Policy Statement

It is the policy of ACS Technologies Group, Inc. (“ACST”) to centralize the purchase of all goods and services. The intent is to ensure that third-parties are properly vetted, that we are not duplicating goods or services, and that we are making sound decisions adding them to our environment. Procedurally, this is documented here.

Procurement of Hardware, Software, and Services (“HSS”)

These procedures detail ACST guidelines for purchasing HSS. All HSS acquired by ACST must be purchased through Centralized Purchasing and processed through our inventory tracking system. Additionally, all contractual agreements and license rights to the HSS must be properly stored and centrally managed in Concord. HSS includes software or services that may be downloaded and/or purchased via the Internet.

Procedures

1. Request HSS via the IT Purchase request. Purchase requests are reviewed weekly by IT Management and are responsible for purchasing the HSS.

2. Risk Management will conduct a Risk Assessment of the HSS.

3. Approved HSS will be purchased. When Materials Management receives it, it will be checked against an open IT Purchase request.

4. HSS will then be delivered to the IT Department to be logged into our inventory system, and configured accordingly.

5. Then, it will be delivered to the Requestor.

6. If the HSS will be used by multiple departments, Centralized Purchasing will determine how to distribute the cost among those departments and will communicate the cost allocation to them.

Requirements

All HSS requests should be pre-approved by your supervisor and be within departmental budget constraints.

• ACST computers are organization-owned assets and must be kept virus free.

• ACST needs to know who our third-parties are and how they integrate with our systems; review and approval of all software and services must be submitted to Risk Management and approved prior to signing a contract. ACST is legally bound by all terms of service/use.

• Only HSS purchased following the procedures outlined may be used on ACST computers.

• Staff are not permitted to bring HSS from home and load it onto an ACST computer.

How and when to present a Business Case

The Requestor must define the internal need in a Business Case. This information should be shared with their manager, if it meets 1 of the 3 criteria noted below, the Business Case will be submitted to the Centralized Purchasing Team for evaluation. The Requestor and the Centralized Purchasing Team should must determine if ACST currently uses a product or service that could fulfill the need. Better to leverage something we have vs. have redundant systems that likely do not communicate with each other.

The steps to initiate the formal request must include the following:

1. Scope - what problem is being solved? How will this impact the business?

2. A proposed timeline.

3. Estimated budget.

4. Resources needed (e.g. implementation, administration)

5. Cost Benefit Analysis, where applicable

6. Goals and/or objectives for the proposed

To create your business case, go to ACST's Google Sheets Templates and select Business Case Template under Reports & proposals. Overwrite on the blank template and save it with the proposed solution's name.

To undergo the RFP process, the Requestor’s Business Case must meet at least one of the following three criteria:

1. If the cost per year is greater than $35K;

2. If the term is 3 years or more; and

3. If the HSS will be used by more than 1 department.

The Business Case is presented to the Centralized Purchasing (“CP”) Business Operations and Continuous Improvement (“CI”) Teams Managers. These teams will be vendor agnostic and consider the solution offered by the Requestor, then investigate the following:

1. What other competitors are attractive?

2. How much do these solutions cost?

Audits

Regular audits are conducted annually to ensure that ACST complies with all terms of service/use, that all HSS is inventoried, and that we're only paying for HSS we use. ACST will not tolerate the use of any unauthorized copies of software. Any person illegally reproducing software may be subject to civil and criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment. Anyone who makes, uses, or otherwise acquires unauthorized HSS will be appropriately disciplined.

Renewing HSS

In an effort to avoid duplication of HSS and maximize the use of approved HSS, we recommend that renewals follow this process:

1. Centralized Purchasing will track and communicate through Concord with primary users of HSS according to the contract terms for renewal.

2. Centralized Purchasing will reach out to the primary users within the appropriate window, typically within 90 days of renewal date, regarding renewal.

3. If the primary user(s) indicate renewal is desired, Centralized Purchasing will provide the current number of users, licenses, and confirm how many users the HSS is desired for renewal.

4. Centralized Purchasing will obtain terms and conditions for renewal, engage the appropriate primary contacts in review of the contract and terms, and initiate the steps needed to ensure we renew the contract.

5. If the primary contacts indicate they want to evaluate another solution or desire to cancel the existing solution, Centralized Purchasing will notify the CI Team.

6. The CI Team will communicate with the primary contacts and kick off an evaluation process which will result in updating the Corporate Roadmap, the Centralized Purchasing Department, and Concord in addition to our third-party list (referenced here). This will help to establish a consistent source of information on HSS in use within our departments.