Introduction

All businesses use some form of office supplies and equipment. There are hundreds of different types; from small consumables like pens and paper to large long-term items like computers, furniture and safety equipment.

Many of these items are essential to the everyday running of your business, yet many businesses still treat office supplies as an unimportant issue. Effective management of office supplies can save your business money, as well as helping to keep it running efficiently.

This extensive article will look at some of the key information you should know when buying office supplies and equipment.

Ways to Buy Office Supplies

There are several ways to buy office consumables; from a shop, through online purchasing, through mail order, or through a purchasing company:

(i) Shop

There are many small local stores, as well as several large nationwide chains selling office supplies. Buying your office supplies from a shop means that you can actually see what you are buying before you pay for it.

Shops will normally sell supplies at a standard price as they are aimed at smaller businesses and consumers, although some stores do have special bulk or business price reductions (often through a 'business account'.

(ii) Online Purchasing

Over the past few years, the number of online office supply firms has grown considerably. As well as online sales from nationwide stores, there are several large office supply companies that sell only through online (and sometimes phone) orders.

Online stores are usually cheaper than shops as the overhead costs (e.g.: store rent / employee wages) are considerably lower. However, if you are not sure about an item you are buying, there is no way of actually looking at it apart from a brief description or (sometimes) a picture.

(iii) Mail Order

A number of companies allow you to buy office supplies by mail order or telephone. Some have catalogues (online and offline) that show you all of the products they sell. A few mail order services are run by existing shops, but some are based purely through mail order and telephone (sometimes also online) sales.

Mail order prices are usually cheaper than stores because of lower overhead costs; however they are not always as cheap as some online office suppliers.

(iv) Purchasing Company

A purchasing company is a third-party that makes purchases on behalf of your business. Instead of manually ordering products from an office supplier; you tell the purchasing company what you require and they supply it and add it to your total bill.

Not only can this save a lot of time in the ordering process, it means you can receive regular invoices (not irregular bills for each order).

The purchasing company can also give you feedback on the amount of supplies you are using, and recommend alternatives or bulk buys that can save you money. Their advice can be particularly useful if you are buying equipment that you have never previously bought/used, or are purchasing furniture and are not sure what to look for.

Buying Office Equipment

Although office supplies and consumables are available from a large range of dedicated companies, many items of office equipment are available through hundreds of general and specialist retailers (E.g.: Computers, telephones and faxes).

This means you have a much wider choice, and prices can often be considerably more competitive. There is no need to limit your search to office or business related shops, as you may be able to find a better deal elsewhere.

With long-term equipment, it is essential to make sure that you are getting the right features for the cost. A cheap PC may look like a good deal, but is a more expensive model better value (E.g.: 20% more cost for 60% more power); and can the cheap PC do everything you need it to?

Buying Office Furniture

There are two ways to buy office furniture, as ready-made boxed units, or as custom made products designed to exactly match the needs of your business.

Furniture that is ready-made is considerably cheaper than custom made furniture, and can be purchased quickly and easily from many different companies.

Custom made furniture involves not only the cost of the materials, but also of the planning and manufacturing. As the items are not mass produced, the construction of each unit is normally very expensive.

There is little reason for most small businesses to look at custom-made furniture unless they either; have a specific need which is not catered for by ready-made products (E.g.: A reception desk that needs to fit in a specific oddly shaped space); or are looking for branded or distinctive matching furniture to convey a professional, 'big business' look to their office.

Keeping Control of Your Supplies

As office consumables and supplies can encompass hundreds of items, of which there may be hundreds of each, it can be confusing knowing what supplies are remaining and what products need reordering. Effective management of your supplies can help ensure that you never run out of a crucial item, as well as keeping costs at a steady level.

It makes sense to have a system for reordering consumable supplies. Keeping a check on the items you order and the numbers that remain will help you to ensure that a product is ordered before it runs out.

E.g.: If you order ten boxes of an item, when there are two boxes remaining, you know to order another ten. This makes sure there is always stock of the item.

Many office supply companies have bulk buy discounts, so there is a temptation to order hundreds of every item to get it at a discount. However, it is normally better to order an item four times at full price, than to order thirty to get 20% off. A discount is good, but the supplies must be needed; there is no point getting discount on items that are going to end up sat on a shelf gathering dust.

This is particularly important when the items are large, and there is no room to store several of them, or when the items are not replaced very often (E.g.: A large photocopier toner unit) and the items will not end up being used for months or years, and could be damaged or in poor condition when they are eventually used.

Using a purchasing company can help keep your supplies managed effectively. They can look at your average usage, and give you an idea of when you will need to reorder, and how much of an item you should buy each time.

Next - Page Two