Prime Office Space has compiled a series of guides to help you with all your Office Requirement needs which include Office Planning, Office Equipment, Communications Equipment, Office Furniture, Computer Equipment, Computer Software and Office Supplies.

This week we will be looking at: Office Supplies

Office supplies are mainly all the small, expendable items that every business office needs. The basic office supplies include ballpoint pens, permanent pens, pencils, highlighters, whiteboard markers, paper clips, binder clips, laminators, staplers, hole punchers, office tape, packing tape, scissors, correction tape, rubber bands, paper, notebooks, envelopes (closed and window type, letter size, and manila), postage, business cards, stationery, post-it-notes, and folders. Office supplies may also include higher-cost equipment like desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, printers, fax machines, modems, routers, photocopiers, and cash registers.

When buying office supplies for your business, you should consider your budget. Because you are buying many different kinds of products you may end up paying more for office supplies than estimated in your office budget. Make an analysis to see which office supplies are mostly used, how often you need to reorder and what quantities can satisfy your office needs. Then, go into a contract with your supplier for potential discounts on particular items to avoid increasing costs. You can set a systematic cost-effective ordering schedule with the help of your supplier to spend no more than 4-5% of your budget on office supplies.

It is highly advisable to buy office supplies in bulk. With bulk purchases you save time and money, but you also keep your business on track because employees don’t have to interrupt their workflow to look for replacement items. However, make sure to carefully plan a bulk purchase in order to buy the items you really need. Make a list of the items you use regularly and need to be replaced often and determine how much of each item you need to purchase for a specific time period. Make a list of items, manufacturers and prices to do a cost comparison and purchase good quality, low-cost office supplies from office supply retailers that offer the best value for money. Include online vendors, mail order vendors and warehouse clubs to increase your savings.

It is helpful to understand which items are low-cost in order to avoid paying more for a cheap item only because you buy it from a different manufacturer. Also, compare the rates of suppliers and select one vendor that provides similar products at the lowest cost. In fact, price benchmarking will help you control your spending on office supplies and have a control on the items ordered.