March 30, 2021
Beginning on March 31, 2021, Brown Enterprise Solutions (BES) will replace Office Depot as the preferred supplier of office supplies at Ohio University. The Inter-University Council of Ohio (IUC) voted to adopt BES as the preferred supplier in the fall and OHIO will take part in the contract, making this catalog available on March 31, 2021. BES will be the only office supply provider in BobcatBUY under University policy, all other catalogs will be closed/disabled (our contract pricing with Office Depot ends March 31). When you log in to BobcatBUY, select the BES Office Supplies to browse the catalog.
Ohio University strives to cultivate relationships with vendors and suppliers recognized by the State of Ohio as Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) and Encouraging Diversity, Growth, and Equity (EDGE). BES is a certified MBE and EDGE company in the state of Ohio. BES has a strategic alliance with Staples for distribution, delivery, and account support.
The BES catalog will be available on BobcatBUY beginning on March 31. All supply orders should be placed through the BES program to ensure the best overall savings and program management as well as to support a minority-owned company and our community. The BES catalog is powered by Staples and utilizes the same look and feel. If you have shopped in the Staples catalog before, this will not be a brand-new experience. Additionally, any orders placed before March 31 will be fulfilled by Office Depot or Staples as placed.
To learn about the program, join the BES team this week for an awareness session. Choose the session below that best fits your schedule. If you haven’t already, click the link and then choose “Accept” or save the file to your Outlook calendar.
Monday, April 5th at 2 pm ET
> Add to Your Calendar
Tuesday, April 6th at 10 am ET
> Add to Your Calendar
With BES, here are just some of the things you have to look forward to:
• Easy ordering through BobcatBUY• Fast and free delivery on supplies
• Fast and free next-business-day delivery with distribution and support from Staples
Join the BES Account Management team for a training/ Q&A session that best fits your schedule. This session includes:
• Meet the BES and Staples team• See an ordering demonstration
• Get answers to any questions you may have
If you can’t attend one of these sessions, there will be comprehensive training materials on the BobcatBUY Systems Page .
The BES Office Supplies catalog will be added to BobcatBuy beginning March 31st.