Buying office supplies

Learn about the all-of-government office supplies contract. This contract covers low-waste key office supplies, cleaning and hygiene consumables, ICT consumables, educational supplies, health and safety products and milk and milk alternatives.

Level of compliance Main audience Other

Recommended

  • Principals and Tumuaki
  • Staff responsible for buying on behalf of their school
  • Boards

Benefits of joining this contract

Joining a collaborative contract is likely to save a school both time and money, while also reducing risk.

All-of-government contracts

This all-of-government (AoG) contract offers the following benefits to schools.

  • Schools receive competitive pricing without having to commit to bulk amounts. This generates savings of between 20% and 35% (depending on the products and suppliers chosen).
  • Schools can access any special price offered to the public, whenever that price is lower than the AoG price.
  • All schools across the country can be serviced by these suppliers.

How to join the contract

The process for joining the office supplies contract is similar to that for other AoG contracts.

  1. Complete a non-disclosure agreement
  2. Read about the contract and memorandum of understanding
  3. Define your requirements
  4. Research suppliers and request quotes
  5. Complete a form of accession
  6. Delivery of office supplies goods begins

1. Complete a non-disclosure agreement

What is a non-disclosure agreement?

If your school has not signed up to an AoG contract before, you will need to complete a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) available on the NZ Government Procurement (NZGP) website.

Non-disclosure agreement form – NZGP(external link)

You can email school.buying@education.govt.nz to find out if your school has already completed an NDA.

2. Read about the contract and the memorandum of understanding

What is a memorandum of understanding? 

Log in to the NZGP website to access more information on the contract. You will need to be using your school-linked RealMe account because you will gain access to commercially sensitive information.

Office supplies – NZGP(external link)

School-linked RealMe

Read the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the office supplies contract in the 'contract documents' section on the NZGP website. The MoU sets out the obligations of schools participating in the contract.

3. Define your requirements

Determine your school's requirements and decide which product categories you will be signing up for.

Categories of goods

You might choose to prepare a list of the products currently purchased by your school, their quantity and their price. 

This will help you to compare your school's current expenditure to your projected expenditure under the contract and establish what savings might be achieved through the contract.

4. Research suppliers and request quotes

Research each suppliers' product range, pricing and customer service. You might consider other factors such as the supplier's environmental policies and if they are New Zealand based.

Seek quotes based on the list of products that you currently purchase, for your comparison. Supplier contact details can be found below.

Suppliers – NZGP(external link)

Once you have AoG pricing information, you might conduct your own indicative pricing comparison using the tool below.

5. Complete a form of accession

What is a form of accession?

The form of accession (joining form) confirms your school agrees to the terms set out in the MoU.

An online joining form for the office supplies contract is available under 'joining this contract' (you will need to be logged in with a school-linked RealMe account).

Office supplies – NZGP(external link)

  • Your school may choose to submit a 'letter of accession' (printable PDF) instead of the online joining form.
  • You can download a copy of the PDF from the 'joining the contract' section on the NZGP webpage.
  • Once completed, email the form to office.coe@mbie.govt.nz.

Once the joining form is processed, you will receive a confirmation email.

6. Delivery of office supplies goods begins

After NZGP receives your completed form of accession (or letter of accession), they will inform your chosen supplier(s) that you are entitled to buy from them under AoG terms and prices.

Key considerations for office supplies

Categories of goods

There are 7 categories of goods in the office supplies contract.

You can sign up to receive goods in 1 category (for example, stationery) or any combination of the 7 categories covered by this AoG contract.

Low-waste office supplies

Examples of low-waste office supplies:

  • stationery
  • photocopy paper
  • business appliances and consumables (such as laminators)
  • basic kitchen supplies (such as tea bags, instant coffee)
  • basic first aid equipment
  • basic 'under sink' cleaning supplies.

Education supplies

Examples of education supplies:

  • arts and crafts supplies
  • exercise books
  • presentation hardware (such as whiteboards, clipboards)
  • filing system consumables
  • school-specific products (such as STEM items, sports gear, musical instruments).

Cleaning and hygiene

Examples of cleaning and hygiene products:

  • cleaning chemicals (such as bleach)
  • hygiene consumables (such as hand sanitiser)
  • cleaning implements (such as latex gloves, cloths).

Washroom consumables

Examples of washroom consumables:

  • hand soap
  • hand towels
  • toilet paper.

ICT consumables

Examples of ICT consumables:

  • printer cartridges
  • data storage tools (such as USBs)
  • computer accessories.

Health and safety products

Examples of health and safety products:

  • protection equipment (such as gloves, masks)
  • site safety equipment (such as signage, hard hats).

Milk and milk alternatives

Examples of milk and milk alternatives:

  • milk
  • non-dairy milks (such as almond, soy and oat).

More information about what you can buy

See the 'what's covered' and 'what's not covered' sections of the NZGP office supplies page for the scope of the contract.

Office supplies – NZGP(external link)

Suppliers

There are 9 suppliers on the AoG panel. Each supplier offers a different range of products.

National Express Products (NXP)

  • All product categories

OfficeMax NZ

  • All product categories

The Warehouse Group

  • Low-waste key office supplies
  • ICT consumables
  • Education supplies
  • Washroom consumables
  • Health and safety products

New Zealand Safety Blackwoods

  • Low-waste key office supplies
  • Washroom consumables
  • Health and safety products

Qizzle

  • Low-waste key office supplies
  • Educational supplies
  • Health and safety products

Alsco New Zealand

  • Washroom consumables
  • Cleaning and hygiene consumables

Burns and Ferrall

  • Washroom consumables

Pacific Hygiene Limited

  • Washroom consumables

Play'n'Learn

  • Educational supplies

Choosing a supplier

You can select 1 supplier for each product category you have signed up for.

You can choose a different supplier for each category. However, suppliers might offer a consolidation benefit if you buy from them in multiple categories.

Once you have signed up to a supplier for a product category, you should buy all the products within the scope of that product category from the supplier.

You can change a category's supplier an unlimited amount of times over the duration of the contract. To do so, contact NZGP at procurement@mbie.govt.nz.

Small-order service fees

Some suppliers add a service fee to an order if the total value of the goods is not more than a set value (for example, $50). This is due to the costs a supplier incurs to fulfil an order.

To avoid being charged this fee, you could consider waiting until you have several products you need to make an order greater than the minimum value.

If you have an urgent need for certain goods, you might add products that you know you will use to your order so that the total is greater than the minimum spend (for example, photocopy paper).

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