Principles of Maintaining Stationary Stock Essay

1)1.1 – Explain the purpose of making sure stationary stock is maintained and controlled? A good level of stationary stock should always be maintained and controlled because it makes processing easier and saves wasting time. Usually a company will have one person in charge of the stock and that person will have the duties of maintaining any stock. Smaller companies are easier to maintain than larger ones. Large companies can have much more of a hard-hitting task as they will need a lot more stock or stationary. Also within a larger company there will be more departments so it will be made a little harder. The person responsible has to bare in mind any budgets the employer/manager had put in place. There are different ways of which you can control the levels of the stock but these are yet again different with each and every company. A weekly or fortnightly check on stock is usually the most effective way. Checking stock levels will also help to notice what stationary is used more within their company. This will show what is more relevant in buying. If the stock is not checked or maintained then the levels can drop. This can result into the company spending more money to get the equipment/stock they need from a high street shop and this can then frustrate many workers/managers. 1.2 – Describe factors that may affect the future level of demand for stationary stock. Their will be many factors that may affect the future level of stationary stock. One of these is the cost of the stationary itself. All, if not most, companies are making cut in their spending and this is one department that may feel the cut more than others. Employees will be asked to use less stock whilst working and requesting orders for stock. These may become declined if the person in charge thinks that the company will not need the stationary or it is not required. Also another factor is the use of technology. Technology is forever increasing and becoming a bigger part in everyone’s lives. This means more organisations will be using the internet a lot more. Emailing more to cut the cost of paper and it is a quicker way to send messages or to communicate and run their business. Letters are becoming a less frequent way of communicating. This will make each company cut down on the quality of paper, ink, envelopes and stamps that are used. 1.3 – Explain the purpose of making sure value of money is obtained when ordering stock. The purpose of making sure value of money is obtained when ordering stock is essential. Each company needs to ensure that they are not wasting any unnecessary money and that the stock you are ordering is actually needed. The person in charge of ordering needs to think about the delivery costs, quality and quantity costs. They also need to think about applying minimum orders but can still cover everything that will be needed. The value of money is most important because no company wants to be wasting money on products that cant be afforded or on stationary the wont be used. The person who is responsible for all this needs to have a good think about what really needs to be ordered and if it is necessary in the environment. Also to know if it is environmentally friendly before just ordering anything and everything they want to. 2)2.1 – Describe how to order, receive, store and dispose stationary stock items. Ordering; before you even begin to order you need to know who your suppliers are. If you don’t already have a supplier then you need to find one. You will need to find a supplier that is suitable to you and your company. When choosing a company you will need to consider these things; Are there any delivery charges? Do I have to place a minimum order? Do they sell all the stock we need? Are their prices competitive or very expensive? How long does it take for an order to come through? You may find it easier to write a list of the stationary (inventory) you will need so you can pick a supplier that fits your needs. Once you have found the supplier you will be using then you will need to go through the catalogue or online and order what you need. Also the person responsible for this will need to be aware of their budget and that they do not go over. Receive; When you do receive the stock, it is better to check the delivery notes against what has been delivered to ensure that all the stock you need or ordered is their. You will need to check the receipt and check everything they say is there is actually there and is not faulty. You will need to identify straight away if there are any problems or any stationary missing. Lastly you will need to send the receipt up the finance so they can check it against the invoice and make sure all the prices add up and no ones is being over charged or under charged. Store; when storing the stationary you should rotate it so it is the oldest first. Storage should be in a nice neat order and organised so you can see what you have and what you don’t have. Rotating stationary isn’t the most important thing to do but it is still advisable so that pens and Tipex do not dry out and the paper doesn’t get creased or even wet. When storing stationary it is best to keep all things the same together and take count to see how many there is so you know for next time when it comes to ordering how much you should order. Dispose; when disposing stationary you need to first work out what can be recycled, or if it is environmentally friendly and what just needs to be put in a normal bin. Most companies now like a business with an environmentally friendly supplier. They will look at the way they package the products so it makes it easier to dispose of the packaging. How close a company is to their business is important to cut down on the transporting costs.