How to Choose an Office Supply Vendor - Ease of Ordering

by Diana L. Martin

So here we are on Part 4 of my current series - How to Choose an Office Supply Vendor. Today we’ll look at ease of ordering.  

There are lots of things to discuss on this topic and I’ll start with the most basic question - "How many ways can I order with your company?"

Believe it or not, there are companies out there that don't take phone orders.  Or fax orders.  Uh huh.  All orders have to be placed online.  Friendly, eh?  

Your supplier should offer multiple ways to place an order.

• Online shopping - I like a website that is user-friendly and easy to navigate. I absolutely despise sites that make me drill down through zillions of choices to get to my item. I don't want to be forced to choose "Office Supplies," then "Binders" then choose View or Reference, then specify my ring size, then choose my color, etc. I want to be able to key in "blue ring binder," hit Search and have several pages of options pop up. I also want to be able to see all the charges without having to create an account. I want to easily see what the shipping, handling and tax are going to be. (As my mother would say, I'm a bit particular.) Our site allows the guest to put in a search term, shows you the results, and offers you (note that I said "offers," not "requires") the ability to apply filters. And you don't have to create an account if you don't want to - you can check out as a guest. Get started at shop.oexusa.com.
  
  
• Order by Phone - Some people like to pick up the phone and have an actual conversation with a real person - which is particularly helpful when you don't know the name of the thingamajig you're looking for and you want to try to describe it to someone who does know. Your supplier should have a customer service department staffed with friendly, knowledgeable people who won't make you feel like you're an intrusion into their day and who can help you find that "metal accordion contraption that holds folders" (aka the Lee Flexifile Expandable Collator/Organizer). At Office Express, we pride ourselves on our customer service staff and we will be absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with you on the phone! Call us at 877-795-2600.
  
  
• Order by Fax - Some people may get frustrated with a website, but they're o.k. with filling out a form and faxing it someplace. They're too busy to spend time on the phone - they just want to get that order placed quickly and move on to their next task. Our fax number is 877-792-8110.
  
  
• Order by Email - You say you don't like searching websites, you're too busy for phone calls and filling out forms drives you crazy but you can type really fast? Email it is then! Your supplier should offer you the option of emailing your orders in. Our email address is orders@oexusa.com.
  
  
• Order by Mail - You can mail in your orders the [really] old-fashioned way. I don't know very many people that still do that, but it's another option. Our address is 1280 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, MI 48083.
  
  
• Personal Service - A truly superb supplier will have account managers who will come to your office and pick up your orders. Yes, you heard me - come to your office and pick up your orders in person. Now, I'm not implying (or stating outright) that you should expect your account manager to come every day to pick up a two or three line order. This service would typically be weekly, biweekly or monthly - you would consolidate the orders and save them for the specified pick up date. This is a beneficial service for large corporations or government entities where immediate delivery is not necessary.

So there you have it - six different ways to place orders. A good supplier will offer a few of them. A great supplier will offer ALL of them. (We do!)

Your supplier should offer recurring orders.
Do you have items you order every month? Every two weeks? Maybe you don’t have space to store a lot of items, but you go through these things quickly and find yourself always reordering them. That leads to another question you should ask: Does the supplier offer recurring orders?

Recurring orders let you automate the purchases of those frequently ordered items and takes one more task off your plate, making your life easier. Some companies allow you to set up and maintain the orders yourself on their site. Other companies take the order from you and handle it for you on their end. Either option is good – just make sure the option is offered if you need it. Now you’re asking, “Does Office Express offer recurring orders?” Yes, we do!

Consolidating suppliers saves time and money.
Buying from a single source is the best way to save time, money and make your ordering easier. You’ll spend less time managing your purchasing and have more time for all your other projects. Buying from a local office supply store with real people that care personally about your business makes more sense than buying from an online marketplace with multiple sellers, some of whom could be just individuals operating from their basements and potentially selling counterfeit overstock items.

You’re already familiar with sites like Amazon, Zoro, and Alibaba. Even companies like Walmart have added third party sellers to their websites and, while the portal itself may be convenient for comparison purposes, now you have to deal with each seller’s shipping and return policies and customer service after the purchase. With Office Express, it’s one seller, one shipping policy, one return policy and one call/email to customer service or to your sales rep. Want to ask for a volume discount? One call. Want the best price on a chair? One call. We’re always willing to negotiate contract pricing and volume discounts. We specialize in flexibility.

Ease of ordering - that’s what we’re all about!

Call us and let us prove it to you!