Brown Enterprise Solutions Ordering Guide

Welcome Information
Brown Enterprise Solutions (BES) Customer Service
800-270-9102
Monday through Friday; 8am to 8pm EST
BES@ediversitynetwork.com
eProcurement Systems Ordering User Manual
Brown Enterprise Solutions/Staples Training and Ordering Demo Video

Welcome to Brown Enterprise Solutions

Kent State University’s source for Office Supplies!

Brown Enterprise Solutions (BES) is proud to support the business essentials and office supply needs of the students, faculty, staff and administrators of Kent State University. Through this program, Kent State will have access to a centralized program, experience overall cost savings on supplies, and have a dedicated account management team.

The agreement with BES was vetted through a competitively bid contract through the Inter-University Council of Ohio (IUC) and meets the Ohio Revised Code for bidding. It was negotiated using the buying power of the overall IUC membership, which drives larger savings than an individual member could typically obtain alone.

BES Customer Service is available to assist with day-to-day questions, delivery questions, product information, returns, etc.

Our Customer Service Representatives are available by phone, fax, and email to assist in any way possible (returns, shortages, order information, etc.). Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8 am to 8 pm ET by calling toll-free at 800-270-9102 or email at BES@ediversitynetwork.com.

We are pleased to announce our new office supply agreement with Kent State University effective April 18, 2016. Our partner, Office Depot, has demonstrated the ability to service our customers uniquely on a local and national level. We have chosen to work with Office Depot to provide you with your everyday office supply needs. Office Depot’s ordering website is highly ranked among all internet retailers in the country and designed for maximum online ordering experience and efficiency.

BES is an Ohio-certified Edge and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) company that specializes in technology products and office supplies, with physical offices in the Greater Columbus Ohio market. BES has a strategic alliance with Staples for sourcing, distribution, and account support.

Account features:

• Easy to navigate - find and order what you need quickly and efficiently
• Online returns
• Real time inventory and pricing
• Find accessories/supplies for your office machines (find all applicable toners and machine’s consumables by simply typing in your machines brand and model number)
• Create a personal shopping list
• View order status
• Price match guarantee on like for like or SKU for SKU items

Account Information:

Kent State BES Account #: 1870108

For program questions and special order requests, please contact the Kent State BES Account Manager:
Andre Johnson
Cell: 615-428-0838
Office: 614-588-0248 ext. 20
Email: ajohnson@besolutions.org

Ordering Method:

Kent State University will be ordering supplies via punchout from FlashCart.

Look for the BROWN Office Supplies catalog with the logo to order supplies.

Placing an Order:

1. Use your computer to access Kent State University's ordering platform, FlashCart
    
2. Login with your username and password. 
    
3. Shared shopping lists are available that will help identify the approved and preferred items selected for Kent State. Shopping Lists are displayed in the middle right of the home page, or under the “List” icon in the red menu bar on the top right of the page. You can also create personal shopping lists for your frequently ordered items to make it easy for future ordering.
    
4. Approved and preferred items selected for Kent State that offer the best overall savings are marked with a red “Preferred” flag. These should be your first choice when shopping to help keep overall supply costs low.
    
5. To shop, you can select items off a Shopping List, search for items using the search field, enter the item number if you know it, or choose the “Products” drop down menu in the upper left red menu bar and search available categories.
    
6. When you find an item you wish to order, select Add to Cart to add your desired product to your shopping cart.
    
7. Select “Review & Checkout” if you are ready to checkout, or “Continue Shopping” if you need to find additional products.
    
8. If you selected “Review & Checkout”, verify items in your cart are correct and complete any required information. Click “Submit Order” when you are ready to checkout.
    
9. You will receive email notifications from BES once your order has been received and throughout the fulfillment process.

Return an Item or Order

In the event that you need to return an item, please contact BES Customer Service toll-free 800-270-9102 or BES@ediversitynetwork.com Monday through Friday 8 am to 8 pm ET.

Deliveries:

Deliveries will typically be made the next business day, unless otherwise noted, provided your order was received by BES by 5 pm local time.

Freight:

Orders will be delivered free of charge. Please consolidate your orders where possible. Small orders use more cardboard and paper and increase operational processes. By consolidating orders into larger ones, you will reduce waste and increase efficiencies, which ultimately helps keep costs low and is more environmentally friendly.

Upon Receipt of Your Order:

Verify that all items on the packing slip listed as shipped are in your order. Any shortages, incorrect items, or damaged items should be reported to BES Customer Service as quickly as possible and within 3 to 5 days of delivery. Items on backorder will be noted on the packing slip.

Special Order Requests:

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Requestor contacts Brown Enterprise Solutions (BES) Account Manager with a request for a special order quote. Each order can contain only one line. Therefore, if you need to order several special order items you will need to have separate quotes for each item and place separate PR requests for each item.
    
2. BES Account Manager researches item(s) and emails quote(s) to Requestor.
    
3. Requestor logs into procurement system and uses the “Create Non-Catalog Item” tab to order the special item(s). Choose “BES” or “Brown Enterprise Solutions” as the supplier in the drop-down menu.
   • A specific character sequence needs to be entered into the “Item #” area for the correct item to be ordered. It should be typed as: $Q#quotenumber$.
   • The quote number will be at the top of the email received from Customer Service
   • The $Q# and $ symbols around the quote number are critical! If the information is not entered correctly the order will be rejected.
   • For example: Quote 514805 will be typed in as $Q#514805$
    
4. Requestor submits the order on the system.

Kent State Contact:

Larry McWilliams III, Strategic Sourcing Manager
Procurement Department
Office: 330-672-9196
Email: lmcwilli@kent.edu

Kent State BES Account Manager:

Andre Johnson
Cell: 615-428-0838
Office: 614-588-0248 ext. 20
Email: ajohnson@besolutions.org