Native American Connections offers affordable housing, behavioral health, and community development services for the Native American community in Central Phoenix. With the hire of a new Purchasing Manager, Native American Connections began their search for a vendor with quality service that would help them cut costs and become more efficient. Here are their challenges and the actions IQ took to help.
Challenge 1. Purchasing was inefficient and time consuming.
• IQ created an online system for purchasing office supplies.
• The system tracks what managers at each location are purchasing.
• The system auto-swaps out more costly items with quality lower priced items.
• Purchasing Manager made final approval on purchases and the system placed the order.
Challenge 2. Difficult to train and coordinate with all managers at their 18 locations.
• IQ trained all managers on the online system.
• When a new manager was hired, they were trained by IQ staff immediately.
• The online system seamlessly collected orders and shipped out supplies under IQ’s watchful eyes.
Challenge 3. Being a non-profit, the need to cut costs and time was even more pressing.
• IQ tried to match lower prices or provide an alternative for a lower price.
• Purchasing Manager cut time by managing purchases with the online system.
• IQ offered custom shipping, such as next day shipping for products needed fast.
• IQ delivered all supplies.
Challenge 4. Didn’t have a solid plan for purchasing and inventory management.
• IQ provided quarterly reports to show where money was spent by location.
• These reports helped them easily plan for the next quarter.
• IQ helped choose the right mix of products based on business’ needs.
• IQ managed inventory levels.
Results: After 5 years of doing business together, here are the results:
• A cost effective and time efficient purchasing system is in place.
• The Purchasing Manager spends more time focusing on other important responsibilities.
• The Purchasing Manager spends at least 50% less time on inventory management/coordination.
• Office supplies are always in stock so the business can run smoothly.
• Supply costs are down due to price matching and swaps.