Keeping Track of Supplies

It is the responsibility of each buyer to monitor the supplies in each buy office to ensure that every office continuously has all needed supplies to operate smoothly. If supplies aren’t frequently checked then supplies can run out before we have a chance to restock them. That can lead to extra costs or even lost buys.

What to do:

1. Check supplies when you arrive at an office and throughout the week. Keep a draft email in your outlook and add to it anytime you notice anything you need.
2. Email supply lists to Kelsey on Wednesday by 12 pm.
3. If you will be out on Wednesday, email Kelsey sooner or leave a list for the incoming buyer to send to her. When Kelsey sends out the final list on Wednesday afternoon, open the file and take notice that all the items you asked for are listed.
4. Make sure to order new supplies when you notice something is low; do not wait until it is gone or nearly gone! Also be sure to be descriptive in what you need (don’t just put ‘paper towels,’ specify brown or white, etc.) and always note how many of each item you need.
5. If you don’t need anything, you still need to email her and tell her by noon on Wednesday.
6. If the run takes place on a day when you’re out of the office, you should check when you return to the office that the supplies were delivered. If you notice that anything was left out, email Kelsey and Bobby right away; don’t wait for the next run and assume it will show up then.

Kelsey does not have time to chase down buyers who don’t submit their lists or submit incomplete lists. That creates dev- t for her. Sometimes, it happens that we get busy and forget to send the list or neglect to write down the quantity of items we need. If a buyer neglects to send a supply list or fails to include quantities, a friendly reminder will be given. The next step is a written warning. The third occurrence is being written up. If the behavior persists, further disciplinary actions may be taken, because all offices need to be stocked on supplies and it creates dev- t and extra expense when an office runs out of something and a special run has to be made, or when Kelsey has to chase a buyer down for their list.

Example: There are two 14k acid bottles and one is almost empty. Order one more; don’t even wait for the first bottle to be completely empty.

Monitoring levels of crucial supplies:

1. Acid
   • There should always be two bottles each of gold and platinum acid at all times.
   • When the first one is running low, request a replacement so that you always have two bottles.
2. Buy Slips
   • Buy slips go quickly and take several weeks to replace. They should be reordered when the last tall packet is opened (which contains 1000). If they get down to 500 it is critical to reorder ASAP.
   • Contact Kelsey to reorder these. They must be custom printed for each office.
3. Thumbprint pads and stickers
   • Request stickers once the roll is close to halfway gone, or sooner.
   • There should be two thumbprint pads at all times. When the first one is getting dry, request a replacement so that you always have two.
4. Buy bags
   • Bags will need to be replenished almost every week. In busy offices they can go very fast. If a specific size of bag is low make sure to request extra of that size.

There is a list of supplies to check for and directions on how to order and it can be found on the K drive under Wholesale, Office Logistics. If you have any questions on this, call or email Kelsey and she can clear it up for you.