As far as I understand, these contracts are of the hunting license type. You get the contract with the central office, then fill orders from the school building. Made lots of sense in a value chain economy and a one size fits all education system. It's the same rules for selling K-12 textbooks etc.
Is this going to make sense as power devolves to the school building? In NYC, Staples has a different arrangement. Prices are posted on the website, not negotiated once and for all. I would assume there is a discount for the Dept of Ed, but the real value is the ease of purchase.
What happens if Staples starts selling copiers, MFPs and textbooks to the school building?
What is going to happen when every principal in every building gets to choose from a competitive market? Copiers? MPS? Textbooks? Dancing Lessons? Are the globals going to be able to compete with independents? Are either of them going to be able to compete against Staples or Office Depot or Costco?
I don't know about you, but I'm seeing a swan swimming into view. And this is what it might sound like. And the opportunity for independents.
Free advice to independent MPS
Tell this story when you are up against the globals.
From Gotham Schools BlogHere's the chart:
The B.O.E. had multiple vendors that competed for the business, then when the D.O.E. came along only 3 vendors were hand picked to receive all the copier/duplicator business, under the guise that the city was going to save a ton of money. What a scam this seems to have been. This probably sounds like sour grapes but when talking to the schools since we were ousted, they never seem to have anything positive to say about the current arrangements. It’s time we had some good old American competition again.
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