Vendors get PO'ed at times, especially if they don't get paid. But would they fire their largest customer? Message boards have been picking up about Office Depot and their private label vendor on compatible cartridges - Nu-Kote. So did Office Depot decide to switch vendors of their private label compatible cartridges or did Nukote fire Office Depot, their largest customer for delay in payment?Personally, I remember when Nu-Kote was in bankruptcy about 10 years ago. How quickly they forget. But Nu-kote is not a bank and they will need to protect themselves.
Would Nu-Kote be my vendor of Compatible cartridges, probably not, but I have no idea what their "Strategic Relationship" is with Office Depot. But it was last year Nu-kote decided to cut some costs and let some good people go that managed these relationships.
Voice your opinion....Did Office Depot fire Nu-kote, or did Nukote fire Office Depot? If you were Office Depot, who would be your compatible vendor of choice?
See the recent update of the legal issues of Office Depot and Nukote in this new post.
By the way if you sell office supplies try this out.
From friends of the industry -
ReplyDelete"I hear OD is not paying and Nukote stopped shipping. Resulted in a lot of long term Nukote people getting wacked including the OD sales team.
OD , owed Nukote alot of money. Which hurt NK finacally, We have lost most of our employees due to this. Bravo OD, You just ruined alot of familes and caused seaver hardship to many of our former co-workers who depended on this relationship between OD & NK.
ReplyDeletePAY YOUR BILLS!!! and you will get product!!!!
So here we are back to the same question; who's to blame? Is it Nu-Kote for putting all their eggs in one basket or OD for thinking they have so much industry power they can abuse their vendors?
ReplyDeleteFirst, Office Depot has fully honored its contractual obligations with Nukote. Any
ReplyDeleteassertions that Office Depot is not meeting its payment and other contractual
obligations are simply false.
There has been a recent disruption in Nukote’s shipments of Office Depot brand ink
and toner cartridges. However, Office Depot is not the cause of these service
issues. Moreover, our supplier has not asserted that its performance is related to
concerns regarding Office Depot. We are actively engaged in discussions with
Nukote, and we are working to help them resolve their performance issues. We are
committed to ensuring that our suppliers fulfill their contractual obligations to ensure
that service levels are not interrupted.
Permormance issues?? Not! Try non-payment issues from Office Depot since January! A company cannot survive in this economy providing goods for free for 4+ months. Let's be fair and honest here....shipments were stopped because the smaller company (Nukote) needs revenue from their goods to survive. Sometimes you have to cut an arm off to survive....
ReplyDeleteDifficult position for both companies here. OD needs the higher profit margin of compatible supplies compared to OEM's.
ReplyDeleteDepot still needs to cuts more costs, but not to the areas that effect revenue and bring in more gross profit dollars.
Personally, I think Depot will make it through this (I am Long to a certain point on Depot and has been good to me so far). I just don't know if it will be with Nu-Kote. Nu-Kote will need to get a resolution from Depot.
Nu-Kote will also need to find a new way to sell compatibles supplies other than in the traditional way through retailers, distributors, and dealers to make up for the lost revenue and GP dollars that OD brought to them.
Maybe if the top dogs sit down and have a honest conversation.
Will that ever happen?
To quote Nukote's owner: "I'm a rich man, I shouldn't have to kiss anyone's ass."
ReplyDeleteGlad to know so many business relationships, jobs, and lives have been sacrificed to preserve a rich man's pride.
Everyone is right!
ReplyDeleteNukote's product quality was poor from china, and Office Depot would pay slow. Thus allowing for deductions of failed products.
Nukote let go of many long time employees, it seems that Mr Rochon doesnt know this industry!
And the legal battle continues between Office Depot and Nu-Kote - this should get interesting.
ReplyDeleteNuKote should apply for a bailout like the other "big dogs". The government wants to bail out large corporations and make the small one's pay for it or go under.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't think you have to "kiss anyone's ass" you better look around and see that the only "asses" kissed were the ones kissed goodbye from NuKote because NuKote's owner had to be arrogant.
No company should expect another to keep them in business and should always have the expectation that someday that "bread and butter" may be gone and plan as if it is tomorrow. Shame on NuKote for being so complacent in the first place.
Nukote's ownership has played this game before and they have made big $$ over the years at the expense of their employees. They have no SOUL and are totally arrogant.
ReplyDeleteThey will again walk away with their bank accounts FULL and employees left on the side of the road.
They are small minded little men who think they are bigger than anyone.
Egos ....
Sad part is the number of people hurt by their actions.
But...Ron and Rochon still have their country club memberships, nice cars and vacation homes.
Thanks a lot little men!
just an ex. signing off...
Office Depot can contact us. We will build their cartridges for them and give them net 45.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.BriteChoice.com
The only thing Ron did wrong is let these Dallas guys into Nukote
ReplyDeleteOffice Depot had no choice but to leave Nukote. When Nukote moved from China to Mexico they were plagued with startup issues. These caused major stock outs to Office Depot. Since Nukotes output dropped considerably, no cash was coming in. Nukote just couldn’t make the product on time. In order to fill their shelves Office Depot had to find another supplier. That is the reason Nukote is having financial difficulties now. Just poor management. Now that the management laid off their experts and lost so many customers and vendors, pretty much destroying Nukote, they need to come up with another plan to make money and that is by suing Office Depot.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say “management” you mean the owners, correct? I have met some Nukote managers/employees and found them to be professional, hard working and loyal. The owners are the ones that took a one hundred year old company and “destroyed” it in one year.
ReplyDeleteYes, owners, personally I have known some of the managers and they are great people - never met with top guns...
ReplyDeleteHold on one Second!!!!
ReplyDeleteIsn’t Nukote suing Office Depot because Office Depot didn’t pay Nukote for the goods that they received?
What about all the suppliers the owners screwed by not paying them for the good and services Nukote received.
What about all the suppliers that they tossed aside after they were used up. Where is the justice for them?
These guys sound like hypocrites to me!!!!
Maybe its time to start making carbon paper, copy sets, register rolls, and all those other fine products from the golden age of Mittag and Volger. Just like fashion, everything comes back in style again someday. Ah, the good old days. Jimmie Hoffa is not buried in the Meadowlands, he is under the foundations of the condos in Park ridge.
ReplyDeleteLP Albums, Tube Televisions, CB Radios, Sony Walkman, What else can we date ourselves with?
ReplyDeleteIt seems awfully quite. Does anyone know what the state of Nukote is? Are they coming out of bankruptcy? Are they closing plants? Are they turning it around? Did firing Office Depot put the final nail in their coffin? Are they going to win the law suit?
ReplyDeleteFor Nu-kote, best guess is that Nukote has DIP financiang in place (Debtor in Possesion). Scaling down the bsuiness down to a third of what is was, both in revenue, and employees. Regarding the lawsuit, lawyers are getting racking up fees with the Office Depot lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteOn the Office Depot seems to be battling multipe fronts, I am sure ths David Sherwin and over pricing issues is a big thorn in their side. Office Depot recent put out a Video about this recently.
It should be interesting Feburary 23rd, when Office Depot releases their financials. Anyone guessing what the EPS will be? I am guessing, -0.16. Any other guesses out there?
nukote sucks
ReplyDeleteand they are definitely still bankrupt
Updated information regarding NuKote March 2010
ReplyDeleteNukote is suing Clover for being a better supplier then them???
ReplyDeleteThere is only one reason Nukote if suing OD and Clover and it has nothing to do with “justice”. The reason is the owners of Nukote do not know how to run a business but are great at suing companies. This is not to help Nukote and its employees survive. It’s to fill the owners coffers. They are only in it for themselves and could not care about their present of former employees or the once great company Nukote. I have lost all respect for these men
ReplyDeleteNukote has let go more of their top management. It doesn’t sound like they are turning it around.
ReplyDeleteRemember this line from Nukote owners
ReplyDelete"There will not be any job cuts as a result of the filing,"
I think they meant, in thier own family
Someone earlier in this thread said it perfectly:
ReplyDelete"Nukote is suing Clover for being a better supplier then them".
Clover Rocks!
Your Supporters at
www.britechoice.com
Nukote and Office Depot are going into mediation. Does anyone know who initiated this and why?
ReplyDeleteI work for Office Depot supply chain and I can tell you for a certain fact that Nukote product was always there on schedule when it should have been. If it would have been a supply problem from Nukote, there would be a pattern of the product being short and/or late. That simply wasn't the case. The supply of Nukote was steady and constant for 2+ years straight. Then one day it just stopped which says to me that they were not getting paid for the product. I would testify in court to that !!! Office Depot is really not a good company. They will be bankrupt like Circuit City before too long !!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI hear Nukote has recently closed it Connellsville PA plant and are out of business. Is this true?
ReplyDeleteyes, Nukote is closed for good...I was one of the last employee Aug 23rd ...2010...RIP
ReplyDeleteYes! The plant in Connellsville PA is closed. No one seems to know any more than that as to what Nukote is doing.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences go out to all the Nukote employees who spent many years of hard work and dedication to build it into a successful company. I know this put many people out of work and hurt many people’s lives. Good luck and may God bless you.
ReplyDelete