- Education

CLIENT PROFILE

Type: Major Research University (largest and oldest in the state)

Operating Budget: $1,568,859,000

Faculty: 4,000 / Students: 44,000+

Geographic: Campus covers over 2,000 acres with 875 major buildings

Years Utilizing Specialty Underwriters: 3

FINANCIAL HISTORY SINCE 1999 TO DATE

Total Maintenance Contract Spend: $3,721,943

Hard Dollar Cost Savings (verified by reviewing current maintenance contracts): $799,291

Total Invoices Processed by SU: 12,421 (vendor invoices sent to SU for review and payment)

Administrative Savings: $621,050 (internal cost of $50 to process invoice and remit payment)

THE ISSUE

When facing the need to reduce and control costs, one of the largest areas of spend was equipment maintenance. The client had 144 separate contracts (with multiple vendors and expiration dates) encompassing more than 1,360 pieces of equipment with varying exclusions and limitations. Contract management was largely decentralized and the University wanted a program that would centralize the majority of administrative and management roles as well as enable them to measure and leverage their cumulative spend. The University was also concerned about maintaining their vendor relationships and ensuring response time for equipment repair.

THE SOLUTION

After being selected by the University, the first step taken by Specialty Underwriters LLC (SU) was to perform a financial audit. With this information, and the support of the Procurement and Finance staff, SU met with key Department heads over the next few months to gain their support and understanding of the program.

At this point, a customized equipment maintenance program model was implemented along with the addition of an on-site administrator to act as the contact person for the various departments with respect to equipment changes and program questions.

Vendor relationships and response levels were unaffected and in many cases improved due to competition for the time and material service revenue across the campus.

The University benefited greatly from the new service delivery model.

ü   Sourcing and locating alternative vendors at lower rates and improved response time
ü   Improvement in downtime of equipment
ü   Identification of high frequency repair items (revealed problem equipment)
ü   Guaranteed hard dollar savings

On behalf of the University SU tracks and monitors all vendor service reports and invoices to ensure compliance with University regulations and the integrity of the financial model.

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