After the Bell: How to Approach the First Restock of the School Year 

Streamline supply requests & eliminate waste with a coordinated restock strategy

Before each academic year, school administrators nationwide estimate what supplies their students and staff will need. They purchase cleaning and classroom equipment, explore technology upgrades, replenish their kitchen essentials and more. Then classes begin, and the first several weeks put those estimates to the test.

Without an organized restock process, staff members might buy small quantities of what they need independently and without coordinating with their colleagues or other departments. A well-coordinated restock process can both replenish supply room shelves and yield insights to inform even more tailored purchasing decisions over the rest of the semester and into next year.

Here are some tips and best practices for how to approach your school’s first restock of the year:

Use the first weeks to see what your school actually needs

Conducting a holistic inventory review at the outset will provide answers to several questions that guide the rest of this process. Make sure to ask:

• What is already running low?

• Which items are being used faster than expected?

• Which ones have not been used enough to justify reorder, and may have been over-purchased?

• Were any products initially purchased in the wrong size, quantity or format?

• Are multiple classrooms requesting the same items, potentially indicating a schoolwide trend worth noting?

• If there are net new needs, where are they coming from? Have there been any last-minute changes to enrollment, staffing or after school programs?

This review should involve perspectives from as many staff and teachers as possible and should cover every part of the school — from storage and classrooms to administrative areas and health offices.

Consolidate requests before they turn into one-off purchases

In the interest of providing the best possible experience for students, your teachers and staff will want to restock supplies when they notice inventories are running low. This inclination is positive, but be careful not to let that urgency turn into uncoordinated or duplicative purchasing. Provide a clear avenue and consistent format for requests, which can help ensure your teams know you hear their needs and give them clear direction about when and how to flag potential shortages.

For example, consider formatting each request to include concrete elements like:

• Product or category

• Quantity requested and current quantity on hand

• Date needed

• Classroom, department or location

• Instructional or operational purpose

• Appropriate approver or budget code, if applicable

This centralized system will help purchasing teams spot duplicative requests, combine quantities where they are able and distinguish schoolwide needs from one-off, individual preferences.

When approving purchases, employ a framework to prioritize needs by their impact on the school day

Some schools may find it helpful to categorize different needs, which can guard against an unnecessary rush of purchasing that strains budgets. Consider the following model:

Tier 1: Needed to keep instruction & essential operations moving

Examples of items in this highest tier could include:

• Core instructional materials

• Printer paper and ink

• Writing utensils

• Cleaning and sanitation products

• Health-office essentials

• Food-service or breakroom necessities

• Batteries and basic technology accessories

Tier 2: Needed soon, but suitable for a consolidated order

These items are necessary, but their absence might not be as urgent or disruptive, making them ideal candidates for Walmart Business features like automatic deliveries or bulk orders, which can help save time and money. Examples could include:

• Classroom organization products

• Supplemental art supplies

• Storage solutions

• Bulletin board materials

• Miscellaneous office accessories

Tier 3: Useful requests that can wait for the next full budget or ordering cycle

Some items in this category might be considered nice-to-have, or are otherwise unlikely to impact the day-to-day operations of your school. Examples could include:

• Nonessential upgrades: replacing functional desk chairs or small appliances in a staff lounge with newer models 

• Decorative products: bulletin board borders, seasonal classroom decorations, decorative wall decals and themed banners

• Duplicate equipment: extra classroom printers where shared printers already meet demand or extra storage carts or shelving units when existing storage is sufficient

• Items without a defined classroom or operational use: presentation accessories without a scheduled event or program, extra furniture without an assigned room, niche classroom materials that are not tied to a current lesson plan or curriculum need

The specifics of each tier will vary between schools and districts, but putting a structure like this in place early can better enable your entire team to act as a cohesive unit.

Match purchasing method to the type of need

One single fulfillment strategy may not suit every single item, and specific options will depend on factors like location, timing and the products themselves. Identifying the ideal fulfillment strategy for each item will also help you sort them into the previously mentioned tiers. Consider:

• Whether an item is needed immediately or can wait until an upcoming replenishment window

• Whether pickup, shipping or delivery best fits your school’s receiving procedures

• Whether your school can receive orders at any time or only during designated hours

• Whether several small requests can be combined into one large order

• Whether a high-use item is suitable for bulk purchasing

• Whether excess inventory would create storage or waste concerns

Turn this process into a repeatable routine

Once you’ve run through a successful restock, preserve your learnings to set your team up for an even smoother and more responsive process next time. The following steps can turn a one-off win into a lasting, systemic improvement:

1. Save commonly purchased products to an approved list
   
   
2. Record typical quantities and reorder thresholds
   
   
3. Note which departments use each item, and how frequently
   
   
4. Review your complete order history before placing new orders
   
   
5. Establish recurring inventory checks, perhaps adhering to a monthly cadence or conducting them before set milestones like grading periods
   
   
6. Assign individual ownership for schoolwide and department-level categories
   
   
7. Review whether frequently used items are economical and practical to buy in larger quantities
   
   
8. Track substitutions or recurring availability issues so future orders can include alternatives when necessary

Make your next restock less disruptive

The first restock of the school year is both an important functional milestone and an opportunity to learn from real classroom and operational demands. By prioritizing essential supply gaps, coordinating requests and organizing repeat or automatic purchases, schools like yours can spend less time reacting and more time serving their students. Buy classroom and operational essentials with Walmart Business and keep your school’s momentum going.

Schools looking for additional ways to manage recurring purchasing can update to a Walmart Business+ membership. Members get benefits such as free shipping with no minimum order¹, free delivery from a local store on eligible orders over $35² and Spend Analytics for greater visibility into purchasing trends.

¹ Excludes most marketplace items. Freight & location surcharges may apply.

² Restrictions apply.

³ Eligible organizations can apply tax-exempt status to their Walmart Business account.