WEI : Value Added at Every Step of the Procurement Process
Value-added reseller WEI strengthens its partnership with UMass and how it is empowering procurement organizations to unlock value beyond just price
More than an IT solution supplier , WEI is a valuable problem solver and key supplier to the University of Massachusetts ’ procurement organization . WEI has worked on several projects with the university ’ s newly appointed CPO David Cho .
“ I met David close to 18 months ago when he started ,” says Greg LaBrie , VP of Technology Solutions , WEI . “ The pandemic slowed that project down , but fortunately we were invited to participate in the UMass procurement process that we ’ re now involved in .”
Cho unified the university ’ s procurement function and processes under the Unified Procurement Services Team ( UPST ), and enacted a new strategy to work more closely with suppliers to extract more value - a philosophy wholly aligned with that of WEI .
“ When organizations that we work with open up and collaborate with us , that ’ s when we ’ re at our best ,” says WEI COO Todd Grubbs . “ Now we ’ ve created a regular cadence to meet with the UPST , and have a vision going forward that is not a hunt-and-peck type of model , but has a cohesive strategy . Our pre-sales group and our architects will meet with them frequently to discuss price , lead times , strategy and vision all at the same time . And that ’ s how UMass is going to get the technology solutions they ’ re looking for .”
Together , WEI and the UMass procurement organization are unlocking value that goes beyond price , LaBrie adds : “ UMass ’ new vision , to standardize the procurement process , and standardize technology and procedures across the campuses , allows students and faculty to go from campus to campus and benefit from the same technology . That makes a big difference to their people , and it also provides all that data back to the procurement organization about the devices , people and how they ’ re leveraging the environment .”
The partnership between WEI and UMass has also been an emphatic win for promoting spend with diverse suppliers , says Grubbs . “ When UMass supports someone like us , who are a minority business enterprise , that helps us scale , that helps us hire from the minority community , and that helps us support minority suppliers ourselves ,” he adds . “ The effect of UMass making that commitment is exponential in the diversity community .”
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