Case Study: Private Label Sourcing At Staples Brand Group

A Case Study Interview with Shawn Auler, Director of Operations and Procurement, Staples Brand Group

• Learn how Staples Brand Group drives global sourcing for a multi-billion private label business.
• Learn how Staples Brand Group drives the lowest possible product costs with 99% on-time deliveries across global suppliers and customers.
• Learn how Staples Brand Group uses Arigo STM Suite to track costs and shipments at lowest levels across their supply chain.

Staples Brand Group (SBG) is responsible for private label products carrying the Staples brand name. SBG's goal is to deliver iconic products that become distinctly associated with the Staples brand name and that make customers drive past the competition to buy these specific products. The Staples brand strategy is focused on delivering national brand quality with lower prices and better margins. Staples Brand Group is one of the top profit margin business units in the company.

SBG offers a wide range of products from items as simple as pencil leads to complex, engineered products such as ergonomic office chairs. One of the most memorable Staples brand products is the Staples Easy button. Other well known Staples brand products include the MailMate shredder, the One-Touch™ stapler, and the Better™ Binder. Some products, such as notebooks, are fashion items that require different colors for different countries and color changes every year. Staples Brand Group has more than five thousand product combinations offered to customers around the world.