GENERAL
STORES
About our
service
FAQs

MIGS
(Vendor office supplies)
Instructions
Order on line:
>>>OfficeMax
>>>UI web
Beware the
competitors
Download
toner pricing

SIGS
(General Stores stock)
Instructions
Recycled toners

Safety shoes, glasses
Return policy
WWW links

Q   With the change to OfficeMax as the University's contracted vendor for office supplies, will General Stores continue to accept fax orders?
&A   Absolutely. We appreciate that about 75 percent of our customers place orders online, but we realize this is not always possible. If you cannot order online, send your orders to us by fax (384-3918) or Campus Mail (General Stores, 183 MBSB).

Q   SIGS and MIGS confuse me. Please explain.
&A   It is a bit confusing. SIGS is our on-line ordering system for the items stocked at General Stores. MIGS is our on-line system for the items supplied by OfficeMax.

Q   What's up with Pcard web ordering from OfficeMax?
&A   This is the easiest and most efficient way to order office supply products. More than 500 University of Iowa customers have signed up for web access, and about 30 percent of our orders are now placed with UI procurement cards (Pcards) on the web. The web ordering system makes it easy to check inventory, set up shopping lists, search for items in many ways, track orders, and have access to many more items than are shown in the paper catalog. Most items are available for next-day delivery. If you would like to be set up for web ordering, contact Gary Anderson at gary-anderson@uiowa.edu. It is quick and easy, and our customers love it.

Q   On Pcard web ordering, what does the ship-to code indicate?
&A   The ship-to code indicates the area of campus where the order is to be delivered. General Stores has sectioned the University into several zones. The ship-to codes represent these zones. OfficeMax groups UI orders according to this code. Most of our customers order for one department and everything ships to the same area. However, a few customers order for several areas. These customers use multiple ship-to codes. If you have any questions about this please contact Gary Anderson, 384-3917 or gary-anderson@uiowa.edu.

Q   I can't find the item I am looking for in the OfficeMax catalog. Does that mean it is not available?
&A   Not at all. There was only room for a certain number of items in the paper catalog. If everything available from OfficeMax was in the catalog it would be too heavy to lift. Again, we recommend checking the web. There are many more items listed there than will fit in the catalog. Some of our customers use the web as a resource to check for item availability and pricing. Then they order the item on MIGS, which contains most of the items found on the web.

Q   What's next for General Stores?
&A   We are hoping to combine our two ordering systems. Being able to order OfficeMax items and General Stores items via Pcard or MFK on one system is our goal. We hope to have something available sometime this year (fiscal year, that is).

Q   What if I have a question on my order or am confused. Who should I call?
&A   If your question is about an item stocked by General Stores, call 384-3906. If it is a question about an OfficeMax item, call either our local OfficeMax representative, Matt Ehn, at 384-3908, or the OfficeMax Help Desk at 1-800-328-7042.

Q   Would you tell me about the new Personal Purchase Program?
&A   Yes, here are the details.

Personal Purchase Program guidelines
Order on line at www.officemaxsolutions.com. There are only a few requirements. You must

• be a University of Iowa employee and have a "uiowa.edu" email address,
• have an OfficeMax login and password,
• order a minimum of $40 on your own personal credit card, and
• pay state tax on your purchase (it is automatically added).

If you have OfficeMax Pcard ordering access, you are already set up for this program. Log in as usual and go to the ship-to code dropdown box. Choose EMPLOY for a personal purchase, fill in your order, and complete the delivery and credit card information when you check out.

If you need an OfficeMax login, send an email to 01_ecs@officemax.com that contains your name, department, and phone number. Ask for a login to use for the University of Iowa Personal Purchase Program.

You will receive the University's contract pricing, and your merchandise will be delivered to your home by UPS, with no shipping fees unless your order totals less than the minimum $40. If it does, you will be charged for shipping on a separate invoice.

Be sure to select the correct ship-to code, and do not charge personal purchases from OfficeMax to a University procurement card. This would be a violation of the procurement card policy and procedures.