Business Info - issue 135

Probrand brings consumer buying experience to business marketplace Technology company Probrand has launched what it claims is the UK’s first specialist online marketplace to connect buyers of business IT with suppliers of products and services. With 94% of B2B purchases now starting online and 91% of cold ‘interruptive’ calls failing to produce sales, the Probrand Marketplace is designed to take the hassle and cost out of transactions for both buyers and sellers. The Probrand Marketplace delivers 300,000 IT products with ‘live’ price and stock level updates, alongside IT solutions, cloud and managed IT services. It automatically provides price comparison across suppliers; transparency over personalised and special bid discounts; and business functionality that makes purchasing easy. Sector and technical specialists are on-hand when help is needed.Where buyers face a number of complicated choices, embedded proprietary apps can be used as self-service ‘configure, price and quote’ tools. Users also have the ability to configure their own marketplace. They can integrate systems, build process automation and add catalogues outside IT to improve procurement governance and control. Probrand supply chain director Ian Nethercot said: “Our marketplace is a direct response to business buyers wanting a new way to buy IT products and services. They want ease, transparency and savings via consumer-style self-service that delivers business pricing and process.” https://marketplace.probrand.co.uk/ AGENDA Business overcharged for mobiles UK businesses are wasting £1 billion on mis-sold mobile packages, warns Billmonitor. The Billmonitor Business Mobile Report 2018 reveals that overspending is higher for businesses (96%) than for consumers (66%), with 49% of businesses paying more than twice what they should for mobile phone services from the three major providers (Vodafone, EE, O2). The main reasons for the overspend are limited visibility of tariffs and bundles and complex billing. www.billmonitor.com Technology a top priority for job seekers More than one in three British workers (37%) would turn down a job if the technology on offer wasn’t good enough, claims LaptopsDirect .co.uk . In a survey of UK adults by the technology e-tailer, more than half (53%) said technology was an important consideration when choosing a job, ahead of flexible working (45%), the working environment/decor (39%) and staff discounts (33%). www.laptopsdirect.co.uk Email myths exposed Email takes the rap for numerous workplace woes, from long hours and low productivity to poor communication between colleagues, but is its reputation as a time-waster unwarranted? New research suggests that it might be. As part of an Acas-funded study, Dr Emma Russell, a psychologist from Kingston Business School, reviewed 42 academic and practitioner research papers and conducted 12 in-depth interviews with adults. Her findings explode three popular myths about email: 1 Email stops us from fostering high quality work relationships. The reality is that email only reflects and potentially accentuates existing cultures of trust. 3 We should limit ourselves to checking email a few times a day. In fact, we need to check and process email regularly in order to prioritise and control our work effectively. 3 Email is a time-wasting distraction from real work. In reality, only a tiny proportion of email sent and received at work is non-work critical. On the basis of her study, Dr Russell makes 10 recommendations for improving email strategy: For individuals n Process and clear email whenever it is checked; n Switch off email alerts; n Use ‘delay send’ function when sending email out-of-hours; n Review personal email strategies. For organisations n Develop ‘email etiquette’ guidance; n Remove response time recommendations for dealing with work email; n Support workers during periods of high workload; n Provide extra email time for high volume workers; n Provide email training; n Consider using other communication tools. www.bps.org.uk £ We buy your unused printer toner 0800 433 2440 [email protected] www.cashfortoner.co.uk 3 Easy Steps to Sell your Toner in just 3 Days Tell us what you have Check the details on your toner (name of manufacturer, product no. & validity date) Follow the easy steps to complete our online form We Quote We’ll quote a price we can pay, by email – usually within hours If you’re happy with it, you just click to confirm and provide some collection & payment details We Collect & Pay Pack your toner, ready for our free collection We will pay you within 24 hours of receiving the goods 1. 2. 3. Ian Nethercot BillmonitorBusinessMobileReport–2018

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