Unit 4: Cost Disease - Purchasing Processes

On our campus, we used to purchase computers within our individual departments whenever we needed them. Faculty and staff would determine the specs, and the cost etc. Then we would order maybe one Macintosh in the fall and two DELL pcs in the spring. With each department ordering computers at various times with similar specs, you can imagine the duplication of effort purchasing encountered in paperwork processing. Early this fiscal year, purchasing implemented batch ordering and a three tier selection of computers. So now when you need a computer, you will go to the end-user selections and pick one from the two cost-effective choices. If you are a super-user, there are two different choices. Still some modifications can be made to the unit, but we all start with the standard most cost-effective choice for batch ordering. Orders are compiled and only sent to the vendors quarterly, which maximizes bulk discounts. This was started in July of 2009, and I think it is already garnering savings!