Debbie Mayo-Smith: Saving time and money in the office

I'd like to share a little secret with you to save you time and the business money. Photo / iStock

Are you the one responsible for buying all those supplies you need at work? Copy paper. Pens. Printer ink. Coffee. Safety apparel. Packaging tape. Office chairs?

I'd like to share a little secret with you to save you time and the business money.

Let me explain. OfficeMax contacted me to take a look at their new website because they know I'm an expert in productivity. Normally I wouldn't, but I thought why not this time because the timing was right.

My cherished OfficeMax rubber band ball was down to the last few bands (you must get one of these colourful useful items, you will love them. Not only for the office; but in the kitchen as well. You'd be surprised by the uses you can find for rubber bands in your kitchen).

So I went to their website to see where the stores are located to buy a new rubber band ball and to take a look at how it works .

As a regular online shopper as well as marketer at heart, I immediately became engrossed in how darn good their website is. So I thought to write about some things that you'd find make your life so much easier when you go to restock items you need around the office.

Their website is quite comprehensive if you need office; school; technology; health & safety or furniture items by the way.

They make it easy for you

Easy saves time. Online saves time, petrol, wear and tear on your car.

• Even though I went to simply find a store, it was immediately apparent that you could shop by phone (toll free prominently displayed) or right now i.e. meaning online.

• Following from that, you could create a business account and receive instant member discounts with the click of a button, or apply for credit facilities within working 2 days.

• There's a button to show prices either with or without GST. Talking about prices, they even have a price match promise.

• You can shop by category or by searching for a specific item.

• When my husband goes to the supermarket, he comes home primarily with name brands. Are you a name brand only shopper? I'm quite keen on 'home' brands. Therefore, it was a lovely surprise to see lots of OfficeMax branded everyday consumables such as paper, pens, packaging tape, even printer cartridges.

• Going back to the concept of making it easy, the checkout allows you to tick an item to add to favourites (for future repeat ordering) add notes and create order templates.

• You know how many variations of printers there are and thus shopping for ink and toner online would be a pain. Nope. The website has an ink & toner finder to make it quick and easy to find the right printer cartridge.

Browsing their flyers and sales items

Not only can you browse and shop the site from any device: your computer, mobile phone or tablet; another top time and money saver occurs when you click on their latest Max Deals flyer. It's online and you can easily flip through the pages.

When you click it open, each sale item is clickable and a larger image pops up along with buying instructions.

In Summary

If you are responsible for regularly restocking the office and kitchenette supplies, furniture or anything else for your workplace, then shopping online at OfficeMax is a double win.

You will you save time; travel, carrying and hassle. Business accounts pay less too, so your manager will love it too.

Debbie Mayo-Smith aka Ms Effective, gives speeches, seminars and trains on sales and personal productivity. Debbie helps you get more done in less time and increase profitability. Sign up for her monthly quick tip newsletter at www.successis.co.nz. To have Debbie speak at your next event or train your team call 64 27 575 5359 or visit her www.debbiespeaks.co.nz