Cost-Saving Tips
Departments are encouraged to purchase remanufactured toners instead of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) toners. Substantial cost savings can be achieved through the use of remanufactured toners, and it also contributes to VCU's efforts to increase environmentally-friendly practices.
To see if there are opportunities for your department to cut costs and help the environment by switching to remanufactured toners, please send the make and model of your equipment to your sales representatives and ask for a quote for equivalent remanufactured toner. Departments can check to see if substitute toners are available on the Ball Office Products website. After logging in, go to the "Machine Matching" tab on the left of the screen, and then match the equipment type, manufacturer, and model. Models not listed do not have substitutes.
For the period June 1, 2011-August 31, 2011, VCU spent $87,872 on OEM toner purchases from one vendor. If remanufactured toners had been purchased instead of the OEM toners, VCU would have spent $72,015. The purchase of remanufactured toners could have resulted in a cost savings of $15,857.
House (Generic) Brands
Look for these "house brands" available from Ball Office Supply that offer more value than brand-name counterparts.
- Business Source™ – the best value in everyday office essentials
- Sparco™ – a broad assortment of products including filing supplies, presentation folders, and ring binders
- Compucessory® – computer accessories and technology products
- Lorell™ – contemporary office furniture including desks, seating, and filing
- Nature Saver® – recycled and environmentally-friendly products
- Elite Image® – remanufactured ink and toner, labels, and paper
- Integra™ – writing instruments and correction supplies
Purchasing Practices
- Purchase dual pack or high capacity toner cartridges whenever possible to reduce the overall cost of printed documents.
- Purchase multi packs or carton quantities when you know that you will need the items in consideration. For example, a 12-pack of an item will likely be less expensive than ordering the product individually 12 times. Choose this if you'll likely be re-ordering the product again in the near future.
- Select items from the Core List whenever possible.
- Although the vendors will process orders of any size with no minimum, you will reduce the internal soft costs by consolidating your orders. Placing more items on fewer orders reduces the amount of administrative expense, and the reduced number of deliveries improves the carbon footprint.
- Consider your needs. Is the item in question something that is necessary or just something that would be nice to have?