Case Study: from obscurity to multiple gpo contracts in mere months

OVERVIEW

A large but relatively unknown international IT company sought out Excelerant Consulting to guide it through the often-complex process of contracting with Group Purchasing Organizations [GPO] and Integrated Delivery Networks [IDN]. The company is known as a “white box manufacturer” in the industry, producing a device that is made available to big-name IT suppliers [i.e., Dell, Lenovo, Acer, Hewlett-Packard, etc.] that brand it and resell it to end-users. The company also services, refurbishes and recycles the devices.

In addition to priding themselves on being one of the industry’s only “cradle-to-cradle” electronics recyclers, the company offers an ongoing revenue stream for the provider minus the cost and challenges of manufacturing and recycling. Its profit model is based on a 70/30 split of revenue in the recycling process with 70% going to the contracted provider.

 CHALLENGE

Largely unknown and with no GPO contracts in place, the company was seeking entry to a very competitive market in which other well-known companies were already established. With essentially no sales team, the company relied solely on Excelerant to promote them in the healthcare vertical. They had invested more than $120 million in a recycling plant in the southwest which was exceptionally “green” and well-secured due to highly sensitive materials. Their goal was to establish a foothold in the large, environmentally friendly IT recycling market.

 EXCELERANT SOLUTION

Excelerant deployed a strategy to engage with several large GPOs and IDNs to first introduce the company then secure “a seat at the table” for them to present their unique story and value prop. These groups were willing to listen and give the company an opportunity to exhibit through proof-of-concept trials at several of their facilities in search of an alternative to their current IT recycler.

 RESULTS

Within 120 days, Excelerant had completed an IDN corporate visit to a Texas facility, as well as proof-of-concept trials at several of the IDN’s large facilities. Within six months, a contract was secured and the company began providing services to approximately 185 facilities. Since that time, the company has gone to contract with three additional large GPOs, been invited to participate in their annual meetings, and been integrated with their respective sales teams. As part of one contract, the company has also been integrated with the non-healthcare side of the membership.