A significant but often overlooked benefit of membership in Corporate United is the ability to understand the value of our agreements through our ongoing analysis activity. We are pleased at this time to share some of our findings with you.

The following observations were developed based upon information garnered between first quarter 2008 and first quarter 2009:

Quick Numbers

Safety Supplies – Corporate United’s personal protection agreement with Choctaw-Kaul is delivering an average savings of approximately 24 percent. Furthermore, members have achieved an average of 12-15 percent additional savings during post-implementation simply by replacing their current protective gloves with gloves manufactured by Choctaw-Kaul.

Toner Spend – Toner spend accounts for approximately 20 percent of the total office products spend of our members. Remanufactured toner accounts for 15 percent of this number and is gaining ground against OEM toner due to improved performance and durability.

Conferencing – Our conferencing agreement with InterCall is delivering an average savings of approximately 35 percent. Our analyses show a significant competitive advantage in the international markets utilizing InterCall’s Global Network Access.

Distributed Goods
Nearly 60 percent of the companies for whom Corporate United conducted a distributed goods assessment in 2009 requested that standard orders be shipped within 24 hours from order entry at no additional expense. While next day turnaround is often a preferred method of delivery, this benefit can result in a higher frequency of orders possibly resulting in higher overall shipping costs. We recommend that companies consider the total cost of freight – based on deliveries per week – rather than focusing on the benefit of no additional expense for guaranteed 24-hour shipment.

Print & Document Management
Print and document management costs are estimated to equal as much as 3 percent of an organization’s revenue. These costs flow through marketing, HR and IT, which makes them difficult to quantify and harness. However, we are seeing more and more procurement managers combine their multifunctional print management program (i.e. the right sizing of their copier fleet) with a comprehensive document & print solution, including the outsourcing of their print services.