Office supplies are unlikely to be the largest cost on your company’s accounts, but that doesn’t mean they’re exempt from management’s constant drive for improving efficiency. In fact, the savings accrued from improved procurement of office supplies can be surprisingly significant. If you’re seeing your budget for office supplies coming under pressure – either from management or as the result of price inflation from your suppliers – it can be difficult to determine where you’ll be able to make the savings required. In past years, you may have found yourself left short of vital office supplies because you’ve had to cut down on order quantities. How do you work under an ever-tightening budget while keeping a stock of office supplies to last you through to the next financial year? Staples Advantage explores the art of budgeting for office supplies.

If you’re a smaller company, you may not keep track of your annual or monthly spend on office supplies, seeing as you order them in such small quantities. However, it’s important to establish your current requirements in order to work out how to meet them in the future. Create a spreadsheet of your office product use. Even if you don’t have precise figures to hand, by using past invoices and receipts, in addition to your colleagues’ input, draw up a list of estimates of your current usage – per year and per month. If possible, attach the cost of each unit to the spreadsheet too. This will enable you to work out the cost of office supplies per employee. This variable will be key in quoting to those above you when you’re negotiating a budget.

You might expect your overall spend on office supplies to be similar to last year’s, or perhaps higher due to inflation. However, it’s unlikely that your company will look the same in twelve months time. When you’re working out how to allocate your office supply budget for next year, it is vital to take into account any growth forecasts or plans that your company has. If your office is undergoing restructuring or you’re expecting contractors to come on-board for a couple of months to help your company through a seasonal boost in trade, you’ll need to anticipate it, or else you could be left with a bare supplies cupboard. Many companies fail to take a forward thinking approach to office supplies and are left with larger bills when they have to make additional orders to equip new employees.

Instead of using your normal suppliers and ordering as and when you need to, explore your options. You may find that a single provider of office supplies may be able to offer you a better deal on key products, offer you a single point of contact, and even suggest additional ways of making savings. That’s how we do things here at Staples Advantage. Not only will we actively seek out ways that your office can save money on supplies, we’ll discuss your requirements and ensure that you always have the right supplies in stock. With a centralised database, your staff will save time, too. If our office supplies procurement solution sounds of interest to you and your company, give us a call to find out how we can help you.Instead of using your normal suppliers and ordering as and when you need to, explore your options. You may find that single provider of office supplies may be able to offer you a better deal on key products, offer you a single point of contact, and even suggest additional ways of making savings. That’s how we do things here at Staples Advantage. Not only will we actively seek out ways that your office can save money on supplies, we’ll discuss your requirements and ensure that you always have the right supplies in stock. With a centralised database, your staff will save time, too. If our office supplies procurement solution sounds of interest to you and your company, contact us to find out how we can help you.

July 29th 2014 | Back to Industry Insights