Streamlining Back to School Procurement: The Bulk Buying Advantage

Nearly all educators subsidize the cost of classroom supplies. Estimates suggest teachers spend an average of $820 out-of-pocket annually for traditional classroom supplies, and less frequently considered school essentials. Some teachers even find themselves buying snacks, computer software subscriptions, and prizes for their classrooms.

School leaders don’t ask or require teachers to spend personal funds, but educators may feel pressured to do so. Teachers are fed up with spending their own money, and the financial burden amplifies the 44% record-high rate of teacher burnout.

Back-to-school buying is also stressful for district purchasing and finance staff, who must get creative in stretching budget dollars for necessary supplies, ensuring compliance with purchasing policies, and tracking spending limits.

Simplifying the purchasing of supplies through school-wide bulk buying frees up time for administrators, teachers, and staff to focus on the more pressing issues facing schools today.

Teacher satisfaction

Teachers need summer break to recharge for the next school year. But the reality is many spend at least part of vacation on school-related work, including purchasing supplies. Scouring multiple websites or visiting numerous stores for the best pricing on classroom supplies is a tedious task that takes valuable time.

That’s where bulk buying can help. Custom lists of supplies used in your school’s classrooms simplifies the ordering process. With lists, your school can organize items by category, thus eliminating the time-consuming task of scrolling and searching for individual items. The curated catalog found in the Amazon Back to School storefront makes it easy to locate books, electronics, furniture, educational activities, snacks, and supplies for sanitation, schoolwork, organization and wellness all on one site that offers exclusive education discounts.

“Amazon Business has given us access to everything we need to run our school sites from the ground up—whether it’s pencils, insects for science experiments, or water fountains,” said Gioconda Padilla, the director of procurement and contract services at Glendale Unified School District in California.

Beyond the classroom

Every penny in the budget counts as inflation continues to drive the cost of all school expenses higher, further straining tight operating budgets.

Request for Quote gives buyers the ability to request discounted prices on bulk purchases. Let’s say you need 500 keyboards by the end of the month. With Request for Quote, you can submit a bulk offer with specified terms and sellers can reply with an offer that matches, a process that results in typical savings of 10%. Plus, Amazon is an approved vendor for purchasing partners like Omnia, Choice Partners Cooperative and PEPPM, eliminating the need to go through the bidding process.

“Bulk buying through Amazon Business has been a tremendous asset for our school district, allowing us to access competitive pricing on essential supplies and materials,” said Jake Alverson, director of procurement at the Green Bay Area Public School District in Wisconsin. “This cost-effective approach has not only saved us time and effort but has also enabled us to stretch our budget further, ensuring that we can provide the best possible resources for our students and staff.”

Finance teams also appreciate the Budget Management dashboard because they can distribute digital teacher wallets allowing educators to purchase supplies without a credit card or purchase order. Maintaining control over budget allocations and compliance has never been easier.

One-stop shop 

When the purchasing workflow is centralized, school leaders can feel confident they are maximizing their budget and reducing the obligation teachers feel to buy independently. Quantity Discounts provide a 5% or greater discount on hundreds of educational products and supplies purchased in as few as two units of the same item.

Because Amazon Business integrates with over 100 leading education eProcurement platforms, the approval and tracking process is expedited.

“Amazon Business has proven in almost all cases to have the best prices,” said Padilla. “We buy in large volumes at times for specific projects or events, and we need to track purchases and verify that everything is bought at the lowest price. Amazon Business gives us easy access to price comparison and helps us meet this goal.”

Spend less on supplies and more time on your students

Bulk buying makes it easier for teachers and purchasing staff to procure the supplies and track those expenses saving them much needed time. What’s more, buying large quantities typically enables teachers and staff to get more out of their allocated budgets, reducing potential out-of-pocket costs.

Mass ordering also helps ensure necessary items are available through the school year and streamlines and minimizes the reordering process. This approach also satisfies the finance department by bringing greater transparency to the district’s total spend and illuminating spending patterns.

Originally published on K-12 Dive, click here to view.