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Hong
Kong is a city of opportunities. Many
people like to establish their own
business when they are young.
Whether
one-man-band or partnership companies
should assume responsibility for their
profits and losses.
Therefore,
in order to minimize operating costs and
enhance competitiveness, the procurement
of office necessities and equipment must
be carefully budgeted.
Be
a wise consumer, then our every single
penny will bring us the greatest return.
It
is not an empty talk if you want to make
the most out of just small amount of
money. All depends on spend your money
in the best way. Even if you have got a
limited budget, it is not necessary to
restrict your buying choice to
sub-standard or tow quality goods: Here
are some money-saving tips we would like
to share with you:
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I ) Compiling a Sourcing List
The
daily operation of a company involves
various kinds of expenses. The staff
in-charge-of procurement should prepare
a list of daily necessities on hand.
Such a list serves two purposes: to
calculate all expenses involved and to
identify the rate of consumption of each
item. Since daily necessities are
indispensable and the expenses involved
are quite substantial, it is practical
to know their average usage cycles and
consumption volume, so that we can make
a better bargain when placing future
orders
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II ) Allocating Procurement Budget
As
every industry is unique by itself,
different companies will have different
demand for computer, marginal equipment
and even office furniture. It word
processing is already sufficient to
handle most of a company’s operation,
computers with basic specifications and
are connectable to black and white
printers will be adequate It is not
necessary to install advanced or too
expensive models.
A
marketing and promotion company has to
present proposals to its clients from
time to time. In order to save time, buy
a portable notebook computer, the
so-called mobile office. On one hand, it
can store a large amount of data and on
the other hand, it is able to display
graphics and images to impress clients.
For
companies engaged in art and design, a
high resolution and color printer is
essential as it can produce colorful and
vivid images to compile professional
files, thus attracting more business.
When
you plan to buy computers, try to see if
this is urgent as computer equipment has
very short life cycles.
Therefore
your procurement priority should be set
according to your practical needs. If
you cannot ascertain the degree of
urgency, you probably may shelve the
decision for a while.
The
longer a computer model is introduced
into the market, the more it will
depreciate. Nowadays a 14.4kbps computer
has no more market value. Yet it may
still be used to receive and send
electronic mail.
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III ) Installing Multi-Multi-functional
Office Equipment
There
is a wide range of office equipment in
the market, including computer, printer,
photocopying machine. Telephone,
facsimile, and other value-Added tool
such as modem, Scanner, digital camera
and writ able CD-ROM.
Operational
costs will greatly increase and much
office space will be occupied if all the
above are purchased at the same time.
Therefore, equipping an office with
integrated multi-purpose facilities
becomes the current trend.
Actually
this trend started two or three years
ago, so it is not difficult to spot
individual models combining functions of
photocopying machine. Printer,
facsimile,
scanner and soon.
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IV ) Taking Advantage of Promotion
Discounts
You
may think that only fashion and
accessories will offer seasonal
discounts. Actually, many agents and
suppliers of office equipment, office
furniture and computer equipment also
launch periodic promotion activities to
attract sales of new and outdated
products. Moreover, merchants may work
in alliance. For example, a computer, a
computer may jointly promote with other
suppliers of marginal equipment to offer
computer courses or discount packages to
customers.
Consumers
can take advantage of these offers to
buy in bulk at a very low price.
Much
can be saved if we are able to collect
as much information as possible and make
comparison before procurement.
Every
summer, we can find big and small
computer expos in Hong Kong. Most
computer hardware and software companies
are active participants as they can
capitalize these events to promote their
products. To know when and where you can
join these shows, just keep a close
watch on newspaper ads,
or click to several business websites
such as www.nicam.com.hk
and www.business.netvigator.com.
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V ) Finding Low Cost Buy & Sell
Channels
Nowadays
e-commerce develops rapidly. Without
paying commission to agents and
middlemen, consumers can order products
and services directly from the Internet,
and we can easily browse through product
specifications and prices from computer
screen. With great ease, consumers
nowadays can master and compare
different trade sources and market
prices of various kinds of goods.
Nevertheless,
numerous second hand auction sites like
www.ebuy.com.hk, www.go2hk.com,
www.red-dots.com is other cheap channel
for bulk buying and selling. In these
websites, you do not only get the goods
you want, but also sell what you think
is outdated or useless. Since only a
small fee is required you may also
choose sites with high hit rate to
introduce new products, as web users
will distribute messages among one
another. Your products will soon become
famous by these word-of-mouth.
When
involved in the job of sourcing you are
often required to find hot items as well
as out-dated products.
Trade
directories or publications are your
smart assistants helping you find
suitable suppliers, market information
and to compare prices. Yellow Pages are
one of the most classical examples of
these trade books. It enables you to
find all manufacturers, wholesalers,
agencies and retailers, across all trade
and industries. In the Hong Kong
Enterprise published by the Hong Kong
Trade Development Council, readers can
have an overview on new products that
exported overseas. At the moment, most
publications are accessible on-line for
easy finding. Click www.nicam.com.hk
or www.yp.com.hk
now for Internet Yellow Pages, www.flkenterprise.com
for Hong Kong Enterprise’s-line
version- Moreover, there is another
sourcing bible site www.asiansources.com
you cannot miss
out.
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