With its catalog seminars, E/D/E offers a unique service. For example, the recently published FORMAT Plus catalog Hungary
One of the core tasks of the E/D/E subsidiary EDE international is to support its members in competition. The two Budapest-based companies fétis and Arzenál, for example. A Hungarian-language catalog has been a major concern of dealers for years. In the previous year, the decision was made to implement the project and planning began to prepare the German-language FORMAT Plus catalog for the Hungarian market.
“We were able to gain an outstanding and experienced Hungarian service provider for the project, who provided the demanding transfer service for the E/D/E FORMAT brand,” praises Peter Baur, Managing Director of EDE international. József süle, managing director of fétis, and Krisztián svéda from Arzenál also found the professional translation and print preparation to be very good. The Hungarian FORMAT Plus catalog was published in mid-April and is valid for two years. Like the German version, it comprises almost 1400 pages and contains more than 30,000 articles. Half of the 3000 copies will go to fétis and half to Arzenál.
With this work, E/D/E underlines that it can apply its proven catalog expertise to the entire European market. The eLc’s logistics expertise takes retailers to a new level of performance in competition. However, catalog production is not the only strength of the Wuppertal purchasing and marketing association: members in Germany and Europe also value marketing services such as catalog training. In mid-May, one of a total of nine catalog workshops took place at fétis in Budapest. Teams from internal and external sales were comprehensively trained by EDE international employees in the services and benefits of the catalog and E/D/E with its catalog services. This workshop is divided into five independent areas. The general introduction to E/D/E is followed by a presentation of the FORMAT brand and the holistic concept behind it. Jean-Pierre Valent, category manager at EDE international, explains this point. He leads many of the catalog seminars and knows what questions the participants ask: “We have made the workshop both broad and deep in terms of information. We can adapt individually to each company, its employees and markets.”
The third thematic block revolves around the FORMAT Plus catalog, its structure and advantages. Everything is explained in detail, from the number of different products and the breadth of the range to intuitive navigation and a wealth of additional information. E/D/E can present many years of experience and work with this work and is therefore the first-class partner for its members.
For example, the FORMAT catalog for the French market was published in January with 1600 pages and 33,000 articles. It comprises ten product groups. A total of 19 French E/D/E members received the catalog with a total circulation of 23,000 copies. E/D/E also organized training courses and workshops for this plant. “It is important to us to bring the in-house and field staff together in order to develop an understanding of problems, but also so that they can benefit from each other’s experiences,” says Valent. At this point, he explains the advantages of supplier catalogs, including global purchasing, process cost reduction, the one-stop-shop principle and the delivery service. There are instructions on how sales representatives can present and market the catalog as well as guidelines for possible sales strategies. A list of arguments for selling goods through catalogs is another important service element of the E/D/E seminars.
In the fourth part, Valent and his colleagues take the participants on a virtual tour of E/D/E logistics. “In four languages – English, German, French and Dutch – we show what the E/D/E business division Logistics is capable of. The professionals are always impressed, some by the 80,000 items in stock, for example, while others like the fact that there is no minimum order quantity,” says Valent.
The event concludes with a summary round. An intensive dialog deepens the content and clarifies any final questions. In addition to the event in Budapest, there were seminars in Wuppertal, for example for the Walker company, and in France, in Le Mans, Lyon and Toulouse. Catalog training courses were organized for the Dutch FORUM partners Lecot/raedschelders in Maaseik and for Pehavo at the Oss site. Another workshop was held as part of the PREMIUM workspace equipment marketplace, which took place in Wuppertal in mid-April. The FORUM catalog for the BeNeLux region has been on the market since December 2009 and was created for members from Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. On 380 pages, it lists 9000 articles in six product groups. The print run is around 10,000 copies.
