Our transformation from our Architel 1.0 offering to our Architel 2.0 offering is well under way. The team is getting bigger and more organized, but there are some growing pains. We have followed a single set of rules and procedures for a decade and change is difficult. Perhaps the most difficult, but needed change is in procurement. Our sales team has always explained to clients that we don’t resell hardware or software. We would help clients determine what they needed to buy and allow them to handling purchasing directly with a handful of vendors. When our clients were smaller – between 50-75 employees – this worked okay, but there have always been issues:

• Original Order: Sometimes the items we would specify wouldn’t be the items ordered. Perhaps there was a cheaper alternative recommended by the vendor. Or perhaps an item was out of stock and an alternative was recommended. Often we wouldn’t learn of the replacement until well into a project when we began installing the solution. Sometimes we would figure out the issue and put the project on hold until we could come up with a solution, but other times we might only realize that a feature/function was missing after the project was concluded. The result: The project would be delayed and/or fail to meet the underlying business objective.
• RMA: Sometimes the wrong item is shipped or perhaps we specified the wrong item. Most of the time this is no big deal, but since we aren’t the vendor’s customer we must have our customer contact the vendor and explain the situation and resolve it. Sometimes this turns into a game of ‘telephone’ and the message gets garbled. The result: The project would be delayed and the item might not be authorized for return.
• Indefinite Delay: Without anyone driving the procurement projects often never happened. The result: The underlying business objectives are never met.

Today, in our Architel 2.0 model, we handle all procurement directly and have brought on two additional team members to manage our new process. Utilizing an ITIL process we now a) identify the hardware and software to procure, b) get customer sign off on pricing or lease terms, c) complete purchase orders and issue to suppliers, d) receive goods from suppliers, e) review and accept items procured, f) bill customer for goods, g) approve supplier payments, h) schedule installation and i) certify installation. There are certain benefits to our new process beyond simply avoiding the issues noted above. These include:

• Volume Pricing: We push through almost $10 million in software and equipment to various vendors each year. By purchasing at wholesale volume-based prices we are able to resell software and hardware at roughly the same retail price our clients could obtain on their own.
• Reduced Customer Labor: By handling all aspects of the procurement process directly we remove that responsibility and risk from our clients. We handling all original ordering and returns AND installation.
• Certified Installation: We have signed contracts with Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, HP, Level(3) and other manufacturers that allow us to purchase directly to receive the best manufacturer support and training available. For example all of our engineers are required to achieve Microsoft certification and today our company has the highest level of certification that Microsoft offers. This means our engineers are better able to determine which products meet your needs and that they have the skills necessary to make them work.