IT hardware procurement is far more complex than placing an order.
Get it wrong and you’ll feel the impact in lost team productivity, missed onboarding deadlines, and unexpected hits to your bottom line.
Supply chain delays can leave employees sitting idle, and unreliable vendors can risk device quality. And before you know it, you’ll end up with hidden costs that quietly wreck your budget.
But you can avoid these challenges with the right strategies.
In this article, I’ll break down the top IT hardware procurement challenges and share practical strategies to help you overcome them. I’ve also included a checklist so you don’t miss out on steps during IT procurement.
TL;DR:
- Global logistics disruptions can stall shipments. Try to plan ahead, keep local buffers, and use platforms like Workwize with regional warehouses to stay on schedule.
- Unreliable vendors inflate costs through downtime, poor warranty, and mismatched hardware. Try to vet suppliers for quality, global reach, and service SLAs.
- Don’t rely on the sticker price alone. Factor setup, repair, and disposal into your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to prevent budget overruns.
- Refresh devices every 3–5 years, align warranties, and adopt leasing or DaaS models to avoid obsolescence and downtime.
- Educate stakeholders, standardize workflows, and automate approvals to prevent maverick spending and process bottlenecks.
- Workwize, with its end-to-end IT hardware management capabilities, simplifies everything from vendor vetting to global shipping, budgeting, and asset disposal.