Choosing a Vendor for Bulk Office Supplies?

Buying bulk office supplies is applicable mostly to big businesses wherein doing so will be enable them to save money by getting big discounts. Usually, big offices will contact suppliers of office supplies in order to discuss the pricing and to agree on a specific discounted rate.

When buying in bulk, it is necessary for you to create a list of all the things that are mostly used and purchased in the office. Make sure that you create a list that is very easy to sort by using software such as the Microsoft Excel.

1. For example, using the program you can list down the most commonly used office supplies in column A. There is a possibility that the list would have more than 50 items. So you have to sort out which of the items are mostly ordered monthly and those that are ordered weekly.

2. Now in column B, you can categorize this for items that are mostly used and placed in a desk. Take for instance products such as a stapler, staple wire, paper clips, scissors, staple remover, calendar pad and so on.

3. In the third column, you can list down the amount or the quantity that you need to purchase for every item that you have on the list.
On the process of buying is to evaluate the suppliers and to find out more about their business. You can use the yellow pages in order to locate the address, company name and their contact number. You can list down at least five dealers so that it is easy to compare the prices, the services they offer and most especially the discounting system.

Always remember that it does not necessarily mean that the vendor or bidder who offers the lowest price is the best to buy from. It is important also to ask several questions during the meeting in order to know more about them so that you can decide whether the vendor is qualified or not.

Some aspects that needs to be considered when choosing a vendor for your bulk office supplies:

• The quality of paper that the can be supplied.
• Check if they are supplying branded products for staplers, paper clips, staple wire and remover. Try to see the samples of each supply and check if the quality is good.
• Ask if the company offers or render free delivery services.
• Be sure to know the time table or the delivery time.
• It is important to know from the vendor if there is a chance of returning the items back and get a replacement for the damaged products.
• Make sure to check out the payment mode and see if it can be done using a credit card.
• Be sure to know how much discount the company is offering.