This summer, SMU will be replacing more than 555 computers for faculty and staff.
The funding for these upgraded machines comes from the Technology Fund and provides new equipment based on Technology Fund eligibility rules for employees in each academic and administrative unit.
Because of the centralized structure in Purchasing that includes a category manager assigned exclusively to technology, SMU will save upwards of $84,000 on the purchase of these new computers this year. Abby Kinney, Category Manager- Information Technology, moved to Purchasing in the Shared Services restructuring in 2015 and brought more than 22 years of experience in SMU’s OIT office with her.
Thanks to the combination of her experience and the new processes for procurement, Abby helped advocate for and oversaw an unprecedented centralized purchase of computers. She partnered with OIT to develop a standard configuration for computers that allows us to purchase larger volumes at one time through a competitive bid process and save the University thousands of dollars.
To see more savings and efficiency achieved through Operational Excellence initiatives, be sure to check out the quarterly metrics update here. If you have ideas about how to streamline operations or help SMU find ways to save money, be sure to submit them via the Operational Excellence online comments form (comments may be submitted completely anonymously).