The Procurement Predicament: Replacing 214 Print Devices Across the Nation

Replacing 214 print devices at 24 different sites across North America seemed
like an impossible project for me to manage just one year ago. Having just learned
about procurement a semester ago, and having little experience in the corporate world, I
set out as an intern at a company I will refer to as Company A, to undertake this project
with much to learn. I soon learned that replacing printers was not so simple, having to
first complete a contract that been worked on for almost two years. Following that, I had
to build relationships both internally and externally, establishing myself as the project
manager with both the vendor and Company A’s internal team. I sought to achieve
accuracy and efficiency, frequently communicating and verifying inventory before finally
beginning to replace printers across North America. After 7 months of hard-work,
collaboration, and communication, Company A was able to successfully receive all their
new print devices.
Along the way, I learned several lessons regarding goal setting, bottlenecks, and
communication. As the project kept receiving continual delays, I realized the
nonobtainable timeline and goals that were established. I also soon found bottlenecks
were constantly being avoided and pushed into the background, before growing into
large issues as the project progressed. One of the largest bottlenecks being an internal
disagreement on the secure print feature of the print devices. Finally, I found
communication between internal teams was not enough in reducing conflict and
increasing efficiency. From my experience with this project and as an intern, I have
learned many lessons that I will utilize in my professional career in the supply chain
field.