Osmond Group eBulletin December 2006

	eBulletin - December 2006 The items below all have links to further information. Click here for the last eBulletin (August 2006)
	Skype Us If you are a Skype user, we have good news! We are always looking for ways to improve our service and make life easier for our customers. As a result, our Customer Service team now have Skype connections offering both voice calls and text messaging. You can contact us through our web site by clicking here.
	Call Me Back If you don't use Skype, we have another new service which may be of interest. Through our web site, you can ask us to call you at a particular time during business hours. Click here for more details or click here to use the service now.
	Bakker Elkhuizen/ErgoBrain Merger Two of the most significant European companies in the field of workplace ergonomics announced their merger last week. Bakker Elkhuizen is a worldwide brand best known for its laptop stands and ErgoBrain has grown very rapidly since its formation only a few years ago to become a significant distributor of ergonomic accessories throughout Europe. We have been working closely with both companies for some years and we look forward to working with the new, consolidated company to bring you more new products and services.
	Discus Footrest We first saw the drawings for this new product a couple of years ago so we have been anticipating its introduction with enthusiasm. It's an instantly adjustable footrest with a large and stable footplate. Click here for further details.
	BackCare Although it's not strictly part of our day-to-day business, we take a lot of interest in the ergonomics issues affecting children because their health and welfare is a major factor in shaping the effectiveness of our workforce in the future. Computer games, junk food, lack of regular sport in schools, 24/7 TV and other lifestyle changes over the last decade or so mean that more and more children are experiencing musculo-skeletal problems before they are even fully grown. We were, therefore, delighted to become a corporate sponsor of BackCare's "Protecting Young Backs" campaign. You can find out more about it by clicking here.
	ISO 9001/ISO 14001 Although we are proud of the quality of our products, services and procedures, we recognise that certification to a formal standard will be an essential part of our future growth. We have, therefore, started work on achieving the ISO 9001 quality standard by the middle of 2007. Work on the ISO 14001 Environmental Standard will continue alongside this process and we expect certification by the end of 2007.
	Our eBay Site As you may know, we have been using eBay as our clearance outlet for the last two years. During this period we have sold ex-demo products, items we have tested but decided not to add to our product portfolio, redundant computers, customer returns, plasma screens from exhibitions and a Volvo estate car! With 184 satisfied customers (100% positive feedback), there have been some real bargains because everything is sold without reserve. We are currently running an end-of-year clearance and will be adding more products over the holiday period. To visit our shop, please click here.
			Price Increases We are expecting several manufacturers to increase their prices early in 2007. Three of our chair suppliers and a few of our accessories manufacturers have already notified us of price rises. If you are considering any significant purchases in the near future, please contact us so that we can see what can be done to minimise the impact of price changes.
	Change Of Bank After more than 30 years with the same company, we are transferring our banking business from Lloyds TSB to NatWest in January 2007. If you are involved in invoice payments, please watch out for our bank details notifications which will be appearing shortly.