Unlike most contracts that offer only deep discounts on the top 100 or 200 items, the core list of the Foundation’s office supplies contract with Office Depot contains more than 800 items that are chosen based on past actual usage at the colleges. This method drives savings on the most important and commonly used products. 

The custom core option provides additional leverage for up to 50 items, helping to address each college’s unique requirements without affecting the pricing integrity. For these additional services, there is a 1 percent primary sourcing (not sole source) volume rebate option. 

The Foundation’s office supplies contract offers diverse high-impact ink and toner options, including the H.P. Big Deal and private brand options. Competitive single carton stockless paper SKU/truckload and pallet specials are available as well.

Competitive, Stable Pricing

While typical office supply contracts offer discounts of 40 to 50 percent off standard office supply items, the Foundation’s contract with Office Depot is able to offer 60 percent off list price for these non-core items. For non-contract purchases, Office Depot offers a retail web match. With the exception of paper items, which coincide with quarterly market conditions, and toner, which coincides with semi-annual market conditions, Office Depot offers stable pricing updates once per year through the Foundation contract. 

Community College-Focused

The Foundation’s Request for Proposal is competitively bid with the specific product and service needs of California’s 116 Community Colleges in mind. In addition, a committee of Community College purchasing representatives is involved throughout the process.