The administrative professional is often responsible for the management of various physical resources, including office equipment and supplies. In this section will be considering the procurement, use, maintenance, inventorying, storing, reordering, and management of these office assets.

Purchasing Equipment and Supplies (Ordering and Receiving)

Office supplies are used to help save time and money for organizations and their personnel. Office equipment is used to provide work and storage space and perform various functions that must take place in an office.

When new office equipment is being considered, the following factors need to be taken into account:

• Determine the need for the equipment – evaluate how the equipment will be used and its importance to the functioning of the office.
• Find the right equipment for the work to be accomplished – consider issues such as quality, cost to purchase or lease, cost to operate and maintain, reliability, speed (especially for the accomplishment of urgent projects), adaptability, and the amount of added productivity and efficiency that will be obtained.
• Try to keep equipment standardized – keep in mind that when office equipment is the same brand (or only a few brands), and when equipment standardization is maintained in an office, there are fewer concepts for personnel to learn in the operation of equipment; and costs to purchase, lease, operate, maintain, and obtain supplies can be reduced.
• Determine equipment specifications – be sure size, installation requirements, access to appropriate electrical power, and other related issues are considered.
• Learn about equipment processes involved – find out if any special supplies will be needed and ascertain if the supplies will be readily available in the future.
• Evaluate the equipment’s safety – learn if there are any safety issues with regard to the equipment, especially if there is any potential equipment misuse.
• See if the equipment is simple to use – determine the level of difficulty involved in learning how to operate, operating, and maintaining the equipment.
• Determine if the equipment will need to be shared between departments or areas (this consideration involves other factors such as the organization’s decision to centralize or decentralize control over various forms of office equipment. For example, copy centers may be set up in organizations so that equipment, personnel, and related factors can be centralized into one place. The same organization may also provide convenience copiers in various dispersed work areas–a decentralized approach).
• Consider ergonomic factors involved with the item(s) to be purchased.
• Involve those who will use the equipment in the purchase or lease decision­-making process: Have those who will actually use the equipment involved in the selection process; at the very least, obtain their feedback.