chain efficiency  and better fits with a Group-wide commitment to streamline processes, as well as eliminate both cost and inventory duplication,” says Price.

In addition, having a single point of contact in China will encourage better collaboration between individual countries, facilitate information sharing and provide the Group with access to a wider gamut of sales and sourcing options. This resource will also fully support the bespoke branded web storefront initiative recently launched to the Group’s UK customers and which will shortly be rolled out across Europe.

This customised online platform to sell packaging, paper and other media is positioned to help printers open up new business opportunities and deliver an alternative revenue stream without significant investment.  PaperlinX intends to expand the existing 500-strong product offering in direct response to customer demand and will, in order to achieve greater cost efficiency and supply chain efficiency, source new lines via the Shanghai base.