Blogging?

We reckon blogging is a bit 2010 - so this year we're tweeting:

UOE - www.twitter.com/#/uoelimited
QuickDROP - www.twitter.com/#/quickdrop

76% of Office Workers Steal from work!

The results of a recent survey showed 76% of employees have stolen from their place of work. Men are particularly light-fingered, with an astonishing 82% admitting to helping themselves, compared to 71% of women.

The stationery cupboard was hardest hit, with pens (60%) and printer paper (42%) being the most commonly pilfered.

Stamps (31%), mugs (28%) and toilet paper (24%) were also frequently taken items. The stapler - often thought of as a frequent target of office thieves - was only taken by 6% of those surveyed.

One in twenty employees admitted to having taken more valuable items - ranging from printer toner to laptops. More unusual items declared included chairs and office plants, even filing cabinets, carpet tiles and entire desks.

This is exactly why UOE helps its customers take control of purchasing (using the latest online order management technology) and direct, named delivery to the order person. Having an unlocked stationery cupboard with hundreds of pounds of stuff sitting around is too tempting for some!

These days some stationery companies are even offering to top up the cupboards without customers auditing what has been used in any clear and controlled manner - this just makes the matter worse (a constant fresh stock of new stuff to steal!), hides the truth and is certain to increase cost at a time when every company needs to curb their unnecessary wastage. Their claim is that you'll never need to worry about stationery again - I'd suggest you'll never know who or how things are being used!

To find out how you can take control of your stationery spend contact us

Toners - A No Fly Zone!

The recent attempt by Yemen based terrorists to detonate a bomb built inside a toner cartridge on board UPS and Fedex cargo flights last week has led the British Government to issue a complete lock-down on the shipments of machines, toner and ink cartridges in, through and out of the UK.

With immediate effect the following restrictions have been put in place:

1. No toner or ink cartridges over 500gm can be carried in hand luggage
2. No unaccompanied shipments of printers, fax machines, copiers are permitted on board airlines in/out or through UK airports
3. No unaccompanied shipments of toner or ink cartridges are permitted on board airlines in/out or through UK airports.

This lock-down is in effect for at least 30 days from now and will be reviewed by COBRA (the government emergency response committee) after that.

The knock-on to this will undoubtedly be a mix of stock availability issues, delays in order fulfillment and a drop in exports of the product out of the UK - none of this good news for the UK economy.

The powder in question was previously secreted in a pair of under-pants and in a shoe worn by a terrorist and they didn't ban anyone wearing Calvin Keins or trainers did they?! This powder can be hidden in ANYTHING - stopping toners and inkjet cartridges being distributed legitimately just does not make sense and does not really do anything to make this country safer.

Ryanair says "lets get rid of co-pilots"

In a typically headline-catching manner Michael O'Leary, head of Ryanair announced today that he thinks having a second pilot in the cockpit is a waste of money.

He suggest that a member of cabin-crew could do the job if necessary...well perhaps a cheaper answer would be to offer a free ticket to anyone who wants to "have a go" at flying the plane for him too!

It's one thing to do away with food, baggage, free toilets and even seats but the pilot - come on Leary grow up....next you'll be cutting costs on servicing and maintenance - with calls of "we know best"

There will always be people who just want to go the cheapest way possible, but more and more people I meet don't want to fly Ryanair for precisely this slapdash attitude. Ryanair? More like Ryan-don't-care.

Scan and Print on your mobile phone

Brother UK is launching the world’s first iPhone app that allows users to scan to and print from their mobile phones!

Brother iPrint&Scan is free to download and allows customers to wirelessly print from and scan to their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad – with a compatible printer from Brother’s latest inkjet multifunction printer range.

The companys says they are the first and only company to develop an app that performs both these tasks, and they are providing customers with a unique feature to maximise further the functionality of their printers.

The mobile application, developed in response to the ever-growing popularity of smart phones and the development of more advanced handheld devices e.g. the iPad, is released and ready to be downloaded now.

Phil Jones, sales and marketing director at Brother UK, says: “Smart phones are becoming an essential modern day business tool and we are pleased to be able to offer even more convenient features for our customers.”

All of Brother’s latest inkjet multifunction printers introduced from 2009 onwards that have a wireless interface will be fully compatible with the application. Models with network interface are also compatible when connecting to a wireless network.

Brother is developing similar versions of the app for other types of smart phone including Google-based Android 1.6 handsets and above.

Jones adds: “iPhone users have been waiting for an app like this for quite some time. We’re really pleased to be at the forefront of innovative printing technology, providing businesses with the means to succeed.”

The application has been initially launched in English, with plans to introduce French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch versions by the end of 2010. For more information, or to download the Brother iPrint&Scan app for free, visit http://itunes.apple.com/app/brother-iprint-scan/id382775642?mt=8

Compatible printers are available from Brother resellers (including UOE!)

Back to School Promos? The kids have only just finished!

Walking along Oxford Street in London's West End you could have been forgiven for thinking it was mid/late August...not only was it fairly empty but any shop with even a vague connection (and some that didn't even seem to have that) were announcing Back to School promotions!

Most schools had not ended for the summer break more than 48hrs earlier....I remember when I was at school that seeing the Back to School signs was always a pre-cursor to the end of the fun, summer day and return to uniform and dark afternoons of the Autumn term....but to start telling kids (and parents) to get ready for school only as they finish just seems, well mean spirited! What happened to a Summer Sale or something - give the kids a break!!

Now I'm all for offers/deals/promotions - call them what you will, but next thing they'll be advertising Christmas in September...oh hold on...they already do don't they?!

Every little helps the planet - except Tesco.

It would seem that Tesco has been helping to keep prices low at the cost of one of the most delicate eco-systems on the planet by sourcing its own-brand stationery items from a discredited paper mill that uses rainforest trees to make paper - and it has known about it for years!

More environmentally focused Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer have chosen previously to cease buying their own-brand paper products from the Asia Pulp & Paper group (which lost is Forest Stewardship Certificate 3 years ago) but, accordingly to The Times, Tesco seems to feel that the paper it is using for more than 80 of its own brand products (which The Times believes to be cut from Indonesian Rainforest) is still ok in this day and age.

It is a shame that a company that can influence so much chooses to move so slowly on such an important issue - whilst hypocritically shouting loudly about it's other environmental efforts! We at UOE call for Tesco to join us in promoting the use of recycled and FSC products and stop using excuses like "we expect to stop using this source by the end of 2010". You can stop today. Right now. Come on Tesco - every little helps!