Coworking Office Supply Management: 11 Best Practices

Without a clear supply management strategy, it’s easy for expenses to get out of hand. When it comes to coworking office supply management, avoiding runaway costs can be even trickier.

Because you’re managing supplies to create an experience for your members — rather than simply selling a physical product to customers — it can be more difficult to gauge what you need and how your supply spending translates to higher revenues.

If you’re concerned with how your expenses are looking, or just know that you can better optimize your office supply spending, read on. This article covers best practices for managing coworking office supplies and shows you how you can save money with an effective system.

Quick Summary

• Track and Manage Supplies: Regularly track supplies to reduce costs, avoid overstocking, and prevent shortages. Bulk purchasing for high-use items and controlled access to supply rooms can optimize usage and prevent waste.
• Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices: Promote: sustainable practices by using eco-friendly products, minimizing waste, and educating members on responsible supply use. This can enhance your coworking space’s reputation among environmentally conscious members.
• Leverage Technology for Efficiency: Use technology and coworking management software for supply tracking, automating reorders, and integrating with accounting tools to streamline operations and boost cost savings.

Why Tracking Supplies Is Crucial in Coworking Spaces

Effective coworking space management is more than just keeping shelves stocked and workspaces comfortable. It’s a strategic approach to make your space efficient — and to ensure you’re offering the full coworking space experience to members.

Here’s what you stand to gain from tracking and managing your office supplies:

Reduces Expenses

Regular tracking helps identify patterns of overuse or waste. It allows you to fine-tune your ordering practices and save money.

That’s because high-use items can be ordered in bulk. And emergency understock situations can be avoided to save on last-minute purchases, which are often more expensive.

Accurate tracking also aids in predicting future needs, keeping supply levels optimal. Additionally, maintaining a detailed record of supplies on hand can reduce losses due to misplacement or misuse.

For example, if the printer ink is often running out, you might find that members are using it to produce their own projects.

Boosts Sustainability

The beauty of tracking your supplies to minimize waste is that you boost sustainability in the process. This environmental focus can be seen as an amenity of your coworking space.

Tracking supplies can reveal that certain items are rarely used and don’t need to be ordered as often. It guides decisions on paperless initiatives, reducing single-use items, or choosing environmentally friendly products.

Supporting eco-friendly initiatives not only helps the environment, but it also boosts the space’s reputation among eco-conscious members.

Increases Member Satisfaction

The other reason to track supplies is so that necessary ones are always available. That allows your members to work without disruption or hassle.

A well-managed supply system contributes to a tidy, organized, and professional atmosphere. It improves the overall member experience.

Imagine a member running out of staples or printer paper while preparing for a crucial presentation. Regular tracking prevents such situations.

11 Best Practices for Coworking Office Supply Management

So what can you do to better manage your coworking supplies?

These eleven tips are specifically tailored for owners and managers of coworking spaces. With these best practices in hand, you can dial in your systems on supplies.

Conduct Regular Supply Audits

First, it’s essential to conduct regular audits of your coworking space supplies. These periodic checks should be scheduled routinely. They’ll make sure everything is accounted for.

This practice helps you avoid the following:

• Discrepancies
• Shortages
• Overstocking

It helps you track usage, predict needs, and adjust your ordering accordingly. Audits are also a chance to dispose of outdated or unneeded items to reduce clutter.

Pro tip: rotating who’s responsible for conducting the audit allows your team to have a broader perspective on managing supplies. You should also have staff perform random spot checks on supplies to maintain optimal levels.

Implement Controlled Access Systems

Using controlled access systems is a security practice to make sure only authorized individuals are in certain zones. It can greatly reduce the theft, misuse, and disorganization of supplies.

Choose a staff member, for example, the community manager to be the supply coordinator. They will manage the supply room and watch how supplies are distributed. This person makes sure that supplies are used appropriately and provides a sense of accountability to members.

A keypad or lock system could restrict access to the supply room. Provide only a select group of employees with the code or key to control access.

Or, the time for accessing the supply room could be reserved for hours when staff are present. Either way, keep an access log of who comes in and when. That can help identify patterns or issues later.

Organize Supplies Efficiently

Keeping supplies organized makes sure they’re accessible and well-maintained. An organized supply room saves time for members, but it also reduces waste. Items are less likely to be lost or overlooked.

Using these practices makes it easier and faster to manage supplies. This helps make coworking spaces more productive.

Start by grouping similar items, then clearly label shelves. Color coding is a great way to differentiate supplies. The goal is for members to easily find what they need without having to rummage through disorganized piles.

Place frequently used items — such as paper, pens, and coffee — at eye level for quick access. Less-used items can be stored higher up or in less accessible areas.

Create a clear layout and encourage members to return supplies to the right location when they’re done. Have staff make their rounds and tidy up the supply area regularly.

Is your space dog-friendly? Don’t forget to check on the canine supplies!

Encourage Responsible Use of Supplies

To be truly effective, the members of your flex or coworking space have to be on board with your best practices.

Encourage them to minimize waste and use supplies responsibly. Implement clear guidelines and signage throughout the workspace. Signs could include tips on printing, such as how to select double-sided printing or how to use devices to make certain print jobs obsolete.

Raising awareness of the impact of everyday decisions can be helpful to illustrate the point. For example, a sign could include a stat on how much paper is saved through digital note-taking. Digital platforms or apps can also send regular reminders and tips.

Organize monthly challenges to make this whole process fun and less formal. Rewards could be given to whoever meets a supply use goal, or those who show the most improvement.

Maintain a Detailed Supply Log

A supply log is crucial for effective supply management. It tracks all supplies and current stock levels. It should include a reorder level — the point at which more should be ordered — and how much to typically order.

The longer you keep these supply logs, the more valuable they’ll become. They aid in budget planning and predicting future needs. You can look back at them and better understand problem areas and inefficiencies.

Analyze these logs to determine which supplies are the best candidates for bulk purchasing. Inversely, you’ll be able to see which supplies are slow-moving or even obsolete.

Use Technology for Expense Tracking and Reporting

As with just about anything, the right technology for supply management can make a world of difference. The goal is to streamline your financial data and make strategic decisions to improve your efficiency.

Tracking your expenses via Excel or Google Sheets is an excellent starting point. But as your coworking space evolves, you’ll probably want more dedicated financial software solutions such as QuickBooks.

Technology should also be used to generate detailed reports, such as monthly expense summaries and budget vs. actual spending.

These reports help you to do the following:

• Analyze patterns
• Identify cost-saving opportunities
• And adhere to your budget

A fairly recent breakthrough is mobile expense tracking. Using mobile apps, staff update expense records on the go.

For example, if staff have to purchase supplies while outside the office, they can snap a photo of the receipt and input the details immediately into the system.

That saves on the stress of maintaining receipts and remembering to report expenses.

Implement a Reorder Point System

Effective reordering is the mechanism for always having adequate stock on hand. You need a specific strategy, known as a reorder point system, to maintain optimal supply levels and ensure a smooth ordering workflow.

Your supply log should already have minimum stock levels for each item. Automate these reorder points using supply management software to alert you when stock levels fall below that threshold. It’s a proactive approach to avoid running out of essential supplies and overspending on last-minute orders.

For important items, put a buffer in your stock to protect yourself if demand unexpectedly increases.

Reviewing your supply logs will help you know how to make seasonal adjustments to your reorder points. For example, if there are always extra runs on supplies around tax time, you can be prepared for it.

Analyze Usage Trends

Your financial software should have built-in data analytics tools that can help you detect trends in your supply logs.

By understanding peak usage times, you can optimize the ordering schedule of your coworking space to align with demand.

For example, if printer paper use spikes at the beginning of each month, you can plan larger orders in preparation for that.

Or, if flexible work schedules mean fewer workers are in your space on Mondays and Fridays, you can adjust accordingly.

It’s also important to maintain a project calendar. Keep in touch with members about upcoming projects and any special needs that will be important to their work.

Promote Eco-friendly Practices

As mentioned earlier, incorporating sustainable practices is a key way to differentiate yourself and gain loyalty from your members. Your coworking space can significantly reduce its carbon footprint, achieve environmental goals, and attract eco-conscious members.

Start by choosing sustainable and earth-friendly office supplies. Some examples include recycled paper, biodegradable pens, and reusable coffee cups.

Add reusable supplies to common disposable items, like refillable pens and notebooks.

As for recycling, it’s not just paper and plastic. Electronics and digital accessories can often be recycled as well. Ask nearby retailers, manufacturers, or recycling operations about your local options.

Energy-efficient office equipment, such as LED lights and low-power-consumption devices, reduce environmental impact. And seeking out suppliers with a similar focus on sustainability is a way to broaden your environmental advocacy.

Educate Members

An investment in educating your members goes a long way.

New members should have an onboarding process that introduces them to the coworking space’s supply management approach. Emails or online resources can outline best practices for using supplies efficiently. Visual reminders near supply stations can remind people about the benefits of responsible use.

The objective is to create a culture that holds itself accountable and strives to innovate, cutting costs and negative impacts.

You can also create surveys or suggestion boxes to gather input from members on how to improve supply management and address any concerns.

Offer Premium Supplies as Upsells

Premium supplies provide an opportunity to enhance the member experience while bringing in additional revenue.

Provide basic supplies for free to meet everyday needs. But introduce premium options for an additional fee.

Some options for premium supplies are:

• High-quality stationery
• Personalized notebooks
• Branded pens
• Ergonomic accessories (check out our recommended coworking space furniture here)

Personalization services, such as custom-engraved pens or notebooks, can add a touch of exclusivity and professionalism. Offer these premium items as part of a subscription package, where members get a special selection of expensive supplies each month.

You can also run special promotions to highlight these upsell options. You can introduce seasonal offers, such as holiday-themed stationery.

Attracting members who seek customized supplies diversifies your revenue stream while catering to a different demographic of members.

Manage Your Coworking Space with OfficeRnD Flex

As you apply these best practices one by one, you’ll notice that managing your office supplies becomes more streamlined, and old challenges go away.

Moving forward, you can optimize your office space even further with robust enough coworking software. With OfficeRnD Flex, you can integrate with your accounting software and automate administrative tasks such as billing and invoicing. Your members can book meeting rooms, sign contracts, and communicate all from their app.

All in all, you can easily keep members happy and automate the rest.

FAQ

How to Centralize Office Supplies?

To centralize office supplies effectively, start by designating a specific area in the office as the supply station. Ensure this area is accessible to all employees and stocked with commonly used items like pens, paper, and staples. Implement an inventory management system to track supply usage and restock items as needed. Regularly review and adjust the supply list based on staff usage and feedback to maintain efficiency and prevent overstocking.

How do you Effectively Manage Office Supplies?

To effectively manage office supplies, start by conducting an inventory to understand what items are most frequently used and which are rarely needed. This allows you to adjust purchasing accordingly and avoid overstocking. Implementing a check-out system can help track usage patterns and identify areas where supplies might be wasted or overused. Regularly review and adjust your inventory and procurement processes based on usage reports and employee feedback to ensure that the office always has the necessary supplies without excessive spending.

How to Manage a Coworking Space?

Managing a coworking space effectively involves several key strategies. First, focus on creating a vibrant community by facilitating networking events, workshops, and social gatherings to foster connections and collaboration among members. Second, ensure the physical space is versatile and well-maintained, with flexible work areas that cater to various needs, from quiet zones for focused work to communal areas for group projects. You can also implement technology solutions for efficient operation, including booking systems for meeting rooms and robust Wi-Fi networks. Regularly gather feedback from members to continuously adapt and improve the services and amenities offered, ensuring the coworking space meets the evolving needs of its users. By doing all this, you can reap the benefits of owning a successful space.