Keeping track of your office supply needs, between all your staff and the different items they need to do their everyday work efficiently, can be a challenge. Logistically and financially. Letting supplies go understocked isn’t the solution; that can mean staff don’t have what they need when they need it, meaning work may not be completed on time. Therefore, some businesses may find themselves in the position of allowing office supplies to become overstocked, so as not to run into this issue.

Despite this seeming easier in the short term, becoming overstocked on supplies is not a great long term financial solution. In this article, we take a look at some of the drawbacks associated with being overstocked on office and stationery supplies.

You’re spending more than you need to.

This is a simple but important point. When you’re buying more than you need, more often than you need to, you’re dedicating a portion of your limited budget away from somewhere it could be better spent.

It likely means you’re not documenting your inventory well enough.

Your supplies purchases and inventory should be documented and reviewed to avoid the purchase of redundant, out-of-policy, or unnecessary items. Often, oversupplied items, such as stationery, pens, binders, etc. are a clear sign that the inventory process is either not in place or not effective.

It encourages employee theft.

When items aren’t accounted for, or are over abundant, it contributes to the growing issue of employee supplies theft. This means, not only are you paying for supplies you don’t need, but you’re likely paying for supplies that are going home with employees and not used for business at all.

So how do you change your office supplies purchasing patterns?

It takes effort to remain appropriately supplied, rather than over or understocked. Some practices to consider are:

• Regular contract review – ensuring that your contract agreements, including delivery frequencies and inventory quantities, are being met, and continue to meet your needs, rather than paying for more stock or deliveries than is necessary.
• Implement employee usage policies – to prevent the chances of employee theft and the need to overstock, ensure your organization has a clear usage policy for company office supplies.
• Avoid auto-renewals for supplier contracts – don’t allow your current rates and agreements to roll over before assessing their effectiveness and seeing if there is room for rate negotiations or discounts.
• Request employee feedback – is there a product you’re ordering that’s consistently going unused? There may be a reason not to keep supplying it, or to change products or suppliers.

Careful monitoring takes time.

All of this effort takes time. We know time is a valuable resource for business owners. Still, staying on top of your office supplies inventory, contracts, and delivery schedules is important. Working with a third-party expert on procurement, who specializes in reading and understanding these contracts, might just be the tool your business needs to redirect funds into more important budgetary matters.