The distribution of the company’s stationery is an important part of presenting the business to the wider world and ensuring that customers have the relevant details to hand when they wish to make contact.
Stationery can include a multitude of paper, card and plastic based products as well office devices such as staplers, hole-punches and calculators.
How Much to Buy
Similar to many other products which can be purchased, the unit price of an item of stationery typically becomes cheaper the more that is bought in any one order.
A potentially difficult decision to be made by a new company therefore becomes one of deciding whether to buy a large initial quantity and benefit from large savings or to buy just enough to sustain it for a few weeks.
Buying in bulk runs the risk of being left with the stock should the business not be successful and thereby exacerbate the company’s financial position, on the other hand buying on a piecemeal basis will cost the business more and run a greater risk of stock outs.
What to Buy
Given the range of items of stationery which a business could conceivably use in its operations, another decision to be made is what to buy. Some items may be more essential than others.
Depending on what activities an individual company will carry out, it might make use of different sized envelopes, qualities of paper and a number of devices.
Given the points above concerning the quantities, multiplying this by each variation possible for a single item could result in a large amount of money being invested in business stationery, perhaps even before the company has sold a single item.
Where to Buy
The increase in the practice of ordering stationery over the internet has grown in recent years and can provide an easy and convenient method of obtaining supply.
The advantages of ordering online include being able to easily compare prices offered by each supplier and to do so outside of normal business hours.
One disadvantage, particularly when using new suppliers, is that the quality of the items can not always be verified unless supported by a common quality kite mark or other reference depicting its standard.
Efficient stock control of stationery is required if the online purchasing method is to become the norm, as the business would need to take in to consideration the delivery lead-times involved from the time of order to the actual receipt of the goods.
It might be prudent to be aware of local shops where items can be purchased immediately should there be delays in the delivery of items purchased over the internet.
