Glasgow Business . 35
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com BOX CLEVER Managing office supplies properly can save time and money M
anaging office supplies is one of those chores that is generally low down on the priority
list for most companies... until the toner runs out when printing an important report right up to client deadline. If you run out of supplies that
you need to conduct business, you can miss deadlines, increase your costs and potentially lose customers. Typically, ordering stationery,
toners and other office ‘consumables’ is done on an ad hoc manner, but there are efficiencies and savings to make if it is properly managed. It’s all about economies of scale:
using higher volume orders to lower the purchase prices on office supplies, rather than continuing with sporadic low volume orders. Te first thing to organise is
to appoint one person to the role
need to be replenished. With this information, you can contact suppliers – many of which can supply all you need from pencils and ‘post-its’ to printer ink and bubble wrap – to find the best deals available. When the best deal has been
chosen, it’s important to track inventory levels to ensure that the organisation purchases exactly what it needs, when it needs it – a simple spreadsheet would help. While discounts are available
of managing office supplies for the whole organisation. Tis is oſten perceived as
thankless task, but it can be made more interesting if the job spec comes with the potential of a bonus for reducing current office
Top ten tips...
1. Consider moving to more use of digital communications by using branded email and e-letters to reduce the volume of printed letterhead, envelopes and compliment slips required – it also saves on postage.
2. Ask vendors about recycling services to collect and replace items such as toner cartridges.
3. Control access to supplies so that stock levels can be monitored. This also allows you to see what items need to be replenished more quickly than others, and which items are rarely used.
4. If there are many departments in the organisation, then give each one a budget for managing their own supplies, but buy through a central buyer.
5. Encourage cost-saving practices, such as printing on both sides of paper, and re-using one-sided paper sheets as notepads. Provide recycling facilities.
6. Encourage a quarterly competition for the best idea to save money on office supplies.
7. Contact other like-minded companies to set a ‘buying club’ to gain discounts for a larger bulk-buying syndicate.
8. Run a stationary amnesty and encourage employees to bring back all those pens and other office supplies that have made their way into their homes.
9. Choose refillable ink cartridges in printers or use cheaper printer paper for internal documents.
10. Think before you print! Check how long an email trail is before you print it – just select the pages you need and set the printer default to print on both sides.
supplies costs by, say, 10 per cent. A comprehensive audit will
ascertain what items each part of the organisation needs, the quantity and frequency of use, including any seasonal variations, and when supplies are likely to
for buying in bulk, there is a limit to how much cashflow you want to tie up in accumulated stock. Tere is no benefit in making savings on high-volume orders if the items lie unused on the shelves for a year. However, on the flip side, you
want to avoid the stress and cost to the company of losing time trying to find a vital replacement such as a toner cartridge.
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