Schools with an agreed supplier list.

Schools, colleges, universities and nurseries are all bound to government budgets as we all know and hear about in the news regularly, whether it is that there is extra money being pushed into the education sector or if things are “tight” for schools to keep afloat and pay for teachers.

Cost Cutters supplies educational furniture, equipment and resources for the entire range of educational establishments in mainland UK. As a company, they have tried to identify purchasing patterns and trends. This has been virtually impossible. Certainly, there is a clear trend of buying around the Summer time, in order for the new academic year to start with the necessary new items – but in terms of what relationships and trends there are between school and supplier is somewhat of a mystery…

Many schools have a list of pre-agreed suppliers. Certain schools will ONLY buy from and use one of these agreed suppliers. Regardless of whether a different supplier comes into the industry or whether there actually is a better deal from someone else, there is no change to the regular pattern and the normal supplier is used.

On one hand, it is understandable for a school to have a procedure set up and a list of suppliers. This will ensure that the supplier is legitimate and the school will be able to gather all the required details and contact information should they need it once an order has been placed. On a daily basis there are companies starting up and some caution within schools as to who they purchase from is probably a wise move.

However, there are many established school suppliers that will not be featured on their “pre-agreed list”. What is key, is that many of these suppliers within the industry are not the actual manufacturer of the product. Therefore, many of the products being offered by these long-standing companies are actually the same item, from the same manufacturer. Of course, different suppliers will have a different approach to how they price their products and what incentives are offered to the customer, and many have their own exclusive products too. This will make each supplier individual, but it is an increasing worry that schools are not taking full advantage of the opportunity to “buy better”.

If these schools were to allow some flexibility to be able to “shop around” a little more, then they may actually be able to save money and keep within budgets set – or even get more products for their money.

Cost Cutters is an example of a company that may not be on a pre-agreed supplier list, but will very quickly send all details required for the school to be assured they are an established company of 16years with many schools using them on a daily basis to supply all of their furniture and resources requirements. If a product is available at a better price or a better service or delivery is offered, then surely it is sense for a government-funded establishment such as a school, college or nursery to be able to take full advantage of these better deals.

There are obviously different ways to look at this scenario, but it is clear that money could be saved. In today’s world of budgets and cost-saving there could be room for more teachers, better equipment or resources by a simple review of how purchasing decisions are made.