The economic downturn has caused many homes and businesses to sharply tighten their spending.  However, business goes on and the supplies required to run your operations will continue to be consumed.  We at OSS recognize the need to help our valued customers identify ways to help reduce those supply costs.  Our sales and customer service professionals can help you examine the products you use and recommend alternative products and brands that can increase your savings.

 
Price is what you pay for the product. Cost is what you add to price for the time invested in each step of the buying process.  Reduce your procurement costs by placing your supply orders weekly instead of daily.  Single source purchasing can significantly lower your soft costs of placing these orders too.  You can purchase your general use supplies, janitorial supplies, computer supplies, furniture, lunchroom and copier supplies from one single source, Office Supply Services.

 

Establishing an effective records management program helps generate savings and supports more efficient operations. Regularly cycling files through three key storage stages will keep your program on track. Start by dividing your records into:

Stage 1: Active-Currently in use
Stage 2: Semi-Active-active-Needed for reference or legally required to be retained
Stage 3: Destruction-Outlived its usefulness and ready to be destroyed

The Three-Step Program for Doing It Right

Step 1: Inventory your records.
Know what records you have, where they're located and in what quantity. HINT: If a large volume of old records is intimidating you, break up the project into smaller parts. Inventory those records that accumulate most rapidly first and do the rest later.

Step 2: Schedule retention periods.
Different types of companies require different policies. Even for companies that deal with files on a case-by-case basis (e.g., law firms, physicians), a calendar should be established to note when files should be transferred.

Step 3: Store records conveniently.
Efficient storage is the key to a cost-cutting records program. First, choose your storage method. Storage boxes and drawers are an efficient way to set up and organize paper documents. They're easy to label, easy to stack and they help conserve storage space. Next, create a Records Storage Index and Destruction Control Card for each records storage container. This labeling approach allows you to keep track of the documents inside, when they're scheduled for disposal and also serves as a handy certificate of their destruction.

Congratulations to Shawna Reed of Eldeco, Inc. for her correct response to the trivia question from our January OSS Journal!  The correct answer is: 

"GreenWorks is the new earth friendly cleaning products line from Clorox."