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Several department administrators have expressed frustration with the new office supplies contract recently implemented by the College, saying that staff were not consulted about the contractual change and that new copy machines are inferior to the previous models.

The contract is one of several cost-saving initiatives taken by the College to meet budget goals. It requires faculty and staff to order supplies from a single source, according to a letter from Procurement Services Director Tammy Moffatt addressed to Service Employees International Union local 560 President Earl Sweet describing the changes.

Moffatt’s letter stated that College administrators worked with staff members and Deloitte & Touche consultants to make the decision, which was implemented on Sept. 29. By entering into a contract with a “preferred partner” and limiting the number of choices Dartmouth employees have for ordering items like pens and paper, the College will save $400,000, according to the letter, though the letter did not specify the period in which the savings would occur.

Copy machines throughout campus were replaced as part of a switch to W.B. Mason as the sole provider of office supplies to the College. Ricoh machines have replaced those produced by Conway, Dartmouth’s previous copy machine contractor.

Faculty and staff received a general notice announcing the change in late summer, according to Gail Vernazza, administrator of the history department. Vernazza took issue with Moffatt’s letter, saying that department administrators had no input in the decision to change to W.B. Mason and were only notified that the copy machines would be changed and the date that the new machines would be delivered.

Another department administrator, who asked to speak not for attribution, concurred with Vernazza’s statements.

“A lot of faculty feel that this has not been discussed with them,” the administrator said. “Changes were made from the top down, and administrators felt that it was demeaning that they were not included in the decision.”

Vernazza said that the office supplier change means that faculty and staff now only have access to a limited range of supplies, since they can only order products offered by W.B. Mason and will no longer be reimbursed for items bought from other stores.

Two other department administrators, who also spoke not for attribution, said they feel that the copy machine switch has created significant problems, adding that the transition has not been smooth.

The administrators said the College entered into contract with W.B. Mason before the end of its contract with Conway, which provided the previous machines. As a result, departments are still being billed for a machine that has already been taken out, while simultaneously paying for the new Ricoh machines, one administrator said.

“The way [the switch] was handled was terrible,” one administrator said. “We were told very suddenly that our old machines would be taken away and replaced. We were told that the new ones would be like-for-like, that the company would work with us for scheduling and delivery times and that we would get IT support and training, and none of that has been true.”

Vernazza said faculty and staff were told that their machines would be replaced with nearly identical models, but some of the new models do not have faxing capabilities.

Department administrators said the new machines are much slower, less efficient and lack many of the features that were available on the Conway machines, such hole punching and flash drive support.

Some of the new machines were not initially able to connect to computers and print from them directly, according to the second department administrator.

Although the College Procurement Office stated in its letter that the changes will save the College $400,000, administrators said those savings will not be reflected in departmental budgets.

Many of the machines that have arrived on campus so far were installed during the first two weeks of Fall term, according to one of the department administrators who spoke anonymously. The timing of the installation — during the busiest weeks of the term — was a poor choice, the administrator said.

“These are cost-saving efforts that end up costing a lot more time and productivity,” one administrator said. “You save a penny, but you lose a dollar.”

The new machines have broken frequently since the installation, creating a strain on multiple departments, administrators said. Four or five departments often share a single machine for class material, transcripts and other paperwork.

“They’re used by everyone, everyday, and it’s a mess when they don’t work,” the second anonymous department administrator said.

Representatives from Procurement Services declined to comment when contacted by The Dartmouth.

Currently, academic departments are charged for the monthly rental of the machine and are billed quarterly for the amount printed, in addition to a base rental fee for each machine, Vernazza said.

Although Vernazza said contracts were put up to bid when they expired in the past, the other department administrators said they had been told the W.B. Mason contract was not put up to bid at all, even though competitive bids are required when the College spends over $5,000, according to one of the administrators.
Original Post
The story seems to be misleading. It reads as if WB Mason is now selling Ricoh machines. When I read that I almost flipped.

I found the following story which states they are using Ricoh for the copiers and Mason separately for their office supplies.

Strategic Budget Reduction & Investment (SBRI) Update #3: Improving Purchasing Power at Dartmouth; Office Supplies and Copiers/Multifunction Devices Dear Colleagues:

Everyone in the Dartmouth community can make a difference in reducing the cost of what we buy through more effective purchasing of goods and services. When we leverage the buying power of the institution, we are able to create savings and improve services through the use of preferred vendors. We have analyzed all that we spend at Dartmouth and divided our spending into 26 categories. In the categories where our purchasing has been centralized, such as benefits and construction, we have begun to take action. In the other categories where purchasing has been more decentralized, we are now focusing on eight categories, with more to follow, where there are clear opportunities for savings and service improvements without compromising the ability of faculty and staff to achieve the mission of the College.

In these other categories, the target for all of Dartmouth is to save $2-3 million in FY11 and a total of $4-6 million in FY12. These savings are important to resolving the $100 million budget gap and will carry forward into future years. Our approach is to join the expertise of the Procurement staff with that of others at Dartmouth who understand the requirements for quality and convenience. Together, we have formed partnerships in Customer Procurement Teams (CPT) with members drawn from across the campus to make choices that will be beneficial to the institution as a whole. Through the work of these teams, we have begun to leverage our buying power into new contracts. Simultaneously, we have also been reviewing best practices to maximize the use of the SciQuest Marketplace, our on-line catalog of preferred suppliers, and the appropriate use of Procurement Cards (P-Cards).

In this note, we are pleased to announce two categories -- office supplies and copiers/multifunction devices -- where changing vendors, combined with more strategic purchasing, means significant savings and improved service.



Copiers/Multifunction Devices

For Dartmouth's copiers/multifunction device needs, Ricoh has been selected as our vendor. The new agreement with Ricoh offers a higher quality of service than our present vendor offers and a savings in the first year of approximately $450,000. All large copiers/multifunction devices campus-wide will be replaced.

This will happen over several weeks beginning the week of September 27, 2010.

We have been working diligently with Ricoh on planning for the upcoming transition to minimize the impact this change will have on your day-to-day activities. For more information, please read these FAQs about copiers/multifunction devices.



Office Supplies

For Dartmouth's office supply needs, W.B. Mason has been selected. Our new agreement with W.B. Mason offers a higher quality of service than our present vendor offers and a savings in the first year of about $400,000. We will be transitioning to W.B. Mason on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 and will be offering training sessions for all department contacts responsible for ordering supplies. For more information, please read these FAQs about office supplies.



We appreciate your cooperation and patience during this important transition.

We value your insight and encourage you to continue to send your comments and ideas to improve our purchasing at Dartmouth to

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