Paper merchants hit back at industry critics

Australia's big three paper merchants have defended their customer service after a ProPrint poll has pointed to some disquiet within the industry.

Some 55% of respondents to the online poll thought service from paper merchants had worsened in the past year, while 12% thought it was better and 33% unchanged.

However, when ProPrint followed up with several printers by phone, most companies were pleased with the service they received.

Graeme Young, the general manager of medium-sized Perth printer Quality Press, said he received "excellent service and quick responses".

The procurement manager of one of the country's biggest trans-Tasman print groups said although merchants were under pressure to reduce costs, "on a day-to-day service basis, there have been no issues for us".

He was backed by the managing director of a major digital printer who told ProPrint: "We really haven't noticed a decline."

But Scott Print managing director Dudley Scott criticised Paperlinx and BJ Ball for not carrying enough stock in Western Australia, which he said meant waits of up to 10 days to receive orders.

He also accused Paperlinx of having "a very poor delivery system", although he praised BJ Ball's.

An executive at one Sydney printer said her company had suffered "poor service and supply deficiencies since the BJ Ball takeover of CPI".

"The difficulties have only started since we had BJ Ball take over [CPI]. We're not having these problems with Paperlinx," she said.

The director of a prominent Sydney print group accused paper merchants of having antiquated control systems and supply chains that were often interrupted by overseas bottlenecks.

"Paper is one of those things where you notice you're stuck at the end of the world in a small country," he said.

However, BJ Ball, Paperlinx and KW Doggett Fine Paper told ProPrint their customer service levels had remained high in the past 12 months and had not been affected in any way by margin pressures.

BJ Ball national marketing manager Tony Bertrand said despite the "massive amount of consolidation" and "fundamental change" his company had experienced in the past year, efficiency and turnaround times had actually improved.

"Our business is built on our service delivery. We want to be the most efficient paper company to deal with and we want our customers to know that customer service is number one for us," he said.

Responding to complaints that there wasn't enough stock in Perth, Bertrand said stock levels in each state were "based around the discussions we have with our customers". He added it was important printers kept merchants informed of their plans so merchants could plan appropriately.

Paperlinx group strategic sourcing manager Rohan Dean told ProPrint stock levels in Perth were generally at appropriate levels, because "if you're not in stock you lose your orders".

He also defended his company's delivery service which he said was well regarded by customers. "Delivery on time in full is a must," he said.

The national sales manager of KW Doggett Fine Paper, Nathan Doggett, also reported positive feedback.

"The feedback is pretty good. The print industry has been serviced very well over the years," he said.

"We think our customer service is very good, but we can always look for areas to improve and develop."

Doggett added that "customer service demands have really gone up this year" and that his company had responded accordingly.