FriendsOffice will be closed on Monday, September 7th for Labor Day. Orders placed after 5pm EST on Friday will be processed when we return on Tuesday, September 8th.

Insights and Innovations

144 posts found
7 min

6 Reasons Your Office Supplier Might Be the Problem

Your office supplies might not be the problem. Your supplier could be. From automated customer service to delivery headaches and unexpected costs, six FriendsOffice leaders share what businesses should really consider when choosing a workplace supplier—and why the people behind the products matter more than you might think.
5 min

The People Who Put You First

What happens when a customer mistakes a real customer service representative for AI? FriendsOffice COO Peg Schroeder shares a memorable story that gets to the heart of what makes FriendsOffice different. After 28 years with the company, Peg explains why live customer service, personal relationships and putting people first still matter in an increasingly automated world.
5 min

The People Who Take Care of Business

Winning business is one thing. Taking care of customers is another. After 30 years in the office products industry, FriendsOffice VP of Sales & Marketing Kim Belknap knows the difference. Discover how one urgent delivery to a Columbus law firm demonstrates why having real people you can count on matters long after the sale.
6 min

The People Who Built FriendsOffice

After 35 years, FriendsOffice CEO Ken Schroeder has seen the company grow from a small Ohio office supply business into a regional workplace solutions provider. But when he reflects on what makes him proudest, it's not the growth or the numbers. It's the people who helped build it, the relationships that keep it growing and the personal service that still sets FriendsOffice apart.

The Right People Set the Standard

What makes a workplace project run smoothly? The right people, working together. From commercial furniture planning and installation to supply chain coordination and customer communication, see how FriendsOffice makes going above and beyond the standard, not the exception.
5 min

The People Behind the Order

What happens between placing an order and putting it to work? From furniture installation and classroom packed school orders to logistics, delivery and problem solving, meet the people behind the order at FriendsOffice.
5 min

Where People Still Matter

Technology has changed how organizations buy and manage workplace products, but it hasn’t replaced the value of relationships. See how FriendsOffice combines AI, automation, purchasing technology and real people to help customers work more efficiently without losing personal service.
5 min

Why FriendsOffice Lets You Customize How You Order

Want to order without talking to anyone? Great. Need an actual person? Even better. FriendsOffice customers can customize how they order, manage spending and receive deliveries because self service should never mean you’re on your own.
8 min

All With the Help of Your Friends

You can buy a case of paper, a desk chair or a box of trash liners almost anywhere. The difference becomes much clearer when your organization doesn’t fit neatly inside the box. Here’s what “Everything for People at Work” really means at FriendsOffice.
1 min

Industry Update: Neenah Paper Warehouse Damaged by Tornado

On Monday, July 27, 2026, a tornado caused significant damage to Neenah’s Wisconsin manufacturing facility. We are relieved that no serious injuries have been reported, and our thoughts are with the Neenah team, their families, and the surrounding communities as they begin the recovery process.
6 min

The Work You Do Before Year-End Starts Now

The work your organization wants finished by year-end often needs to start long before December. From budgets and furniture projects to holiday print, promotional products, facility needs and 2027 planning, September is the time to get ahead and decide what you do not need to manage alone.
5 min

Your Purchasing System Might Be the Problem

Managing purchasing across multiple locations takes more than getting products from Point A to Point B. See how the right procurement system can create consistency, visibility, and control at scale without sacrificing the flexibility and personal service each location needs.
10 min

The Metrics That Matter in Workplace Procurement

The price of a product is only one measure of procurement performance. Discover the metrics that help organizations understand their true cost to procure, from purchasing patterns and inventory to returns, delivery, vendor management, and more.
8 min

How Large Organizations Reduce Office Supply Costs Without Sacrificing Service

Reducing office supply costs is about more than finding the lowest price. Learn how large organizations use smarter procurement, standardization, reporting, inventory management, delivery efficiencies, and responsive service to reduce total purchasing costs.
3 min

What Happens When Your Order Isn't Right?

The true value of a workplace partner isn't measured when an order goes perfectly. It's measured by how quickly they help when plans change. Learn why returns, credits, and responsive support are essential parts of the procurement process.
4 min

Why August Is One of the Most Important Planning Months of the Year

August is one of the most important planning months of the year. Discover the workplace projects, procurement strategies, and planning habits that help organizations prepare for a successful second half of the year.
4 min

Why One Project Should Not Feel Like Ten Different Jobs

Every project has moving pieces. Discover how one trusted workplace partner can simplify communication, coordinate vendors, and help your organization spend less time managing projects and more time moving them forward.
4 min

Why the Best Office Furniture Projects Don't End After Installation

With FriendsOffice, commercial furniture projects don't end after installation. We help organizations adapt to growth, reconfigure existing workspaces, and create environments that continue supporting their people for years to come.
5 min

7 Questions That Can Save Time, Money, and Headaches

The second half of the year arrives faster than most organizations expect. This mid-year workplace checkup outlines seven practical questions to help improve procurement, workplace planning, budgeting, furniture planning, inventory management, and operational efficiency before fall.
4 min

We're Expanding and Reinvesting in the Future of FriendsOffice

FriendsOffice is expanding with a new warehouse at our corporate headquarters. While the additional space is important, the real story is how this investment strengthens inventory management, furniture project staging, school supply fulfillment, and our ability to support customers across multiple locations for years to come.
4 min

5 Workplace Design Trends We Brought Home from NeoCon 2026

FriendsOffice team members attended NeoCon 2026 to explore the latest workplace design trends shaping offices, healthcare facilities, educational spaces, and public environments. Here are the five trends we believe will have the biggest impact on workplace design in 2026 and beyond.
3 min

How Do Organizations Simplify Purchasing Without Sacrificing Service?

Managing multiple vendors can create unnecessary complexity. Learn how organizations simplify purchasing, improve visibility, and maintain service without sacrificing expertise.
5 min

Who Should You Work With for Workplace Solutions in Ohio?

Choosing a workplace solutions partner is about more than products. Learn what organizations should look for in a provider and how the right partner can simplify procurement, support multiple locations, and help your people do their best work.
3 min

What Most Organizations Don’t Realize They Need for Summer Events and Golf Outings

The best events feel effortless to attendees because someone paid attention to the details behind the scenes. In many ways, we operate as an extension of our customers’ teams. We already understand our customers’ branding standards, timelines, and preferences; many of these materials can be coordinated quickly and consistently.
4 min

The WRITE Grant Supports Classrooms Across Our Communities

Every selected teacher identified specific items found on FriendsOffice.com and thoughtfully tied those products to a defined outcome for their students. Their ideas were not only creative, but practical and implementable.
2 min

What You Need to Know Before Your End-of-Year Spending Deadline

End-of-year spending is more than using the remaining budget. Learn how to plan office supplies, furniture, and facility needs to maximize value.
2 min

Office Supply and Furniture Support for Organizations That Can’t Afford Delays

We are privately held, relationship-driven, and built for long-term partnerships. At the same time, we are a team structured to respond, adapt, and support organizations at scale. That means our customers do not have to choose between consistency and responsiveness. They get both.
4 min

10 Common Misconceptions About Office Supply and Furniture Partners

If your organization is operating based on long-standing assumptions, it may be worth revisiting. Small shifts in perspective can lead to meaningful improvements in efficiency, consistency, and overall support.
3 min

Why Organizations Are Rethinking Office Supply and Furniture Partners

The assumption is often that scale requires standardization at the expense of service. In reality, the most effective organizations find ways to achieve both.

When Workplace Design Impacts More Than Just Appearance

Workplace design impacts performance by enhancing productivity, flow, and experience. Learn how commercial furniture, layout, and expert planning create spaces that work for you.
3 min

Everything for People at Work Starts with a Plan

The strongest systems are not built around products. They are built around how people work. We help people at work by helping organizations plan, align, and operate more effectively.
2 min

Support for the Way Your Facility Runs

Small adjustments in how supplies are planned and managed often lead to meaningful improvements across an entire facility. We manage custodial systems for facilities that need predictability, consistency, and readiness.
2 min

Why Furniture Planning Should Start Before Your Fiscal Year Ends

We help facilities and organizations that operate on public-sector timelines plan more effectively. If your organization is approaching a fiscal year deadline, now is the time to evaluate upcoming furniture needs.
3 min

Office City Express joins forces with FriendsOffice

Office City Express has officially merged with FriendsOffice, creating a stronger partnership to better serve you. This merger brings an expanded product catalog, bigger savings, and faster, more reliable shipping for all customers. Log in at FriendsOffice.com to access your enhanced benefits immediately. This move strengthens service for businesses everywhere.
2 min

Why Teachers Shouldn’t Be Sorting Supply Boxes in August

This approach removes the need for schools to break down bulk pallets or manage building-wide redistribution. Administrators and custodial teams can focus on facility preparation, while teachers return to classrooms that are equipped and ready for instruction.
2 min

Before You Submit Your School Supply Order, Read This

FriendsOffice organizes and repacks supplies by classroom before delivery. Instead of pallets of mixed materials that must be sorted by school staff, classrooms receive what they need, clearly organized and ready to be placed.
Total 144 posts
show per page

Latest Posts

Insights and Innovations

144 posts found
7 min

6 Reasons Your Office Supplier Might Be the Problem

Your office supplies might not be the problem. Your supplier could be. From automated customer service to delivery headaches and unexpected costs, six FriendsOffice leaders share what businesses should really consider when choosing a workplace supplier—and why the people behind the products matter more than you might think.
5 min

The People Who Put You First

What happens when a customer mistakes a real customer service representative for AI? FriendsOffice COO Peg Schroeder shares a memorable story that gets to the heart of what makes FriendsOffice different. After 28 years with the company, Peg explains why live customer service, personal relationships and putting people first still matter in an increasingly automated world.
5 min

The People Who Take Care of Business

Winning business is one thing. Taking care of customers is another. After 30 years in the office products industry, FriendsOffice VP of Sales & Marketing Kim Belknap knows the difference. Discover how one urgent delivery to a Columbus law firm demonstrates why having real people you can count on matters long after the sale.
6 min

The People Who Built FriendsOffice

After 35 years, FriendsOffice CEO Ken Schroeder has seen the company grow from a small Ohio office supply business into a regional workplace solutions provider. But when he reflects on what makes him proudest, it's not the growth or the numbers. It's the people who helped build it, the relationships that keep it growing and the personal service that still sets FriendsOffice apart.

The Right People Set the Standard

What makes a workplace project run smoothly? The right people, working together. From commercial furniture planning and installation to supply chain coordination and customer communication, see how FriendsOffice makes going above and beyond the standard, not the exception.
5 min

The People Behind the Order

What happens between placing an order and putting it to work? From furniture installation and classroom packed school orders to logistics, delivery and problem solving, meet the people behind the order at FriendsOffice.
5 min

Where People Still Matter

Technology has changed how organizations buy and manage workplace products, but it hasn’t replaced the value of relationships. See how FriendsOffice combines AI, automation, purchasing technology and real people to help customers work more efficiently without losing personal service.
5 min

Why FriendsOffice Lets You Customize How You Order

Want to order without talking to anyone? Great. Need an actual person? Even better. FriendsOffice customers can customize how they order, manage spending and receive deliveries because self service should never mean you’re on your own.
8 min

All With the Help of Your Friends

You can buy a case of paper, a desk chair or a box of trash liners almost anywhere. The difference becomes much clearer when your organization doesn’t fit neatly inside the box. Here’s what “Everything for People at Work” really means at FriendsOffice.
1 min

Industry Update: Neenah Paper Warehouse Damaged by Tornado

On Monday, July 27, 2026, a tornado caused significant damage to Neenah’s Wisconsin manufacturing facility. We are relieved that no serious injuries have been reported, and our thoughts are with the Neenah team, their families, and the surrounding communities as they begin the recovery process.
6 min

The Work You Do Before Year-End Starts Now

The work your organization wants finished by year-end often needs to start long before December. From budgets and furniture projects to holiday print, promotional products, facility needs and 2027 planning, September is the time to get ahead and decide what you do not need to manage alone.
5 min

Your Purchasing System Might Be the Problem

Managing purchasing across multiple locations takes more than getting products from Point A to Point B. See how the right procurement system can create consistency, visibility, and control at scale without sacrificing the flexibility and personal service each location needs.
10 min

The Metrics That Matter in Workplace Procurement

The price of a product is only one measure of procurement performance. Discover the metrics that help organizations understand their true cost to procure, from purchasing patterns and inventory to returns, delivery, vendor management, and more.
8 min

How Large Organizations Reduce Office Supply Costs Without Sacrificing Service

Reducing office supply costs is about more than finding the lowest price. Learn how large organizations use smarter procurement, standardization, reporting, inventory management, delivery efficiencies, and responsive service to reduce total purchasing costs.
3 min

What Happens When Your Order Isn't Right?

The true value of a workplace partner isn't measured when an order goes perfectly. It's measured by how quickly they help when plans change. Learn why returns, credits, and responsive support are essential parts of the procurement process.
4 min

Why August Is One of the Most Important Planning Months of the Year

August is one of the most important planning months of the year. Discover the workplace projects, procurement strategies, and planning habits that help organizations prepare for a successful second half of the year.
4 min

Why One Project Should Not Feel Like Ten Different Jobs

Every project has moving pieces. Discover how one trusted workplace partner can simplify communication, coordinate vendors, and help your organization spend less time managing projects and more time moving them forward.
4 min

Why the Best Office Furniture Projects Don't End After Installation

With FriendsOffice, commercial furniture projects don't end after installation. We help organizations adapt to growth, reconfigure existing workspaces, and create environments that continue supporting their people for years to come.
5 min

7 Questions That Can Save Time, Money, and Headaches

The second half of the year arrives faster than most organizations expect. This mid-year workplace checkup outlines seven practical questions to help improve procurement, workplace planning, budgeting, furniture planning, inventory management, and operational efficiency before fall.
4 min

We're Expanding and Reinvesting in the Future of FriendsOffice

FriendsOffice is expanding with a new warehouse at our corporate headquarters. While the additional space is important, the real story is how this investment strengthens inventory management, furniture project staging, school supply fulfillment, and our ability to support customers across multiple locations for years to come.
4 min

5 Workplace Design Trends We Brought Home from NeoCon 2026

FriendsOffice team members attended NeoCon 2026 to explore the latest workplace design trends shaping offices, healthcare facilities, educational spaces, and public environments. Here are the five trends we believe will have the biggest impact on workplace design in 2026 and beyond.
3 min

How Do Organizations Simplify Purchasing Without Sacrificing Service?

Managing multiple vendors can create unnecessary complexity. Learn how organizations simplify purchasing, improve visibility, and maintain service without sacrificing expertise.
5 min

Who Should You Work With for Workplace Solutions in Ohio?

Choosing a workplace solutions partner is about more than products. Learn what organizations should look for in a provider and how the right partner can simplify procurement, support multiple locations, and help your people do their best work.
3 min

What Most Organizations Don’t Realize They Need for Summer Events and Golf Outings

The best events feel effortless to attendees because someone paid attention to the details behind the scenes. In many ways, we operate as an extension of our customers’ teams. We already understand our customers’ branding standards, timelines, and preferences; many of these materials can be coordinated quickly and consistently.
4 min

The WRITE Grant Supports Classrooms Across Our Communities

Every selected teacher identified specific items found on FriendsOffice.com and thoughtfully tied those products to a defined outcome for their students. Their ideas were not only creative, but practical and implementable.
2 min

What You Need to Know Before Your End-of-Year Spending Deadline

End-of-year spending is more than using the remaining budget. Learn how to plan office supplies, furniture, and facility needs to maximize value.
2 min

Office Supply and Furniture Support for Organizations That Can’t Afford Delays

We are privately held, relationship-driven, and built for long-term partnerships. At the same time, we are a team structured to respond, adapt, and support organizations at scale. That means our customers do not have to choose between consistency and responsiveness. They get both.
4 min

10 Common Misconceptions About Office Supply and Furniture Partners

If your organization is operating based on long-standing assumptions, it may be worth revisiting. Small shifts in perspective can lead to meaningful improvements in efficiency, consistency, and overall support.
3 min

Why Organizations Are Rethinking Office Supply and Furniture Partners

The assumption is often that scale requires standardization at the expense of service. In reality, the most effective organizations find ways to achieve both.

When Workplace Design Impacts More Than Just Appearance

Workplace design impacts performance by enhancing productivity, flow, and experience. Learn how commercial furniture, layout, and expert planning create spaces that work for you.
3 min

Everything for People at Work Starts with a Plan

The strongest systems are not built around products. They are built around how people work. We help people at work by helping organizations plan, align, and operate more effectively.
2 min

Support for the Way Your Facility Runs

Small adjustments in how supplies are planned and managed often lead to meaningful improvements across an entire facility. We manage custodial systems for facilities that need predictability, consistency, and readiness.
2 min

Why Furniture Planning Should Start Before Your Fiscal Year Ends

We help facilities and organizations that operate on public-sector timelines plan more effectively. If your organization is approaching a fiscal year deadline, now is the time to evaluate upcoming furniture needs.
3 min

Office City Express joins forces with FriendsOffice

Office City Express has officially merged with FriendsOffice, creating a stronger partnership to better serve you. This merger brings an expanded product catalog, bigger savings, and faster, more reliable shipping for all customers. Log in at FriendsOffice.com to access your enhanced benefits immediately. This move strengthens service for businesses everywhere.
2 min

Why Teachers Shouldn’t Be Sorting Supply Boxes in August

This approach removes the need for schools to break down bulk pallets or manage building-wide redistribution. Administrators and custodial teams can focus on facility preparation, while teachers return to classrooms that are equipped and ready for instruction.
2 min

Before You Submit Your School Supply Order, Read This

FriendsOffice organizes and repacks supplies by classroom before delivery. Instead of pallets of mixed materials that must be sorted by school staff, classrooms receive what they need, clearly organized and ready to be placed.
Total 144 posts
show per page

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