They said they would save UC Davis a half-million dollars on computer purchases in a year. They were wrong. They did it in six months.

They are the team that masterfully brought together units around campus, facilitated agreement on a set of administrative computer standards, then negotiated a bulk discount with Dell. The deal is for five models — two desktops and three laptops — priced about 34 percent less than previous contracts allowed.

Another advantage: We are not buying in bulk, literally — so there is no need to purchase a supply of computers in advance, then store them. Instead, units buy computers as needed, one or more at a time, and receive them directly from Dell.

Today, six months into the program, we have purchased 1,412 computers and saved approximately $595,000. This money is retained by the buyers, to spend elsewhere in their programs — thus directly supporting the overall mission of our university.

“This program is truly a win-win, where the campus not only enjoys a reduced cost for the equipment but also an increase in efficiency by not having to support multiple platforms across the campus,” said Tim Maguire, who leads Supply Chain Management, which includes Procurement and Contracting Services, and Strategic Sourcing — all part of Finance, Operations and Administration, or FOA,

“The Administrative Computer Standards program is an excellent example of our Strategic Sourcing teams’ working in collaboration with the campus to maximize value,” Maguire said. “It’s also a great example of the campus’s willingness to engage and come together and agree on a common approach that allows the university to leverage its purchasing power with a key supplier.”

Hampton Sublett, director of the Office of Strategic Solutions, another FOA unit, said the Administrative Computer Standards initiative: “exemplifies the impact we can have deep within departments across our campus when we come together to solve common problems.”

He specifically acknowledged the campus IT community for its flexibility in coming up with standards, and Britany Duyanovich of Strategic Sourcing IT for driving such a good deal with Dell.

The impact has been felt off campus, too, recently earning a Focus on Efficiency Award from the California Higher Education Collaborative (UC system, California State University and California Community Colleges), which promotes improved administrative performance, service and outcomes.

Sublett emphasized the cross-campus collaboration that went into the Administrative Computer Standards program — collaboration not only involving the project leads but also the units that agreed to the standards and to buying computers from Dell, assuring the company that it would make enough sales to justify the discounted pricing.

The project leads came from the business and academic sides of the university:  

• Supply Chain Management, which takes in Procurement and Contracting Services, and Strategic Sourcing, both in Accounting and Financial Services — Tim Maguire, chief procurement officer; Mike Morgan, associate director of procurement; and Britany Duyanovich, Strategic Sourcing IT (project manager).
• Strategic Solutions, in Finance, Operations and Administration — Hampton Sublett, director.
• Information and Educational Technology — Carolyn Nordstrom, executive advisor on strategy and planning; and Quico Gonzalez, IT manager.
• College of Engineering — Steve Pigg, IT executive director.

The Dell deal

The Administrative Computer Bulk Purchase program offers two desktops ...

• Dell Optiplex 3050 Micro (standard) – $568.38
• Dell Optiplex 5050 SFF (advanced) – $908.10

... and three laptops:

• Dell Latitude 7480 (standard) – $997.08
• Dell Latitude 7480 (advanced) – $1,274.49
• Dell Latitude 7280 (lightweight) – $1,041.55

These discounts are effective through May 24, 2018. To take advantage of the program, log in to AggieBuy and access Dell’s punch-out catalog. The discounted prices automatically display for the five Dell models. Departments will still receive the savings even if only one unit is purchased. (Note: Some of the prices have been adjusted since this program was first announced.)

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