Enable department-wide coordination on office supply purchases

[atdservicebot]

Name

Paloma Amayo-Ryan

What application are you using?

Other / Not Sure

Describe the problem.

Right of Way Mgmt has a surplus of supplies. I suspect we're not alone in this, particularly given how many ATD units are teleworking.

Since units are not aware of one another's supply inventories, it seems likely that supplies might be ordered by one unit, even though another unit might have those supplies in excess.

Describe the solution you have in mind.

I envision a supply/inventory tracker. This tracker could be exhaustive, capturing the entire inventory of a unit OR (the quicker/easier fix) it could include only those items which the unit no longer needs.

The tracker should be searchable. Supply POCs would need to consult the tracker prior to placing orders to ensure items aren't needlessly/wastefully purchased.

How will we know that our solution is successful?

Reduced supply costs at the division AND department level.

Users

Any/all ATD staff but current supply managers would likely be the primary users.

Sponsorship

Ryan Mooney

Which Strategic Direction 2023 “Mobility” indicators would this new application impact?

None

Which Austin Strategic Mobility Plan goals would this new application support?

None

Describe any workarounds you currently have in place or alternative solutions you've considered.

I have an inventory sheet for ROW Mgmt which I consult prior to placing any orders. (All supply requests have to come through me.)

The supply list is color coded (see attachment). Red items are no longer needed by ROW Mgmt. Orange items are in stocked above levels we need.

This doc is stored on the G drive for all to see.

Is there anything else we should know?

No SD23 impact and no timeline. Just looking for a way to save $$ during these tight times. Particularly as our own budget is slashed to increasingly painful levels.

How have other divisions/departments/cities addressed similar challenges?

Building Services has a web inventory of surplus furnishings that includes a brief item description and photo.

Attachment (525.74kb)

Request ID: DTS20-101005

[SurbhiBakshi]

@amenity , @TracyLinder - was not sure who it should go to since it is a ROW request.

[amenity]

Thanks, @SurbhiBakshi . @TracyLinder @johnclary - are either of y'all aware of this request? Interesting. I wonder if a shared spreadsheet would meet this need and how much potential cost savings we would realize.

[TracyLinder]

@amenity I am not aware of this request, although it looks like an easy win with low resource need, and a possibly high value impact.

[TracyLinder]

I think a good first step is identifying other stakeholders who want to be involved with getting this stood-up.

[amenity]

@TracyLinder - agreed. I wonder if Finance has a list of the supply SPOCS for each division?

Do you want to take this one or should we assign to someone else?

[johnclary]

I love this idea, but, thinking of our COVID-19 inventory app, I think there's a big risk in building a system that doesn't have buy-in and a mechanism to enforce its use. I do also wonder how this ever makes up to high enough priority for us to work on. That said, I think Peggy would be a good person to get feedback from.

[TracyLinder]

@johnclary I agree w/ the biggest risk being lack of buy-in. We'd need to gauge that during scoping. I can try scoping this out, but it will be slow moving / as time permits.

[TracyLinder]

Scoping in progress. See #3643