How to Choose an Office Supply Vendor - Products & Delivery
by Diana L. Martin
Welcome back! The next thing to consider in your search for an office supply vendor is products and delivery.
A big question here is: Does the supplier carry the items you purchase regularly?
Ideally, the answer is yes. A good office supply vendor will carry a vast array of items - not just typical office supplies like paper, writing instruments and binder clips. Can your company buy its basic supplies, ink and toner, electronics, furniture, breakroom and janitorial supplies all from the same vendor? What about specialty supplies? Make a list of your frequently ordered items and verify that the supplier carries them. If not, are you willing to switch brands? A good supplier will offer multiple name brand and generic ("house brand") items to choose from. Also, is the supplier willing and able to special order items for you?
Office Express provides over 62,000 items across a wide variety of brands and classifications - including specialty items for the legal and healthcare industries. We offer furniture, custom stamps, signs and nameplates, promotional products and custom printing - that's right, you can get your envelopes, brochures, letterhead, etc. from us as well. We also specialize in special orders! We can save you time and resources by having to make fewer purchases and deal with fewer vendors.
Because we are primarily a business-to-business supplier, we sell in commercial units of measure instead of retail units, which means that you get more for your money. For instance, you can purchase this pack of multi-color sticky notes at Amazon:
On first look, this appears to be a good deal - only $5.99 - but, if you look closer, you’ll see that’s only for 6 pads. That comes out to a dollar per pad. They offer other quantities as well - you can get a 12-pack for $12.99, which comes out to $1.08 per pad. Normally, the more you buy, the cheaper it is. You have to buy their 24-pack before you get a price break.
Or you can buy these from us:
Ours is a 12-pack for $7.79 - that’s only $0.65 per pad. If you’re like most people, you want more for less. Amazon sells this same item for between $10.37 and $25.85, depending on the seller:
Who wants to spend time checking a bunch of different sellers’ prices to make sure you found the lowest one? There is no need to do that with Office Express. Be sure to follow this series - we’ll discuss pricing in more detail in a future installment.
If you’re purchasing furniture, it’s especially important to get the right products and personalized service is key. Office productivity is affected by the employee’s workspace. Ergonomics are essential for comfort and well-being and buying office furniture online without trying it first or talking with an expert is a recipe for disaster. Come visit our local showroom, sit in the chairs and at the desks. Tell us what your needs are - we’ll match you to the correct products and make sure it’s right the first time.
Now, on to…….
The million dollar question is: How fast can I get my order after I place it?
We Americans are an impatient bunch. We want everything NOW and office supplies are no exception. Some companies keep a supply closet stocked with basic supplies that all the employees pull from. Others order as needed, or "just in time." Regardless of the category your company falls into, we generally don't want to wait a week to get our order. That used to be the norm, but not anymore - everything is faster now.
Here are a few questions to ask:
What is the supplier's delivery time - will you receive your order tomorrow, 2-3 days, next week?
Do they only deliver to your city on certain days of the week?
How do they/can they handle urgent orders?
Can they get something to you the same day? If not, can you request (and receive) morning delivery the next day? Rush orders happen - people forget to order items they need - it's a part of business. Make sure the supplier can accommodate rush requests - and ask whether they charge an extra fee for doing so.
Will they place your order where you need it or only drop it at your receiving dock or front desk? For instance, with Amazon, the delivery preferences in your profile allow you to tell them where you’d like them to leave the delivery, but they only allow you to choose one option, so if you need your copy paper upstairs and the rest of the order downstairs you’re out of luck. And, experience shows the drivers often ignore this preference.
Our AMAZING delivery staff (l. to r.): Jacob, Larry, Tony, Don and Tim
Office Express provides next business day delivery across the country for all items that are in stock at the primary warehouse assigned to your address when your order is placed by 4:30pm Eastern time. Our local area is serviced by our own fleet of experienced delivery drivers. Out of area orders are delivered via common carriers.
While it's difficult to promise a specific delivery time, if you are serviced by our drivers and let us know about the situation when you place the order, we can usually get it to you within a time frame that works for you (before 10am or after 1pm, for instance).
Personal service is our hallmark. Unlike some of the big guys, our local drivers will put the items right where they need to be - even if that’s multiple places within your building. We’ll put the copy paper in the copy room and take the rest of the order to the receptionist’s desk, the loading dock, or wherever you need it to be. We don’t just drop it and run or throw it on your doorstep. No one there to accept the delivery? If you leave us a signed note authorizing us to leave it in your absence - we are happy to do so. We'll even take it to the suite next door if that's where you would like it. Our drivers go above and beyond to satisfy your delivery needs (and we don't charge extra for it).
Call us at 877-795-2600 and let us show you how it's done!