The quick pace of a school year can sometimes result in schools ordering consumables that they already have around campus. Schools purchase things like paper, pens, office supplies, arts and crafts materials and paper towels every year. Take a quick inventory of your current stock of these materials.  Remote and hybrid models may have impacted your stock even further and the result can be less need to order consumable this year.

Are your teacher and student used personal technology devices like laptops and tablets on a 3 year replacement cycle?  Holding off on ordering any technology this year is going to result in a follow on effect of needing to buy twice the amount next year or an increasing number of failed or underperforming devices, especially given the extra strain remote learning is putting on technology this year.  Instead of shifting all new tech purchasing to the future consider reducing the number of new devices you purchase by a percentage this year so that the 2 or 3 year technology purchasing cycle remains sustainable.

Consolidating the number of different vendors you purchase from will afford you larger discounts, Peter service and decreased administrative costs as you manage fewer numbers of purchase orders, payments and deliveries.

Eliminate backorders and focus on sea freight to save money on shipping. Most schools ship backorders or last minute orders towards the beginning of the school year.  Shipping costs are typically higher as compared to full containers and these late shipments require administrative burden and redundant import processes.  Ordering early and communicating frequently about your order fill rate with your school supply provider will help reduce the need for back order or air freight shipments.

The School Supply team at ISS are always available to discuss your specific school supply needs, especially this year as we face unprecedented challenges together. You can also download and share these tips as a pdf here.