A2Z Property Management has decided to sell the building at their current location and downsize to a new location based on the reality that most employees will now work remotely, occasionally being required to travel to the new location for meetings and other work.

A2Z Property Management is a commercial property management company. They manage a variety of commercial properties in Fort Wayne, South Bend, Jeffersonville, and Indianapolis in Indiana. Most of their employees are based in either Fort Wayne (headquarters) or Indianapolis with several in the other two locations. Management of the properties includes leasing, maintenance, sales, and marketing, among other services. In addition, the company owns a small warehouse and maintains a separate entity of the company that provides construction and maintenance services for both the company (80% of the subsidiary's business) and for other commercial property owners and managers.

Remote workers will include supervisors and managers, leasing agents, maintenance schedulers, accounting (accounting employees will be required to have on-site offices in Fort Wayne and be in the office at least two times per week), marketing, purchasing and procurement, etc..

As the purchasing agent, you are asked to source all the equipment and supplies remote workers will need. You will first interview IT, supervisors, managers, and employees to determine their needs and wants. You must then determine what each employee will need and not necessarily want.

For example, employees might need a computer but might want an ergonomic chair. Is the chair a need or want? How about a printer? You will research the market and obtain bids from at least two (2) companies for each item you decide to purchase. You should use online research for the most part. You can call or use other communication means as well.

During your research and competitive pricing comparisons you may very likely reach the point where a company may believe you are a "real" customer. In this case, you need to be clear with these companies about this being a course project.

Keep the number of items you source / bid to no fewer than seven (7) and no more than 10. Extra consideration may be given to those who decide on and competitively bid more than seven (7). The logic as to the number must be supported by research. Research the items you choose to source via the internet, catalogs, or other possible purchasing sources.

Proof will be required that you have competitively bid your chosen products. For example, you may place your items in the shopping carts for your chosen suppliers / vendors. A retailer or company such as Lowes, Staples, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc. can be used but you may not use Amazon, eBay, or similar platforms. It is possible to use these platforms for research but do not use them as proof, nor should they be used as vendors. If your personal comfort with the COVID-19 situation allows, you may physically visit stores, but the entire project may be completed virtually.

Your budget for the project is $2250 per employee for 100 employees or $225,000.

Please note that this budget includes the purchase cost of the item(s) as well as shipping/transportation, fees, taxes, etc., as applicable. The goal is to meet or beat your budget while providing employees with the tools they need at an acceptable quality level. As part of the assignment, you must construct a tool or chart where you can rate and evaluate suppliers.

When conducting your research consider the following:

• How is the quality or value of the item(s) determined?
• Will you use a name brand or an off brand?
• Return policies.
• Warranties and guarantees.
• Discounts for quantity, longer lead times, etc. What if you order more than needed but save money and/or get a better value?
• Shipping considerations such as cost and lead time.
• How long has the supplier been in business?
• What is the supplier's rating (e.g. Better Business Bureau, but there are others)?
• Company and product reviews
• If you can provide wants, within budget, but could spend less than budget, should you provide the wants or save the money? What metrics or measures placed on you and your department might influence this choice?

These are but a few of the considerations. Research and think about these choices and considerations and document them as a part of this project.

Remember, you need to provide these employees with the equipment and tools they need to do their job. Software is not a consideration, but computer hardware certainly is. You may have to choose between laptops and desktops. What about pens, pencils, paper, flip charts, three-ring binders, etc.? Should these be included or not?

These are examples only and the research you conduct based on either real or simulated needs must include all the supplies, tools, equipment, etc. needed. Justify your choices and thoughts with research.

This project provides you some boundaries but also gives you a great deal of freedom. For example, say you choose to buy chairs for all 100 remote employees. The company has loosely specified black or grey chairs. Some employees want different colors. You find a vendor who, because they are trying to close out inventory, will sell you 33 grey, 28 black, 14 white, 7 cream, 5 green, and 13 red chairs. The colors do not line up with employee wants but the chair specifications, comfort ratings, and durability are better than required. You can buy these chairs in total for $7500 less from this company than their competitors or even by standardizing on one color with this or any chair vendor. There are no measures or requirements on the purchasing department to standardize on color, nor has the company told you that employee's color considerations should be considered.

What would you choose to do? What if this choice would not only save money but keep you within budget? What if you were already well under budget and could "afford" to buy they more expensive, standardized color chairs? What if some employees were made very unhappy by the color chair given to them?

There may be reasons to go over budget. If you can justify the budget over-run with long-term savings and / or other well-researched and thought-out considerations, this could be acceptable.

Section 1: The process you used to research your products and potential vendors.

• How did you gather your data and why did you decide on the products?
• How did you determine specifications?
• How did you choose your two potential vendors for each product?
• What was your plan to seek the best alternative purchase for your company?
•