Colleges and universities across the country are navigating an increasingly challenging financial environment.
Inflation, budget constraints, shrinking endowments, fluctuating enrollment, international tariffs, shifting government funding policies—the list is long (and getting longer). Nearly half of institutions surveyed by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) say they have serious concerns about federal student aid, already experiencing delays in processing and distributing funds. All of these concerns are only increasing the urgency to reduce costs and more tightly control spending.
For procurement pros, the question is looming large: how can you significantly lower costs without sacrificing quality?
To answer that question, higher education procurement offices are re-evaluating their supply chain, contracts, and supplier relationships. From office supplies to facility products, strategic sourcing has become essential.
In this guide, we’ll take an in-depth look at your options for optimizing purchasing through Staples.
While faculty and staff are familiar with the office products Staples offers through its retail stores or websites, institutional procurement requires a different level of control.
With Staples retail, you get:
This does not support a strategic procurement process. Relying on Staples retail offerings costs you money. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) estimates that post-secondary institutions spend more than $702 billion a year; think about how much of that spending is noncompliant or off-contract where you’re paying more than you need to.
By contrast, Staples Business Advantage is purpose-built for government, education, and corporate buyers who need greater control, visibility, and cost savings.
The Staples Advantage program is a dedicated procurement platform for organizations. Institutions that set up a Staples Business Advantage account get access to a comprehensive suite of features tailored to the higher education sector.
These include:
A Staples Business Advantage account provides savings and access to the products, tools, and data you need to turn procurement into a strategic advantage. However, there are ways to increase savings and leverage even greater discounts by utilizing a cooperative contract with Staples through E&I Cooperative Services.
E&I Cooperative Services takes your spending a step further by negotiating an even more competitive Staples contract on behalf of its members.
As the only member-owned, nonprofit purchasing cooperative focused exclusively on education, E&I aggregates the purchasing power of 6,000 academic institutions to drive deeper discounts and unlock extra value.
Advantages of using the Staples contract through E&I include:
Joining the Staples Advantage program through E&I is simple and fast. Just follow a few steps and you can start saving immediately.
E&I and Staples work together to ensure that your Staples Business Advantage account reflects your unique requirements, from financial controls to product availability.
Anything in the full Staples catalog of thousands of products is available through the Staples Advantage program. Here are some of the more common categories and products that colleges and universities utilize.
Category | Example Products |
Office Supplies | – Pens & highlighters |
Facilities Products | – Light bulbs & ballasts |
Janitorial & Sanitation | – Disinfectant sprays & wipes |
Furniture | – Adjustable desks |
Technology | – Monitors & docking stations – Computers |
Promotional | – Branded apparel (T-shirts, hats) |
Print & Marketing | – Business cards |
To maximize the impact of your business solutions at Staples for higher education institutions, you should adopt a set of modern procurement strategies that prioritize efficiency, oversight, and sustainability.
Working with fewer suppliers reduces administrative overhead, simplifies billing, and increases bargaining power. With a broad selection of products, you may be able to eliminate buying from other suppliers and reduce your procurement workload while also achieving greater savings.
By integrating the product catalog with your eProcurement platform, you can:
The Staples Advantage program includes real-time tracking for spending under contract. This allows you to monitor usage by department, automatically categorize spend, and support your budgeting efforts.
You can see at a glance which products are purchased, helping you to tailor your preferred options for greater savings.
You can use catalog filters to encourage eco-preferred products and track institutional progress. Staples offers some 20,000 environmentally friendly product options and provides the reporting you need to document your sustainability efforts.
Staples also prioritizes eco-friendly delivery options to further reduce your downstream carbon footprint. In addition, Staples is halfway through its five-year plan to drive environmental improvements. By 2028, the company has committed to:
With user-level permissions, administrators can give departments purchasing autonomy while still enforcing policy at a system-wide level. That means fewer bottlenecks, more accountability, and a significant reduction in maverick spending that can produce higher costs and compliance nightmares.
Staples has strategic alliances with independently owned and operated diverse resellers to help make these businesses more accessible. Products and services are included in the offerings, including:
Through the E&I Staples contract, you gain access to certified diverse suppliers to help you meet your goals. Unlike some other contracts, there is no upcharge for delivery using diverse suppliers. If you buy from Staples and specify delivery through a minority supplier, your costs are the same.
In higher education, procurement teams are tasked with saving money and minimizing institutional risk. When faculty and staff purchase from retail websites or unauthorized suppliers, they expose the institution to compliance issues, budget overruns, and even legal liability.
By centralizing purchasing through a Staples Business Advantage account, procurement teams have greater control over what is purchased, from whom, and at what price. This consistency protects the institution from off-contract purchases and aligns spend with the pre-negotiated pricing in the Staples Advantage program.
Through integration with existing financial and ERP systems, institutions can automatically apply policy checks at the point of purchase, which means fewer surprises at audit time and better alignment with procurement standards.
Sometimes the biggest barrier to smarter procurement is internal buy-in. Faculty and administrators may be used to purchasing from public retail platforms or have their own preferred sources.
To help shift institutional behavior, procurement leaders should showcase the tangible benefits of using the Staples Advantage program through E&I.
One overlooked benefit of using the Staples contract via E&I is the ongoing training and support. Procurement teams and department-level users have access to onboarding sessions, and how-to resources. Staples also assigns a dedicated support team that understands the nuances of the education sector to give you the support you need.
Whether you’re navigating punchout catalog configurations, adjusting delivery preferences, or analyzing sustainability metrics, Staples can give you the personalized attention you need.
The Staples Business Advantage platform, combined with E&I’s competitively solicited Staples contract, offers a powerful way for colleges and universities to modernize their procurement. With better pricing, real-time insights, sustainability tracking, and strong compliance features, higher education institutions can align purchasing with broader institutional goals, whether that’s reducing cost, minimizing risk, or achieving diversity and environmental targets.
If you’re ready to transform your procurement strategy, check out the Staples contract at E&I along with hundreds of other cooperative agreements, tailored to the unique needs of higher education.
Can I get next-day delivery and custom pricing through the Staples contract?
Most participating institutions receive next-business-day delivery, and pricing is customized based on your institution’s purchasing volume and contract terms.
Will I save more using an E&I contract or going direct with Staples Business Advantage?
E&I’s competitively solicited Staples contract offers deeper discounts and additional incentives compared to going direct.
How do I customize our catalog to limit what departments can order?
Your assigned Staples representative will help configure a punchout catalog tailored to your institution’s policies and purchasing restrictions.
Can I track sustainability metrics for our office supply purchases?
Yes. The Staples platform includes sustainability reporting that shows metrics on recycled content, energy savings, and environmentally preferred products.
Is the Staples Advantage program available to community colleges and K–12 institutions?
While we’ve focused on higher education, any academic institution that is a member of E&I Cooperative Services can benefit from a Staples Business Advantage account through E&I. If you are not already a member, you can sign up online. There is no cost to become a member of E&I and no minimum purchasing obligation.
See how your institution can benefit when you buy business solutions and office products at Staples using a cooperative agreement at E&I Cooperative Services. If you have questions, you can contact your E&I rep for personalized support and guidance.
