Business View Oceania | Volume 3, Issue 6

27 28 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 6 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 6 then we’d hit the holy grail of our technology. And that’s really where manufacturers have been evolving to. We’re seeing the development pretty quickly and manufacturers are coming to market with a pretty cool solution.” Aarque prides itself on developing strong personal relationships with manufacturers and understanding their roadmaps in order to program the direction Aarque takes. In the past, building those partnerships with suppliers has been achieved through trade shows or direct visits to manufacturers. But the pandemic has changed the process. Bult explains, “At a trade show you can see many manufacturers in one place but to build relationships you tend to go visit your supplier at their premises or they come to ours. What’s coming to market now has been in the pipeline for two or three years, so there’s no surprises. It’s just a new way of how we take that product to market, or how we upskill our team, or how we learn more about it. It’s utilising the different tools available – Zoom, Teams Meetings etc. On the back of that, normally if we have a new piece of technology, we’ll send a technician to the factory to get trained. The last 12 months, the factories have been sending the equipment to Aarque and then scheduling training meetings via Zoom, via cameras, via manuals. So the meetings continued, just differently.” Going forward, with their international suppliers, Bult believes that communication will become more frequent via digital meetings, with face to face meetings happening once or twice a year. But tradeshows will still have a place. Aarque’s business model is built around people and account managers and partnerships. Along with in- person visits to a client, they also have supporting materials such as their new website (currently in development) and direct marketing campaigns, inhouse demonstrations, open houses. “We also have application training,” says Bult, “so our customers can teach their clients on how to get the best out of their printer or give them new ideas. It’s a value added to give their customers more business. We do that well and far beyond what our competitors do.” It’s always evolving, that’s part of the excitement of this industry. It takes us on a journey… Being a smaller company, we can be nimble to adapt and move to do it right. And we’ll continue to do that.” The Aarque Group tagline “Partner of Choice” is at the heart of the business… the concept that people have a choice on who they want to partner with. As Bult shares, “Our suppliers and our clients have a choice whether they want to partner with us and we have a choice about being their partner. That also applies to our staff. More than just a word, “partner” is a key component of our company values and our vision.” The foundation of Aarque Group over the last 20 years has been a family kind of culture, where input from staff is encouraged. As such, the length of service among employees has been very strong, with many having 10 or 15 year tenure. Bult admits, “It’s a work hard, play hard relationship. Expectations are high that you stand up and deliver. But we also celebrate success along the way. You’ve got to enjoy your job when you come to work, and then everybody does well.” Looking to the future, Aarque Group has a three- year growth plan mapped out. One of the big projects on the go in the next 12 months is a new premise for the company’s head office in Auckland with expansions to consolidate its two current warehouses into one. According to Bult, “It’s a bigger warehouse so there’s more investment going into it with stock and equipment to take the next technology step to our clients. We’re also implementing a new ERP system, a whole new back end to drive efficiencies and give our staff better tools to achieve what we need as people. And that will evolve into further growth and opportunities.” He emphasises, “We do rely on our manufacturer partners to take us to different vertical markets with their own new technologies, so we’ve got the infrastructure to utilize and work with that. True Speed Color Wide Format Production Print For more information please visit: www.kipoceania.com or email us at info@kipoceania.com AARQUE GROUP LTD PREFERRED VENDOR/ PARTNER n True Speed Color Wide Format Production Print info@kipoceania.com www.kipoceania.com