I came across a company in the Nordics who really had taken their Category Strategy in Laptop Procurement to a good position. Hope you enjoy following summary:

“At our company, a Nordic force of over 6,000 employees, we have mastered the art of procurement by leveraging a strategic and structured approach. Recognizing the advantages of systematic processes in handling our laptop acquisitions, we’ve streamlined our operations, minimized costs, and secured the best possible value for our investments.“

Learn about our Category Strategy in Laptop Procurement

“Every year, we require approximately 2,000 new laptop units to accommodate our robust workforce. To streamline this process, we’ve established a three-year laptop replacement cycle. By organizing the procurement process into two rounds per year, each involving the replacement of 1,000 laptops, we achieve a balanced workload distribution and minimize potential disruptions to our daily operations.

Pre qualification

Ahead of each procurement round, we invite pre-qualified suppliers to participate in a reverse e-auction. This innovative strategy promotes competitiveness and ensures we secure the best possible deal. We provide these suppliers with detailed product specifications, which include the requirements for three distinct types of laptops: travel-friendly laptops, stationary laptops, and those designed for Computer-Aided Design (CAD) use.

Specification and supplementary cost

In response, suppliers propose a suitable model, and our dedicated IT team verifies each suggestion against our meticulous specifications. To maintain fairness and ensure adherence to our requirements, we’ve introduced a supplementary cost for any elements that fall short of our specification.

Similarly, we have mechanisms in place to ensure that suppliers meet our overarching commercial criteria. For instance, a supplier’s bid can be “penalized” if they cannot meet our 60DN payment terms, a process governed by predetermined and transparent auction parameters.

Integrated category strategy

To successfully implement this category strategy, our entire organization has adapted to a regular 36-month laptop model replacement cycle. Twice a year, 1,000 units are replaced in a well-orchestrated process. Although this approach limits individual employees’ influence on their laptop choice, the savings generated through this strategy have enabled us to procure laptops of superior average quality.

Our category strategy symbolizes our commitment to efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and transparency in all our procurement activities. By adhering to this approach, we assure that we consistently secure the best possible value for our money.

The Category Strategy in Laptop Procurement has become an integral part of our corporate culture, proving that a methodical, strategic approach to procurement can lead to significant savings and improved operational efficiency.

Summary Category Strategy in Laptop Procurement – Harness the Power

As we continue to refine our processes and embrace innovative procurement methods, we invite others to consider how a similar category strategy might enhance their own procurement practices. With the right strategy, any organization can turn procurement into a powerhouse for savings and efficiency.”

Learn about Procurement e-Auction

Learn more in our course: Introducing procurement e-Auction. An e-Auction is a transaction between sellers (the auctioneers) and bidders (suppliers in the business-to-business scenarios) in an electronic marketplace. It can occur business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or consumer-to-consumer, and allows suppliers to bid online against each other for contracts against a published specification. This kind of environment encourages competition, resulting in goods and services being offered at their current market value.

Understanding the concept of a procurement e-auction, as one of the negotiation methods that can be applied, is a key skill for the tactical buyer role. In step 3 of LHTS standard sourcing process the sourcing tactic of the event is decided. The characteristics of the supplier market and the product/service about to be sourced are defined and thereby also the negotiation method (and how to approach the market). But when should e-auction be chosen as a the preferred negotiation method…? In this course the student will learn the most common standard methods and how/when e-auction should be applied.

Note: Illustration to the blogpost “Category Strategy in Laptop Procurement – Harness the Power” was created by Chat GPT on Sept 7, 2024.

At Utbildning Inköp you can learn more about LHTS’ courses in Swedish.