Cutting Costs in Office Supplies

Everyone needs office supplies, from the parish of a small town to the largest conglomerate in the land. Transactions occurring everyday allow for tons of paper, pens, pencils, staples, and lots more of other office items to be consumed in billions of offices all over the world. Costs from purchasing office supplies could account up to 40% of an office's operating expenses, on the average. More often than not, companies spend 20% more than they really have to.

Profits decrease when a company wastes money. Companies that should earn $150,000 in profits might lose up to 25% of potential profits due to unnecessary spending on office supplies. Every businessman knows that it's easier to reduce expenses than to increase profits. A profit margin of 10% can be doubled by cutting costs by that same amount. A lot of companies are now becoming aware of this fact, and a lot more are also starting to take measures to curb overspending on office supplies.

I wrote this article to present some practical and effective steps to reduce expenses on office supplies. By following these steps, you will see your operating expenses shrink considerably and your profit margin start to grow.

1. Inventory all the office supplies you have available right now and transfer them in specially designated areas where people can easily find them when needed.

2. Reuse old supplies. Binders, folders, or even notepads from last year can be reused or salvaged with a little inventiveness and resourcefulness.

3. Start a collection. All those expositions, seminars, and conferences can yield a lot of office goodies. You can stash them all and use them at the office.

4. Buy in bulk. Office supply stores can give a large markdown if you buy in bulk from them. Buy enough supplies to last an entire year. If this proves to be too difficult, gather your friends, co-workers and associates who need the same supplies that you need.

5. Learn when to buy. There are slow seasons and peak seasons for these items. During summer, a lot of office supply stores offer discounts, sales, and rebates for these items, so try to stock up on what you need before you have to pay full price.

6. Use the Internet. The information highway is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so go ahead and use it. You may find the best prices for your office budget. Most online stores have detailed pricing and delivery information available on their websites.

A lot of times we can save time and money by just using common sense and diligence. You don't have to be a financial expert to find ways to reduce operating costs. I hope that this article has provided you with useful information about cutting costs and saving money by buying and using office supplies wisely.

Azlan Irda is the co-founder of http://www.aamofficesupply.com which provides an extensive selection of high quality office supplies at affordable prices. Find out how you can save money and get the best, high-quality items when you buy staples office supplies.

- Azlan Irda