If you run or operate a business, you are aware of the high cost of office supplies. To keep everyone working efficiently, businesses require pens, paper clips, paper, folders, and many more supplies. Although these costs are actually just a necessary component of running a company nowadays, they nonetheless serve as a sort of money hole. There are other things you can do to reduce your prices on these goods, even though you might not have thought so. With that in mind, here are some ideas.
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1. Buy In Bulk
Although it might seem as though it is costing more to begin with, when you buy your office equipment and products in bulk, you can save a great deal of money. There are often offers linked to buying more than one item, for example, and the more you buy, the more you can save. Over time, if you make this practice a regular one, you can see some large business savings.
There are two potential pitfalls with this idea. The first is having the funds to begin with – this may not always be the case. The second is storage. The more you buy, the more you’ll need to store, so this must be factored in, particularly in terms of health and safety within your office space.
2. Use Less Paper
Printing and recycling practices have evolved, and people are now more conscious of what they print. As a result, fewer printed documents are being produced than in previous years. Incentivise employees to reduce their paper consumption. Less printing means less ink used. Use less of an item in order to reduce the amount of office supplies you need to buy.
3. Do It Yourself
If there are certain practices that you currently outsource when it comes to stationery costs, such as printing and binding, it could be worth investigating whether you are able to do this work yourself. With binding machines by Duplo, for example, you could eliminate the need to hire a third party to do the work, thus saving you money overall.
4. Make Sure One Person Buys Stationery
Having little say over what employees purchase from the office supply store leads to wasteful spending because they will end up with more than they need. They will not stock up, and they will not think about the business as a whole while making purchases. You can save a lot of money if you have someone responsible for keeping track of office supplies and restocking the inventory as needed.
5. Plan Ahead
Most things cost more when you wait until the last minute to buy them. You already know that you will use paper, for example, and you may even be able to tell how often you need more. Therefore, don’t wait until you only have one box of paper and one pen left; if you know when you’re likely to run out, you can place an order in plenty of time, potentially giving yourself time to shop around and find the best price. You can cut costs in this area if you work at it and plan your orders for office supplies ahead of time.