office supplies

Office Supplies

Reduce your office supplies costs

Whilst for some organisations Office Supplies spend can be quite low down on the list of priorities, we always encourage clients to take on this category.

Partly because our savings in this area are averaging around 30% at the moment and partly because it’s often a very good way of introducing ERA and demonstrating the value we could add in other areas too.

A little more information

Office Supplies are something almost every organisation in the UK requires in some shape or form. The industry in the UK is worth almost £5 billion per year. At ERA we have been helping organisations to save money and rationalise their spending in this area for more than 20 years.

“Office Supplies” is not just stationery! Whilst it is about Post-It notes, pens and envelopes in varying sizes, this category covers a number of other spend areas also. For us Office Supplies captures anything and everything the average office needs to operate – including the tea and coffee.

Our experts have lots of experience looking at the wide range, including Furniture, printer and copier paper and toner cartridges. These areas are often blighted by poor procurement practices and a lack of focus and attention to detail on ‘things that don’t cost much’. Like anything else though, these costs can mount up, particularly in multi-site operations where purchasing is distributed across a wide range of operational staff.

The markets for some of the products we look after are complex; the price of paper is linked to the cost of raw material and organisations can often be persuaded to pay a higher price when it’s not necessary. With so much experience in this area to bring to bear, it’s not surprising that our experts in this area manage to deliver for clients time after time.

Cost Areas Include:

• AV Equipment
• Business Print & Stationery
• Computer Consumables
• Educational Supplies
• Franking Machine
• General Office Supplies
• Office Equipment
• Office Furniture
• Stationery

Office Supplies Services

One of the major things we bring to any Office Supplies project is the kind of focus and attention to detail this area will never get in house. We will look at every item purchased in every cost centre for the last 12 months.
This level of attention to detail often identifies some opportunities and anomalies which we will point out in our initial report. Our report will identify which of the items being purchased you are buying most regularly, and then use these as the “basket of goods” from which we assess prices from other suppliers if we tender for the business.
Our process tools include documentation, situational analysis, price comparison and tender management software as well as detailed reporting. We give you a real picture of what the spending patterns in this area look like and identify improvements in ordering processes that reduce your spend and rationalise the products bought.

We work with you on a long term basis to ensure that your expenditure is reduced and any savings targets identified are met. Our experts can manage an entire review process on your behalf, using your current spending to benchmark prices and invite other suppliers to tender for your business on the same or improved terms. We offer your incumbent supplier the same opportunity to retain the business, but also use our knowledge of the market place to introduce new suppliers suitable for your specific needs.

There are plenty of suppliers in this area on both a local and national basis and our objective analysis allows us to introduce you to the ones most suitable. Suppliers in this area can offer lots of valuable add-ons and rebates to their services which can often be missed when attention and focus is not applied. Our experts stay with you for two years or more after any initial project is commenced, auditing the spending on a quarterly basis, correcting errors in supply or pricing and liaising on your behalf as necessary with suppliers.

Pricing in this area is often led by opportunity, so prices paid for the exact same volume of goods can vary enormously between companies. In addition without close attention to detail, overall costs can creep up again as prices for goods purchased outside the core “basket of goods” can be artificially inflated in order to claw back margin. The focus provided by our close attention prevents this. Clients are often very surprised by both the percentage savings possible and the value of the real cash this can generate.

Office Supplies Case Studies

Get in touch today to learn more about how ERA can help reduce your office supplies cost.

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