In a busy, growing business, the office supplies often find themselves shoved haphazardly into a dark closet. Employees looking for anything are forced to dig through boxes of paper clips, binders, pens and printer ink to find what they’re looking for. Items in this scenario are often mistakenly reordered if they can’t be quickly found. This leads to overspending and waste. Keeping office supplies accessible and organized eliminates a major hurdle to productivity. Share on X
Office Supplies
It doesn’t take a lot of time to organize office supplies, but it’s one of those tasks that’s daunting and a bit tedious. Remember that inefficiency, even on a small scale, shouldn’t be tolerate and can lead to bigger problems down the road. Here are some ways to reverse your office supply mess:
1) Declutter
Decluttering can be cathartic and liberating. Get rid of things you haven’t used in more than 2 years, items that are broken, and anything that’s incompatible with current technology.
2) Streamline
Once you’ve decluttered, it’s time to sort and streamline. Make various zones for each use. For example, put all the printer accessories and paper on the bottom shelf, place all books and binders on the second shelf, and put the most frequently used supplies on the self at arm’s level for easy access.
3) Inventory
If you don’t have one already, your office supplies should have a regularly updated inventory. This will show you when items are running low, who’s using the the most and can also show a pattern of usage.
4) Organize
Make it a priority to keep up with the office supply organization and inventory. While a couple of paperclips don’t really matter, the cost of office supplies add up quickly, and careful tracking can encourage employees to be more deliberate about their usage.
5) Streamline Supply Ordering
Many office supplies must be manually tracked and reordered, but some can be automated, saving you time and money. Managed print services track your toner levels and send you a message when toner has been reordered. You don’t have to do a thing!
Everything’s In Its Place
If you want to create an environment in which employees perform better and are more productive, an orderly workspace is a must. This extends to office supply closets, the break room and everywhere in between.
Contact Us to learn more about supply automation and managed print services.