Streamlining K-12 Print Operations at Scale

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Overview

Office Depot Business partnered with a 143-campus, multi-region charter school system spanning 11 regions in the United States and enrolling nearly 100,000 students throughout the academic year. As a decentralized network, the school system relies on a uniform self-created curriculum.

School systems generally source curriculum either by developing it internally or by drawing on Open Educational Resources (OER). Regardless of the source, getting materials efficiently and consistently can be an operational challenge.

For this school system, the organization determined it needed a more efficient, scalable way to source and distribute its self-developed curriculum materials.

To accomplish this, the school system partnered with Office Depot Business to design a comprehensive centralized print solution that advances classroom success and streamlines procurement and distribution across the organization.

To facilitate the partnership, the school system leveraged its existing contract through a GPO Cooperative. Procuring through a GPO Cooperative allowed the school system to engage Office Depot Business without the time and cost burden of a standalone competitive bid process, while still meeting all public sector procurement requirements.

Print Complexity Across a Multi-Region Organization

Prior to their partnership with ODP, the school system relied primarily on local and third-party vendors to produce materials, with some printing handled internally. This approach to coordinating print operations placed a significant burden on organizational resources, resulting in:

A disjointed and complex process of distributing materials within the organization that was difficult to manage.
A notable demand on staff capacity to manage orders and print production, diverting focus from instructional priorities and day-to-day operations.
Cost inefficiencies from the consumption of commodities such as ink, paper, and toner, as well as copier leases from school to school.
A lack of visibility into overall print costs that limits effective management of expenses and draws resources away from classroom instruction and student support.
An increase in the risk of circulating outdated, delayed, or inconsistent curriculum materials as a result of relying on a fragmented process.

The school system sought to standardize print operations internally, but the effort put further pressure on their resources. A more scalable, centralized solution was needed.

A Centralized Print Solution at Scale

Through a collaborative partnership with a GPO partner, Office Depot Business transformed print operations with a centralized solution across all campuses.

Key elements of ODP's support included:

Streamlined procurement by consolidating orders through a single source, reducing administrative complexity and freeing staff from managing multiple vendors, processes, reporting, shipments and invoices.
Precise ordering capability by grade level and content, mitigating duplicate orders.
Standardized sourcing of self-created curriculum materials throughout the organization, improving timely, accurate distribution.
Price-competitive, on-demand ordering for one-off needs, giving campuses the flexibility to quickly fulfill unexpected or supplemental print requests without disrupting established procurement workflows.
Flexible delivery to support the school system's structure. Options include consolidated shipment to a single, system-wide warehouse for internal redistribution, direct delivery to multiple individual campuses across all regions, and palletized delivery for high-volume orders, all configured to match each campus's operational needs and receiving capacity.
Classroom-ready packaging with clear labeling by content and grade level for efficient on-site distribution.
Consistent, competitive pricing for better visibility into print and procurement costs, supporting more predictable budgeting and allowing resources to be directed toward student-focused priorities.

Planning and Implementation

ODP worked closely with the school system's leadership to understand the organization's needs, including timelines and volume requirements. Early in the process, ODP developed a production schedule and budget estimates to help the school system plan ahead and allocate resources effectively.

A custom project management system developed by ODP helped manage communication with key contacts at each campus, providing clear, consistent tracking of requirements, status, and timelines. Additionally, a self-service quoting tool allowed campuses to quickly generate budget estimates and place orders for supplemental materials. ODP coordinated a paced distribution schedule with the school system to maximize material availability without overburdening campus space and resources.

Operational Impact

The centralized print program produced measurable improvements in three key areas for the school system's administration and schools:

Efficiency

Transitioning from multiple vendors and internal printing to a single, standardized process simplified sourcing, production and distribution of materials.
Time spent ordering, sorting, and preparing materials internally was reduced, reclaiming significant hours of staff and teacher time.

Cost Savings

Leveraging the GPO Cooperative contract allowed the school system to simplify procurement, access competitively sourced pricing, and implement a scalable print solution through a cooperative purchasing vehicle that eliminated the time and complexity of a separate bid process.
Reduced reliance on internal printing and related supply and equipment costs freed up the school system's budget and instructional priorities.

Control

Procuring through the GPO Cooperative contract eliminated the need for a separate, lengthy bid process, reducing procurement overhead and accelerating time to implementation.

Improving visibility into print spend, volumes, and delivery times allowed for better planning, forecasting and budget management for the school system.
Standardizing sourcing and production for print materials strengthened consistency and version control across campuses.
Transitioning to a more strategic, centralized purchasing model reduced ad hoc spending and supported fiscal decision-making.

ODP's approach to streamlining print operations provided a framework for the school system to more effectively manage curriculum materials at scale, strengthening school operations.

Partner Perspective

The value of ODP's centralized print model is also reflected in feedback from other large, multi-campus school systems. One Texas Charter School Network cited Office Depot Business' ability to adapt to evolving curriculum needs, manage complex production timelines and simplify distribution across campuses as key factors in supporting instructional operations and reducing administrative burden.

“Knowing that Office Depot Business completely commands our physical print ecosystem gives our leadership team the logistical peace of mind required to focus on what matters most: driving student achievement and supporting frontline educators.”

– Robert N. Yee, Curriculum Manager at Texas Charter School Network

Why This Worked

Bolstered by over decades serving school districts and producing K-12 materials across both self-developed and OER curriculum, ODP delivered a turnkey print program that helped improve efficiency, cost control, and consistency for this 143-campus school system. ODP's centralized model supports a large, multi-region network of schools while maintaining flexible delivery options.

By leveraging an existing GPO Cooperative contract, the school system was able to bypass a lengthy bid process and move quickly toward a centralized solution, without sacrificing compliance or competitive pricing. This streamlined path to partnership meant the school system could focus less on procurement logistics and more on what mattered most: getting the right materials into the right classrooms.

Partnering with ODP provided the school system with a single point of accountability for print, procurement, and distribution, replacing a multi-vendor network with one coordinated approach. ODP's processes further helped simplify forecasting and ordering at scale for users. Together, these elements helped reduce operational burden, improve consistency, and enable the school system to distribute curriculum materials more efficiently across all campuses.

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