Office supplies
Encyclopedia
Office supplies is the generic term that refers to all supplies regularly used in office
s by business
es and other organizations, from private citizens to governments, who work with the collection, refinement, and output of information (colloquially referred to as "paper work").
The term includes small, expendable, daily use items such as paper clip
s, post-it note
s, staples
, hole punch
es, binders
and laminators, writing utensils
and paper
, but also encompasses higher-cost equipment like computer
s, printers
, fax machines, photocopier
s and cash register
s, as well as office furniture
such as cubicle
s, filing cabinet
, and armoire desk
s. Two very common medium-to-high-cost office equipment items before the advent of suitably priced word processing machines and PCs
in the 1970s and 1980s were typewriter
s and adding machine
s.
Many businesses in the office supply industry have recently expanded into related markets for businesses like copy centers, which facilitate the creation and printing of business collateral such as business card
s and stationery
, plus printing and binding of high quality, high volume business and engineering documents. Some businesses also provide services for shipping, including packaging and bulk mailing. In addition, many retail chains sell related supplies beyond businesses and regularly market their stores as a center for school supplies with August and early September being a major retail period for Back to school sales.
The office supply industry was estimated to be worth US$ 225 billion
in 1999 and is still growing.
, the largest office supply chains in the United States (in terms of revenue) are Staples
(US$16B), Office Depot
(US$15B), and OfficeMax
(US$8.9B). Staples is also the largest office supply chain in the world that directly owns and operates its own stores, with 2,000 stores in 27 countries. The largest operator of franchised stores is Office 1 Superstore
, with 600 stores located in more than 25 countries.
Examples of other office supply companies worldwide include Esselte Leitz,
Herlitz
,
Komus
,
Lyreco
,
Badger Office Supplies,
Viking Direct
,
Maske Gruppen
,
Olivetti
,
Ryman
,
Vasanta Group
, and
Vigatec
.
Additionally, the rapid rise in popularity of e-commerce companies in the 21st century places office supply companies into the digital spectrum.
Examples of online office supply companies include
Shoplet
,
Quill Corporation
,
Office Depot
, and
Office Max.
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
s by business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
es and other organizations, from private citizens to governments, who work with the collection, refinement, and output of information (colloquially referred to as "paper work").
Paper Clip
"Paper Clip" is a 1995 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the second episode broadcast in the show's third season. Paper Clip concludes the story regarding the agents' possession of a digital tape containing government secrets on extraterrestrials.- Plot :Continuing from the previous...
s, post-it note
Post-it note
A Post-it note is a piece of stationery with a re-adherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. Although now available in a wide range of colours, shapes, and sizes, Post-it notes are most commonly a square, canary yellow in colour...
s, staples
Staple (fastener)
A staple is a type of two-pronged fastener, usually metal, used for joining or binding materials together. Large staples might be used with a hammer or staple gun for masonry, roofing, corrugated boxes and other heavy-duty uses...
, hole punch
Hole punch
A hole punch is a common office tool that is used to create holes in sheets of paper, often for the purpose of collecting the sheets in a binder or folder.The origins of the hole punch date back to Germany via Matthias Theel, where two early patents for a...
es, binders
Ring binder
Ring binders are folders in which punched pieces of paper may be held by means of clamps running through the holes in the paper...
and laminators, writing utensils
Pen
A pen is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but...
and paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, but also encompasses higher-cost equipment like computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, printers
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
, fax machines, photocopier
Photocopier
A photocopier is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process using heat...
s and cash register
Cash register
A cash register or till is a mechanical or electronic device for calculating and recording sales transactions, and an attached cash drawer for storing cash...
s, as well as office furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
such as cubicle
Cubicle
Тhe cubicle, cubicle desk, office cubicle or cubicle workstation is a partially enclosed workspace, separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall...
s, filing cabinet
Filing cabinet
A filing cabinet is a piece of office furniture usually used to store paper documents in file folders. In the most simple sense, it is an enclosure for drawers in which items are stored. The two most common forms of filing cabinets are blocky files and diagonal files...
, and armoire desk
Armoire desk
An armoire desk is a writing-table built within a large cabinet, usually 1.5-2.0 m high. The cabinet is closed by two to four full-height doors, to keep out dust or to give a tidy appearance to a room by hiding the cluttered working surface of the desk...
s. Two very common medium-to-high-cost office equipment items before the advent of suitably priced word processing machines and PCs
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
in the 1970s and 1980s were typewriter
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
s and adding machine
Adding machine
An adding machine was a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations.In the United States, the earliest adding machines were usually built to read in dollars and cents. Adding machines were ubiquitous office equipment until they were phased out in favor of...
s.
Many businesses in the office supply industry have recently expanded into related markets for businesses like copy centers, which facilitate the creation and printing of business collateral such as business card
Business card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone...
s and stationery
Stationery
Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...
, plus printing and binding of high quality, high volume business and engineering documents. Some businesses also provide services for shipping, including packaging and bulk mailing. In addition, many retail chains sell related supplies beyond businesses and regularly market their stores as a center for school supplies with August and early September being a major retail period for Back to school sales.
The office supply industry was estimated to be worth US$ 225 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
in 1999 and is still growing.
Office supply companies
, the largest office supply chains in the United States (in terms of revenue) are Staples
Staples, Inc.
Staples Inc. is a large office supply chain store, with over 2,000 stores worldwide in 26 countries. Based in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States, the company has retail stores, serving customers under its original name in Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Norway,...
(US$16B), Office Depot
Office Depot
Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...
(US$15B), and OfficeMax
OfficeMax
OfficeMax , is an American office supplies retailer that was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.-History:On April 1, 1988, OfficeMax was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, by Bob Hurwitz and Michael Feuer. Hurwitz served as executive chairman and chief executive officer and Feuer...
(US$8.9B). Staples is also the largest office supply chain in the world that directly owns and operates its own stores, with 2,000 stores in 27 countries. The largest operator of franchised stores is Office 1 Superstore
Office 1 Superstore
Office 1 Superstores International Inc. is a franchise retail store chain which sells office products and supplies including office furniture and electronics. Office 1 currently operates in twenty-six countries with over 600 stores. The company is headquartered in Palm Beach, Florida...
, with 600 stores located in more than 25 countries.
Examples of other office supply companies worldwide include Esselte Leitz,
Herlitz
Herlitz
Herlitz AG belongs to the leading producers of paper, office supplies and stationery articles in Europe. Herlitz' international headquarter is located in Berlin, Germany.- 1904–1943 :...
,
Komus
Komus (company)
Komus is a Russian chain store and manufacturing company. It supplies goods for office and school, office furniture and equipment, paper and paperboard, plastic package, medical consumables and provides printing services. Its headquarters are in Moscow....
,
Lyreco
Lyreco
Lyreco is a distributor of office products, founded in 1926 by G. Gaspard in the Valenciennes area of France. The company focused its development on the French territory during the 1970s. The Lyreco Group structure is now in 27 countries and 5 continents...
,
Badger Office Supplies,
Viking Direct
Office Depot
Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...
,
Maske Gruppen
Maske Gruppen
Maske Gruppen is a Norwegian wholesaler that distributes office supplies and healthcare products throughout the country. Based in Trondheim, it was created in 2006 after the merger between Julius Maske and S-Gruppen, with a heritage dating back to 1858...
,
Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
,
Ryman
Ryman
Ryman is the largest British stationery retailer, historically based in London, now based in its £100m headquarters in Crewe, Cheshire.-Formation:...
,
Vasanta Group
Vasanta Group
Vasanta Group is the UK's largest office supplies company, head quartered in Sheffield.Formed in 2007 after the management buyout of Kingfield Heath, the company then merged with ISA and Supplies Team to form Vasanta Group...
, and
Vigatec
Vigatec (Chile)
Vigatec is a Chilean corporation founded in 1980. The company headquarters is based in Santiago de Chile and it has subsidiaries in Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil...
.
Additionally, the rapid rise in popularity of e-commerce companies in the 21st century places office supply companies into the digital spectrum.
Examples of online office supply companies include
Shoplet
Shoplet
Shoplet is an online retailer founded in 1994 of office products and consumables headquartered in New York City.Shoplet initially sold products such as cars, yachts, and computer hardware. In the late 1990s, Shoplet began to focus on producing and selling office supplies, developing web-based...
,
Quill Corporation
Quill Corporation
Quill Corporation is the largest mail-order office supply retailer in the United States with revenues of $1.3B per year and EBITDA of over 20%. Currently headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Quill offers more than 200,000 products including school and office supplies, office machines,...
,
Office Depot
Office Depot
Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...
, and
Office Max.