The Frog Blog

Happy 30th anniversary to Post-It Notes!

2010-06-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

June 15th is the 30th anniversary of the 3M Post-It note! And here's a cute animated video on YouTube to celebrate.

Of course we carry 3m Post It Notes... our favorites are the recycled ones!

Introducing Nature Clean

2009-12-29T15:45:00.001-08:00

If you've noticed it's quiet around here, it's because we're working full steam ahead on our new 2010 catalogue! No need to wait for that to come out, though, as we've been adding some of our our new 2010 products to the web.

New to CostlessExpress.com is Nature Clean, a line of natural, hypoallergenic, non-toxic and eco-friendly cleaning products. We have everything from hand soap to laundry and dishwashing supplies to kitchen and bathroom cleansers.

Nature Clean is also a Canadian owned and operated company, like Costless Express! All their products are made and packaged right here in Canada.

Just log in to CostlessExpress.com and search for "Nature Clean" to see all of our new Nature Clean products!

XPLANE and The Economist create video on global climate change

2009-11-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

For the second time in recent months XPLANE has partnered with The Economist to create a compelling video on a topic of global importance. After working together on "Did You Know? 4.0", The Economist enlisted XPLANE's visual communication expertise to develop "The Carbon Economy" about the growing importance of climate change and green technologies and solutions.

"The Carbon Economy" will be shown at The Economist's upcoming Carbon Economy Summit on November 17 and 18, 2009 in Washington, D.C. The video is three minutes in length and includes simple visuals and a moving soundtrack to clearly convey the troubled state of global climate change and what steps must be taken to reach a positive outcome. The production was created using Apple's Keynote software.

100% Renewable Energy by 2010?

2009-10-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

A new study out of Stanford and UC says that we can power all the world's energy needs through wind, water and solar power - and that it could be done by 2030, for less than it would cost to use fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources.

How? Fossil fuel energy sources are typically inefficient - for example, in a fossil fuel burning car, up to 80% of the energy is lost as heat. The energy savings from converting to those greener energy sources, by itself, could cut the world's energy demands to two-thirds what they are today. This could eliminate the need for 13,000 coal plants worldwide, and save enough money to justify the switchover.

Of course, this plan would still require massive changes to the world's energy infrastructure: 3.8 million large wind turbines, 89,000 300-megawatt solar plants, 490,000 tidal turbines, 1.7 billion rooftop photovoltaic systems, and 900 hydroelectric plants, plus the countless new transmission lines needed to distribute so much more electricity. Only about 2% of this renewable energy infrastructure exists today.

But the researchers conclude that the biggest obstacle to these changes is actually the competing non-renewable energy industry, which currently dominates political lobbying.

[Stanford University via FastCompany]

Olympic Medals are Both Geeky and Green

2009-10-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

The medals for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games are partly made with precious metals recycled from old circuit boards. (Find out more about the medals here.)

Many of us don't think of recycling electronics the way we recycle pop cans or paper, but it's worthwhile - not only can electronics contain valuable materials like gold and copper that can be recycled, but they can also contain toxic materials that need to be kept out of our landfills.

You can recycle your old electronics locally through the Return-It Electronics program. Who knows, a bit of your old office printer could end up being proudly worn by Team Canada!

Costless Express is Climate Smart!

2009-10-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Costless Express is one of the many BC businesses that have learned how to measure, reduce and offset their carbon footprint through Climate Smart.

Climate Smart is a program run by Ecotrust Canada to show small- to medium-sized businesses how to be more efficient and reduce their carbon footprint. Check out their Alumni page to see what other BC businesses (Besides Costless Express and Frogfile) have participated in the program!

For more information about the Climate Spart program, visit http://www.climatesmartbusiness.com.

FROGFILE Merges with COSTLESS EXPRESS

2009-10-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Effective October 5th, 2009

FROGFILE Office Essentials Merges with COSTLESS EXPRESS;
Creating Canada’s Most Environmentally Friendly Office Supply Company.

Dear Frogfile Customers,

Now more than ever "It's Easy Being GREEN!"™

I am pleased to announce some very exciting news - As of October 5th, 2009 Frogfile Office Essentials has merged with Costless Express; creating Canada's most environmentally friendly office supply company.

This business combination allows both companies to increase market position, add new environmental and sustainable products and leverage existing infrastructure. We have high praise for the Frogfile management team and are pleased that they have agreed to join us during the transition period.

“Frogfile and Costless Express share the same philosophy when it comes to the environment and providing customers with innovative and sustainable solutions that add value to their business goals,” said Gil Yaron, Founder and CEO of Frogfile Office Essentials. “Costless Express has the breath and depth of warehousing and distribution, as well as the promotional programs, purchasing power, and financial clout necessary to empower our sales people to better meet customer requirements in a positive growing capacity.
This acquisition accelerates sales growth, enhances our competitive position and extends our industry leading line of products and services. In particular Frogfile’s strength in environmentally friendly office products and knowledge will continue to broaden Costless Express’s presence in this important growth category and key vertical markets.

We look forward to having you as a Costless Express Customer and meeting your entire business product needs in the most environmentally sustainable fashion.

Warm Regards,
Calvin Johnson
CEO and Owner
Costless Express
94B Glacier Street
Coquitlam BC
Canada V3K-6B2

Calvin Johnson
Phone: 604-444-4467 x301
Fax: 604-444-4302
Email: calvinj@costlessexpress.com
Web: http://www.costlessexpress.com/

About Costless Express

“We’re More Than Just Office Supplies”™

For the past 20 years Costless Express has been Vancouver’s smart choice for business supplies. We are locally owned and operated from our head office in Coquitlam and service 3500 customers from small business to the Fortune 100. Costless Express is a leader in single source distribution - from contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of April 22, 2008, Costless Express became Canada’s First Carbon Neutral Office Products Supplier.

Our goal at Costless Express is not so much about selling “Stuff” as we say, but rather to offer our customers a single source solution to outsource their total office procurement needs. Our unique selection of over 30,000 business products and associated services help customers run their operations more smoothly, focus on their core business and drive down hard and soft procurement costs. Costless Express helps organizations to save time, money and maximize their productivity by streamlining the purchasing and logistics of the commodity supplies needed to run their business.

The best way to describe Single Sourcing is to look at the number of suppliers delivering business products to your office. Studies show there may be as many as 10 – such as – Office Supplies, Toners, Paper, Coffee, Water, Food and Beverages, Janitorial Supplies and more with each delivery costing up to $80 to process.

Of more concern is what all these delivery trucks are doing to the environment. Each delivery commissioned by the customer equals a truck going from the supplier to the customer’s location and that creates tones of CO2 emissions, traffic congestion and wasted energy costs across the entire system.

There is a cleaner more responsible way:
Imagine – One Order, One Delivery and One Invoice
- That’s the Costless Express “Single Source” Philosophy-

Over the past three years Costless Express has focused on being the most environmentally friendly office supply company in Canada. During that time we’ve had many successes such as becoming Canada’s First Carbon Neutral Office Supply Company, eliminating cardboard boxes for plastic delivery totes, paperless invoicing, "Save-a-stamp" payment, fleet optimization investments and many more.
On October 5th I feel we have something very special to be proud of at Costless Express - the addition of Frogfile to our corporate family.

Costless Express Products and Services:
Costless Express is one of Canada’s largest independent business-to-business suppliers of business supplies. Our mix of products and services is what makes us different.

Costless Express's product offering includes:

· Most Frogfile items plus thousands of new and exciting alternatives
· Office Supplies
· Computer and Toner Supplies
· Office Furniture
· Coffee Service and Coffee Machines
· Water Coolers
· Snacks, Fresh Fruit, Fresh Baked Products, Candy
· Cleaning Supplies
· Paper Products
· Free Sample Products Online

Costless Express services offering includes:

· Exceptionally low prices
· Printing Services
· Powerful online web ordering
· New JumpCart bar code scanning inventory control system
· Dedicated inside customer service representative
· Dedicated outside account manager
· Dedicated delivery driver
· Next Business Day Delivery
· No Minimum Order
· Order by phone, fax, email, online by 1pm for next business day delivery
· 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
· No Hassle Return Policy
· Weekly Specials and Promotions
· Custom reporting and billing
· Custom multi level buyer security, budgeting and approval settings
· Costless Express has distribution centers located in Vancouver BC, Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Winnipeg, Manitoba, Brampton, Ontario and Blaine Washington.

What does this mean for Frogfile customers?

At Costless Express we will do our best to make each and every Frogfile customer feel right at home. The best news is - all the great things about Frogfile will still be here at Costless Express. Familiar voices, great products and fantastic service, all at low prices that will make you smile.

Please feel free to call us anytime at 604-669-5949 or 604-444-4467; we are looking forward to getting to know you. Our customer service department will be calling customers over the next few weeks to say hello and Gil Yaron, Frogfile’s founder will be just down the hall from our customer service center should the need arise.

Here are a few additional answers to questions you may have:

Frogfile.com’s website, phone and fax will remain operational during a 60-day transition period in which all Frogfile customer account information will be transferred to Costless Express.

Frogfile account numbers (starts with the letter C), Web User Name and Web Password can now be used at Costless Express and online at http://www.costlessexpress.com/

Customers who have both a Costless Express and Frogfile account - the Costless Express account number will become the permanent account, as will any user names and passwords.

All customer account information from Frogfile will be transferred to Costless Express **Except for Credit Card Information** The Costless Express finance department will contact customers to obtain payment information.

Orders placed on October 5th forward will be invoiced by Costless Express. A PACKING SLIP will accompany the order and a paperless invoice will be emailed to the customer contact on file on the day of delivery.

Please pay all Costless Express invoices to Costless Express.

Any Frogfile outstanding invoices for orders delivered up to October 5th, 2009 should be paid by mail directly to Frogfile: 121 Heatley Street Vancouver BC V6A 3E9

Any Frogfile product returns from orders delivered up October 5th, 2009 should be returned to Frogfile after obtaining a return authorization. Call 604-669-5949

Any Costless Express product returns from orders delivered after October 5th, 2009, please call Costless Express customer service for assistance at 604-444-4467 (press 1)

Thank you,
Calvin Johnson
CEO/Owner Costless Express

Welcome!

2009-09-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here's our first post! We'll have much more later. Stay tuned!