Junk Mail Magic

Save needed reference pages before stopping supplier catalogs

Before you ask a supplier to stop sending paper catalogs, find out which pages your team actually uses. Then confirm the same information from the supplier's current source. Do not treat an old catalog as a current specification.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

Build the reference inventory

  1. Ask the people who order or specify products which catalog pages they open. Record the product, edition and page.
  2. Find each item on the supplier's current website or ask your account contact. Note where you found it and the date you checked.
  3. Where the current source differs from the printed page, record the difference and confirm which version applies to the product your team uses. Do not substitute specifications for a different model or edition.
  4. Name one colleague responsible for each reference.
  5. Decide which printed pages to keep as dated history and which to recycle.

Old pages describe old products

Prices, part numbers and dimensions can change between editions. A saved page records what the supplier published then. Mark it with its edition, the product it applies to and the date someone checked it. If the supplier now sells a different version, keep the old reference clearly labeled for the old product.

Reference inventory

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Product reference needed: Edition and page: Current supplier source checked (where, date): Difference from printed page: Responsible colleague: Future catalog preference (print / none / ask supplier): Sample request: Please stop mailing printed catalogs to [business name] at [address]. Where are current specifications for [product] published?

Ask where current information lives

When you ask the supplier to stop printed catalogs, also ask where current specifications are published and whether it can notify you when a product you rely on changes. Add the answer to the inventory so the responsible colleague knows where to check.

Official source

Choose one location for useful supplier catalogsReduce wholesale catalogs after changing product linesReview which supplier catalogs the office needsAsk for a digital catalog instead of paperBusiness mailAll practical mail guides

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