No matter how large or small an organization is, keeping a constant supply of readily available office supplies can reduce costs and improve overall productivity levels. Imagine the stress of spending an entire day preparing a crucial presentation for an important client, only to find out that one of his colleagues used the last piece of paper yesterday and didn’t think to tell anyone?
Manage office supplies for a large organization made easy
Ideally, stationery and other office supplies should be managed by a single person or, if there are multiple offices within the organization, by one person per office. This role would normally fall within the job description of an office manager, but can be delegated to a responsible junior member of the management team. Supplies are also better kept in a central location, from where distribution can be more easily controlled.
It could be argued that small businesses have it easier when it comes to managing stationery and miscellaneous office equipment: invariably, one person is in charge of ordering new supplies and it’s easy to keep track of who uses what, while for organizations larger ones it can be much harder to keep tabs on spending and usage. For this reason, while regularly updated inventory is essential for all businesses, large organizations in particular will benefit.
Why is a supply inventory essential?
A supply inventory helps the office manager keep track of stationery and office equipment at all times. All supplies should be listed from the beginning and the use of those supplies should be tracked over the course of a typical month. When usage patterns have been identified, reordering levels can be set so that when the quantity of a product drops below a specified level, new supplies can be reordered, which is particularly important for frequently used products like paper and ink cartridges.
While keeping high levels of supplies in the office will prevent any catastrophic shortages at inopportune times, it will also take up valuable storage space. An inventory can help prevent storage issues by always ensuring optimal supply levels are maintained and by monitoring inventory at all times, replenishment levels can be adjusted if necessary.
Always keep control over who has access to supplies in the office. If everyone starts helping themselves to new supplies when they feel like it, stock levels will soon become disorganized and crucial items may run out sooner than expected. To avoid this, perform a physical stock check at least once a month.
Create purchase orders for each supply order and compare delivered items to the original order. It is also good practice to maintain a policy where all orders are placed through the inventory manager so that stock supply levels can be tracked.
How to keep your supply costs down
While larger organizations have much more purchasing power than a small business, it is still essential that office managers do not become lazy by always using the same vendors. Be sure to regularly check the prices of popular items in the supply inventory to make sure they’re giving you the best prices, and don’t be afraid to negotiate a better deal if you need to.
