I inserted myself into the glorious office supply universe back in 1996. I accepted a sales job with a national office supply company in New Orleans and have remained in the industry ever since. Having no prior knowledge of the business before 1996, I was actually quite amused by it. I had no idea that giant catalogs with 25,000 different products existed. I didn't realize that it was such a huge industry. It was my job to get buyers, office managers, or anyone with the ability to write a check to buy from us. I thought that would be easy enough. I thought the catalog was pretty cool looking and that because we were so big, who wouldn't want to buy for us? This was at a time when the big national office suppliers were really hitting the scene in full force. I was new to the cold calling game. I was about to be baptized. Because every business (of a certain size) was a potential customer, I got a chance to interact with "professionals" from the weird to the inspiring. Anyway, I survived and here I am years later as the self appointed office oracle mainly because the name was still available and this is my blog.
While the office supply world can be rather mundane, it can also be one of innovation. Manufacturers have to adapt to the modern office worker and create products that improve on the old standbys like the bigger tabbed folders from Smead. It's an improvement that makes you wonder why it only took 100 years to implement. Then again, I have yet to invent anything. These great folders SMD10301 (letter size) and SMD15301 (legal size) can be ordered below the prices charged by OfficeDepot.com and Staples.com at OfficeBundle.com. So, when you get past the pens and pencils and look into the depth of the office supply offerings, there really are some great ideas. Hopefully, you're not working in one of those offices that preaches innovation while using 1950s tools. Check back often I will try my best to bring you the more interesting products from the thousands of choices.
Monday, July 23, 2007
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3 comments:
Your "glorious office supply world" is probably more exciting than the insurance agency I work for. Only I don't have to travel as far to interact with weirdos. Thankfully the old lady that used to order for our company is gone...retired I should say. We got in some young blood who's already making some noticeable improvements.
One great thing about your business - everybody that has an office (and even some that don't) need office supplies! And everyone wants everything at the lowest price. I've seen the price comparisons at OfficeBundle.com. If you are reading this and are a loyal Office Depot or Staples customer, you might want to reconsider where you are getting your office supplies from. Just a thought. :)
1950's tools? Try a state agency, where our purchasing rules refuse to acknowledge the existence of the Internet! I still have to play the "get 3 bids by phone or fax" game, when it would take about 15 seconds to use the Internet to comparison shop. I guess the rule is etched in a stone tablet somewhere. Maybe I can get 3 fax bids for a hammer and chisel?
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