We moved from ad hoc emails and Slack DMs to a centralized Google Form with a weekly order cadence. Requests submitted by Monday 4:00 p.m. feed a Google Sheet with par levels (e.g., 12 paper reams, 6 pen boxes, HP 410X toner), and I place the order Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. Desk drops happen at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, floor by floor, starting with the 3rd-floor supply closet. We gained predictability for staff and a cleaner budget trail; duplicate buys dropped about 3.5%, and I reclaimed roughly 15 minutes per day previously spent triaging one-off pings. What we gave up was instant fixes and some flexibility — if you miss the cutoff, you’re waiting a few days, and unusual items may take a cycle. Ad hoc still wins when there’s an urgent need, like same-day toner during a print run or 40 folders for a 10:00 a.m.
Love this — switching to a Monday 4 p.m. cutoff with par levels cut our last-minute runs by about 40% and made Wednesday desk drops smoother; we also added an urgent checkbox that pings Facilities for toner or client-critical one-offs without breaking the cadence.
The Monday 4:00 p.m. Google Form cutoff feeding the Sheet with par levels is spot on. HP 410X used to be our fire drill, so we keep one spare set and let the Tuesday 2:00 p.m. order top us back up, which made the 8:30 a.m.
We put QR codes on each supply closet that open the Google Form pre-filled with floor/closet, which bumped on-time submissions and cut the “forgot to ask” emails. The Sheet then calculates par deltas and highlights anything under min, so Tuesday ordering is a quick filter and add to cart.
We added a “Need by” dropdown to the Form that defaults to the Wednesday drop, and if someone picks “Urgent” an Apps Script pings me in Slack and I check a small hot-shelf of spares in the 3rd-floor closet; that cut midweek scramble runs by about 40%. I also use conditional formatting in the Sheet to flag any item at or below par-1 so borderline stock pops before the Tuesday order.