Manufacturers and resellers who have delivered exception performance in the past 12 months have been recognised with the announcement of the winners of the VOW Venture Awards. 

The nine award categories reflect the journey from the design board to the factory, through the account manager to the reseller and on to the consumer. 

Adrian Butler, VOW MD said, “the UK wholesale channel has been tremendously successful for a long time, and one of the key reasons for this is the collaborative way that we have worked with our partners in the supply chain. I’m talking about both manufacturers and dealers, identifying opportunities, finding efficiencies, driving sales and delivering great service. VOW is really happy to be able to highlight the best-performing of all, and to give them these awards as a sign of our appreciation for what they have been doing.” 

The winners are as follows:

Product of the Year - ExaClair for its Forever Filing range

The Supplier of the Year - Acco Brands who continued to innovate in its product ranges, proactively support promotional activity and deliver exceptional service

Account Manager of the Year -Claudio Beltramini of Nestlé Professional, who edged out Andy Philips of Bic and Chris Bratt of Kimberly-Clark

The Newcomer Award - Clare’s Office Supplies. The award is presented to a dealer who is new to the VOW business and who engages across all elements of the business and its programs. 

There are two awards that relate specifically to product categories that offer resellers the opportunity to extend their businesses beyond traditional office supplies. Awards are presented to resellers who deliver outstanding sales performance in terms of volume and value, real and percentage growth. 

The Furniture Reseller of the Year was won by Office IS and the Facilities Supplies Reseller of the Year went to ACS Business Supplies. 

The Reseller of the Year recognises outstanding sales performance, commitment and engagement and is split into three categories to ensure that all resellers have the opportunity to win. The 2018 winners and runners-up were; 

Red Reseller award 

Winner: Office 1st Ltd
Runners-up: Blutex and European Cartridge Brokers Ltd 

Gold Reseller Award 

Winner: The Office Works
Runners-up: CPS Office Supplies and Compleat Office Solutions 

Diamond reseller Award 

Winners: Complete Business Solutions Runners-up: ACS Business Supplies and Commercial 

Helen Wade, VOW Marketing Director added, “this year we saw exceptional performance from so many suppliers and customers it was incredibly difficult to whittle it down to 9 awards. I wish we could have given out 90. We are delighted for all of the winners and they, along with all of those who made the shortlists, should be very proud of their achievements. Members of our Senior Management Team will be presenting the awards to the winners in their own premises, so we can say thank you to everyone involved personally.”