If you are running a law firm, there is an astronomical amount of supplies and equipment you need to keep your law firm moving.  Without these supplies and equipment, the law firm employees cannot get their jobs done.  In fact, the law firm can literally come to a screeching halt if these supplies are not stocked.

The list is endless, but below are just some supplies and equipment that you need to keep the law firm staff busy servicing clients: paper, pens, paper clips, staples, folders, red wells, pleading panel binders, exhibit stickers, highlighters, toner, beverages, light bulbs, business cards, letterhead, computers, printers and the list could go on endlessly.

Many law firms will send a member of their law firm to a store or a vendor to retrieve these supplies and equipment as needed.  The law firm employee will then jump in the car, drive to a store and purchase all these items and bring them back to the law office.  At most law firms, there is always a willing employee willing to take a field trip to get these supplies and equipment.  This part isn’t a problem, right?  After all, who doesn’t like field trips?

But this is a poor use of that employee’s time in most circumstances.  The reality is that time away from the office is time wasted.  If you are sending a billable employee to retrieve these items, for example, this is time missed for that employee doing productive legal work.  That employee is also incurring mileage costs, may have to wait in long lines at the store, isn’t likely to be in a hurry to get back to the office and will end up taking multiple trips to the store on a regular basis once you allow store runs.

Versus sending an employee to a store to retrieve these items, develop a relationship with an online vendor or vendors.  The options are endless in terms of vendors out there you can find.   No matter the supplies or equipment referenced above, the reality is all the items referenced above can be purchased with the click of the mouse.

So, develop a relationship with vendors that suit your purposes for offices supplies and technology.  Then, order your supplies online with delivery straight to the office.  Make sure as well that you take a regular inventory so that supplies are always stocked so that store runs are not necessary on an emergency basis.

This ensures that there is no wasted time by employees at stores.  It also keeps your employees focused on doing the legal work you need them to do.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them below.