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Expanded business delivery raises the bar
By David Wight
SO COSTCO.COM has beefed up its busi-ness-delivery service. Excellent. That means a
bigger selection of pens, paper, ink and toner,
computers, pianos, scrubs, bulk flowers and a
whole lot more for member businesses.
Wait! Pianos, scrubs and flowers? What’s
that all about?
You might have fallen into the same trap
I did. Hearing “business delivery,” I thought of
office supplies such as pens, copy paper, white
boards and markers—the usual suspects. And
while that is part of the new service, there’s
more to this story. I had failed to grasp the big
Costco picture.
Business delivery on steroids
Take those pianos, for instance. Many
institutions, such as schools and churches, are
Costco members and have already realized that
costco.com’s selection of Suzuki pianos represents an incredible value to their operations.
And scrubs? Those are for all the medical
practices and clinics that rely on Costco for
many of their supplies, everything from computers and janitorial basics to break-room
goodies and waiting-room TVs. Why not add
linens and comfortable work attire?
See a pattern emerging? You’ve probably
figured out the bulk flowers are a big hit with
members in hospitality businesses such as
catering and restaurants, and also for special
events at institutions and many other types of
businesses. So are the 8-quart chafing dishes
and the heavy-duty espresso makers.
So the big Costco picture? Business delivery at costco.com takes a much broader hybrid
approach, aiming at a mix of everyday office
essentials with upscale business necessities—
products that you just won’t find at the typical
office-supply outlet—all at low Costco prices.
“With basic office supplies, we’ll be able
to take advantage of the fast distribution network of our suppliers,” says Mike Pollard,
vice president of marketing and operations
for costco.com. “Through 13 regional distribution centers as well as smaller centers in
other areas, we’ll have next-business-day
delivery for 95 percent of the country if our
supplier receives an order by 3 p.m. in the
same time zone. And, with most items, the
shipping and handling charge is included.”
In addition to access to more products
via the Web site, a dedicated catalog distributed in Costco warehouses or by request
through costco.com will support the effort.
New functionality on the costco.com Web
site will let businesses create and save shopping lists for the everyday items they need to
replenish often. Another new function allows
easy ordering by item number, with the dedicated catalog serving as a vital reference.
Liz Elsner, vice president of merchandising for costco.com, would be very surprised
to learn that a business couldn’t find something essential to its operations through the
new program. “Whether it’s everyday basics
or the upscale specialty items, it’s just like
Costco does with everything. We have the
cream of the crop—the top items in a given
category—at a great value,” she says. “And
our categories and item selection have never
been broader. We want to appeal to as many
specialty businesses as possible.” C
JUST FOR openers, do any of
these business-delivery categories mesh with y our
business-product needs? A full
Business Products catalog can be
requested at costco.com or picked up
at any warehouse.
Category
Business Products
New Items & Limited
Time Offers
Paper, Pads & Post-Its
Office Supplies
Ink, Toner & Ribbon
Technology
Office Furniture
Breakroom & Janitorial
Business Machines
Catering & Restaurant
Candy & Snacks
Health & Medical
Automotive
Safes
Moving & Storage
Education & Child Care
Hardware
Salon & Beauty
Services for Your Business
Vending Machines
Corporate Gifts
Fully detailed catalog
Thousands of items
Broad range of
business necessities
What’s new at costco.com?
Order by item number
Stored shopping lists
Delivered to
any U.S. address
Delivery how and where?
Costco.com turned to a home-grown
model for this program, looking at the six
regional Costco Business Centers, some with
specialty warehouses, that provide local business delivery to selected areas in California,
Washington and Arizona. That successful
approach has been enhanced and, through
costco.com, expanded to cover the entire
United States.
