Frequently Asked Questions about Inkwell

We manage and finance printer consumables for our customers with a unique stock management system.

We supply ink & toner cartridges and other consumables used by ICT departments. We work with you to decide how much initial stock you need – we advise, but you have the last word – and we supply you with no initial outlay or cost to you. Once a month we check the stock to see how much you have used and invoice you just for what you have used. We then replenish the stock. Delivery is free and there are no hidden costs.

Unlike the traditional ‘buying and stocking up’ method, our customers don’t pay for items until they’ve used them.

No we don’t.

Why’s that?

Because we don’t need one. Some suppliers tie their customers into a contract for a few years, promising to maintain prices. (Which is a bit odd, considering prices tend to go down as well as up anyway.)

If you really want to stop using the Inkwell for Schools system, you can. But we’re confident that our time and money saving service will make you want to stay for the long term.

Putting in our stock and maintaining it for your use means you’ll never over-order, or run out of what you need. And you’ll never end up with obsolete stock. We monitor your usage and adjust your stock levels to ensure that you always have the right amount of stock available to you.

The stock that we deliver to your premises isn’t yours. It’s ours. And because this stock is ours, you don’t have to worry about how much you have spent and whether what you have bought can be used in a reasonable time. Meaning the money you had tied up in stock can be used for other things instead.

No it doesn’t. Our system is driven by your usage, something which we can’t influence. If you need it, you use it. That’s it.

We can’t increase your spending with cut-price deals or any of that other stuff. With the Inkwell system you will only pay for what you used – not what’s been sold to you. And you’ll be telling us what you have used – so you remain in complete control. If you don’t use it – you don’t pay for it.

You only get charged for items after you’ve used them so if we send it and you don’t use it – you don’t pay for it.

We invoice you for the difference between what we have delivered to you and the amount you have left when the monthly stock check is done – so we can’t invoice you for anything that you haven’t used.

You always have a copy of the stock count, which also details your monthly stock usage, and you will get delivery notes with all of your deliveries, so you have a complete audit trail for everything that happens with your stock.

Once a month. If you think your usage rate is too high for this – you can do it more more often.

We have an easy to use online system that you will be given access to. You simply check your stock levels and put the details of what you have left on the system. Our online system then calculates what you have used and shows you the cost. Or if you keep accurate records of what you have used you can enter that information and the system shows you what you should have left. Either way, we only invoice you for what you have used and we top up your stock levels again.

We are used to that. If a stock check is done in early July, you may want to do another in August to make sure that you are fully stocked for the beginning of term.

You can continue to keep it wherever you do now. You will need to have adequate storage space available because we put in enough stock to make sure that you never run out, but as we keep your complete stock levels topped up every month you may find that you actually have less stock than you kept before.

If this is such a good service, you must be paying for it somewhere, right? Well, no. Our prices are competitive. The stock management service is free – and you’d be hard put to get more ‘cost effective’ than that!

We don’t claim to be the cheapest on every product all the time – no one can. But a substantial price difference usually means we are not being fairly compared.

Some suppliers quote prices for lower capacity cartridges, remanufactured or even refills. We supply remanufactured and compatible cartridges when required; this is becoming a more popular option with ICT budgets being squeezed.

It’s a simple calculation based on how quickly you use cartridges. As time goes by we build a usage history which allows us to fine tune the stock levels to make sure that you never run out, but at the same time don’t have a massive amount of surplus stock taking up space.

If you’ve got something coming up that’s going to take extra cartridges, try to let us know ahead of time – and we’ll make sure you have enough. However, we know that ICT don’t always (hardly ever in fact!) get told about these things, so just let us know which extra cartridges you need as soon as possible and we will get them delivered to you straight away – normally next working day.

You usually get a couple of days’ notice of an OFSTED inspection. Let us know which printers are going to get the extra use and we will get extra cartridges to you next day so that you have plenty of stock available. Any that you use will be invoiced as usual after the monthly stock check and those that you don’t use – you don’t pay for.

There is no charge for the monthly replenishment supplies. If you need something not on your list and can’t wait until your usual delivery, we will charge a shipping fee.

Because our stock is delivered before you need it we don’t have to pay for fast next-day delivery. We take full responsibility for managing your stock so if you run out of something because of unexpectedly high usage, we’ll still get it to you free.

We do ‘Already Delivered’. Free. If you need a top-up between monthly checks, then this will always (subject to availability) be next day.

There isn’t one huge Inkwell warehouse full of every type of cartridge in stock. But we can get our suppliers – the major authorised distributors (or wholesalers) to ship direct to you for the next working day.

They are our cartridges and you only pay for what you use – so if you’re not going to use them, you don’t pay for them and we just take them away.

If you buy new printers you need to let us know, so we can add them to the list. That way you’ll have replacements ready when you need them. If you get the printer from us we will automatically add cartridges for it to your stock list.

If you want to add it to the Inkwell stock so you always have a supply, either add it to your stock using our online system, call or email us.

If it is just a one off – do it the old-fashioned way. Pick up the telephone and place an order. Or send a fax or email. We can give you a written quote if you need to get approval before ordering.

We make it easy. We are not going to give you ’helpful’ suggestions to try to get it to work. We are not going to ask you twenty questions before we believe you that it is faulty. If you say it’s faulty, then we take your word for it – you are an ICT professional. There is no RMA or authorisation process, but we like you to keep a sample print from the cartridge or a note of the fault. You don’t return it – we collect it. We don’t invoice you for it so we don’t need to arrange a credit note. We manage the entire process. We don’t think that we can make it any easier for you.

Yes.

Because we’re invoicing you for what you have used – not what we’ve delivered.

Not always. We may reduce the amount that you have in stock – because you had too much or you are using it more slowly than you used to, or we may be increasing your stock because your usage has increased. Or – we may have added a cartridge for a new printer.

In the normal run of things you shouldn’t need to order anything. But if you need a new product or to top up your stock between your usual stock checks you can use our online system or, if you prefer, phone, fax or email one of our experts.

Yes. We have spent a long time developing and testing our online stock reporting system, which is available to our customers. When your first Inkwell stock is delivered we will give you a username and password to access our online system and manage all aspects of your account, including – if you want – stock levels, although you can leave managing that to us.

They are. There are over seventy schools using the Inkwell system to save themselves time, hassle and money. Every month more schools are seeing the benefits of using by Inkwell System by signing up.

Over four years.

Yes.

• We guarantee to save you time.
• We guarantee to save you hassle.
• We guarantee to save wastage
• We guarantee to save paperwork
• We guarantee no risk

“You provide us with stock at no cost, manage our stock levels, give us free delivery, take back anything we don’t need any more without us having to pay anything for it, you only bill us for what we use – and then only once a month, you do all of this and more without a contract and your prices are competitive. So what’s the catch?”

There isn’t one. We have invested a great deal of time and effort in making sure the Inkwell system works for you, and an important part of that is making sure that there is no catch and there is no risk, all you ever pay for is what you use.

• There is no contract to sign
• There is no set up cost
• There is no monthly fee
• There is no admin charge
• There is no minimum monthly/quarterly/annual usage
• There is no minimum term
• There is no penalty fee or any other kind of charge if you ever decided to stop using the Inkwell for Schools system (but why would you?)
• There is no risk
• There is no catch

And we get a customer who spends a small amount regularly. Even better, we get a customer who is so delighted with our service that they give us the opportunity to quote for everything else that they need.

This is what some of our customers have said about us:

The Inkwell system works for us. We always have the consumables we need, in stock, and at the right price.
Network Manager
East Sussex

The Ink Well scheme, combined with the high quality of service provided by Silicon Alley, has proven to be a great success. No longer do we worry about stock levels or the hassle of maintaining consumables for all our printers. Silicon Alley manages the whole process from start to finish. Network Manager
LB Havering