[dave78]

At my current employer, it is quite difficult to get a new supplier approved into the system, so any time you need to acquire something for work that is not from one of the usual places it is nearly impossible.

Someone must have spotted the opportunity, because we have one particular supplier who is approved, and basically you send them a list of what you want from whatever store/supplier/etc., and they send back a quote for the item(s) which is just the retail price plus a 10% markup. You order the item(s) from this approved supplier, and they just order it from the original source and have it shipped to you. A huge portion of the things that we needed to get for day-to-day usage ended up being ordered through them (software, lab equipment, hardware debuggers, etc).

Seems like a great gig if you can pull it off. Most likely this is just a 1-person outfit where they spend 30 minutes a day placing orders and generating quotes then just take their 10% of everything. I've always wondered if this business was started by someone who formerly worked in the procurement department and added themselves as a supplier before leaving.

[daniel_reetz]

I saw a similar business, which was run by someone with a severe physical handicap. Orders with them could basically get around most purchasing card or procurement issues, and they added a percentage. Seemed like a really nice business.

[TeMPOraL]

This might be a win-win. They may earn 10% on every order going through them, but they also do the paperwork and probably take some degree of liability off your employer. Middle-men aren't always a problem.

[bombcar]

They're also almost certainly enabling the company to float 30-90 days, which itself has some value (suppliers often give you a discount for paying within 30 days).

[Metacelsus]

Sounds like VWR for ordering lab supplies.