10 IT Procurement Best Practices for Global Teams
21 May, 2025
The shift to remote work has broken many barriers for companies. Now they’re truly tapping into the best talent across the globe. While everything else seems like sunshine and rainbows, one department is still playing catch-up. That is your IT procurement team.
With employees spread across different corners of the world, how do you make sure the right devices reach them on time, in perfect condition, and without hiccups in the supply chain? That alone is a tall order.
But the challenges don’t stop there. What happens when equipment becomes outdated or faulty? How do you retrieve, replace, or recycle it without disrupting workflow? These are just a few of the tough questions procurement teams wrestle with daily.
In this blog, we’re sharing 14 best practices to help your IT procurement run like a well-oiled machine, efficient, scalable, and stress-free. And that’s not all. We’ve included a bonus section to help you handle what comes after procurement, too.
Let’s dive right in!
1. Choose the right vendor for your IT procurement
IT asset prices are like the stock market. Up today, down tomorrow, and rarely predictable. One vendor quotes you $700 for a device, another swears theirs is worth $1,500. But price doesn’t always reflect value.
A budget-friendly asset might serve your business beautifully, while a flashy, expensive one could turn out to be all hype and no backbone. That’s why cost should never be the only deciding factor. The real winners are vendors who offer reliable tech that fits your ecosystem, stay consistent with performance, and grow alongside your business.
It’s critical to evaluate their technology’s dependability and compatibility with what you already use. Ongoing support and maintenance can’t be an afterthought, it needs to be baked into the relationship. Look for vendors who embed cybersecurity into their DNA. And above all, prioritize partners whose services align with your long-term goals, whether that’s scalability, innovation, or diversity in operations.
2. Negotiate to close a better deal
Once you’ve locked in the right vendor, it’s time to talk money, but don’t treat this like a regular purchase. You’re not buying a couple of keyboards off Amazon. This is a bulk deal, potentially a long-term relationship, and that gives you a significant edge at the negotiation table.
From a psychological standpoint, vendors often value predictable, recurring business. The prospect of a steady client can shift the power dynamic. For them, you’re not a one-time buyer; you’re a partner worth accommodating.
But negotiations aren’t just about slashing costs. Pay close attention to delivery timelines, penalty clauses, and payment terms. These elements often make or break the true value of a deal. It’s also important to assess contract flexibility, especially when it comes to scale or shifts in operational size. Some contracts include non-range terms or charges that don’t appear obvious upfront. Others might be tailored with pricing structures that favor one vendor over another. And if things ever need to change, a smooth exit strategy or change implementation process is just good business hygiene.
3. Stop paying for software you don’t use
Software: easy to buy, even easier to forget about. Companies often end up with dozens of tools sitting untouched. This clogs systems, drains budgets, and adds complexity with no ROI.
It also opens the door to shadow IT, unauthorized tools that create vulnerabilities and data chaos. Unused software can quietly rack up subscription fees, introduce compliance risks, and confuse employees who just want one tool that works.
Smart procurement includes maximizing the usage of what you already have. Every platform should be evaluated not just for need, but for actual performance and engagement across teams. It’s not about hoarding features, it’s about ensuring real return on investment.
Consolidation is important. If three different platforms are doing the job that one can handle, cut the clutter. And yes, SaaS management is as crucial as procurement itself. Knowing what’s in use, what’s underused, and what needs retiring should be part of your regular IT hygiene.
4. IT lifecycle management is as important
Buying the asset? That’s step one. But the real value is unlocked in how you manage it across its lifecycle.
From the moment a laptop or license is acquired, there needs to be a clear plan for deployment, usage, maintenance, and eventually, secure disposal. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the backbone of cost efficiency and operational continuity.
Zero-touch IT deployment can drastically reduce the manual labor tied to device setup. Routine maintenance keeps assets running longer and stronger. And when it’s time to retire tech, secure disposal ensures compliance and data integrity. Each phase of the IT asset lifecycle management matters just as much as the last.
To stay ahead, businesses should continuously reflect on:
- How well assets are being tracked and maintained.
- Whether deployment is efficient and scalable.
- The sustainability and compliance of disposal processes.
- The cost-effectiveness of extending asset life vs. replacing them.
Strategic lifecycle management improves performance, supports scalability, and keeps your IT stack clean, lean, and future-ready.
5. Keep the IT procurement costs transparent
Nobody likes surprises on a procurement invoice. Especially not the kind where a “small fee” suddenly balloons into five digits. Transparency around cost is a non-negotiable. From the very first quote to the final agreement, every charge should be clear and accounted for.
This is where clear budgeting and communication about forecasted demand come into play. If you know you’ll need 500 units over the next six months, say it early. Vendors can often adjust pricing structures when you bring clarity to the table.
Ideally, you should create a procurement roadmap that outlines budget allocations and expected timelines. Share your purchase projections, including spikes in demand or any seasonal shifts. That way, vendors aren’t guessing, and neither are you. Also, insist on line-item pricing and flag any terms that look vague or too open-ended.
When everyone’s on the same page, it’s easier to stay within budget, plan ahead, and dodge last-minute cost creep.
6. Do not compromise on IT security
Cyberattacks are growing at a staggering rate. An attack happens every 39 seconds, 2328 per day. And with the explosion of remote work, cloud services, and SaaS tools, IT security is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s a must-have at every layer of procurement.
No matter how tempting a shortcut might look during a time crunch, cutting corners on privacy or data protection is asking for trouble. Every new vendor or asset is a potential entry point. So, diligence here pays off big time.
Make sure you’re working with vendors who would help you fight poor access management and protect against breaches, leaks, and system tampering. Look for recognized certifications like ISO/IEC 27001 or SOC 2 because security should be proven, not promised. Frequent patches and security updates should be your baseline.
Getting this right doesn’t just keep your systems safe. It shows your employees and stakeholders that you take compliance seriously.
7. Your procurement should be sustainable
Today’s customers aren’t just buying products, they’re buying values. And one of the biggest values people care about? Environmental responsibility. If you’re working with vendors who ignore sustainability, you’re silently sending a message. And it’s not the good kind.
More and more businesses are prioritizing partners who actively reduce their environmental impact. And honestly, that’s a trend worth supporting.
Procurement teams need to pay attention to carbon-conscious strategies, ensuring vendors are working to cut emissions where possible. It matters whether their production methods follow global environmental standards. It matters if they offer ways to recycle or dispose of old hardware responsibly. It matters if their products are built to last and designed with energy efficiency in mind.
And these sustainable practices often lead to long-term cost savings for you too. Energy-efficient devices mean lower utility bills. Durable equipment means fewer IT asset retrieval requirements. And obviously, fewer headaches.
And let’s not forget that being environmentally conscious isn’t just good for the planet. It’s great for brand reputation, customer loyalty, and winning over like-minded partners.
8. Involve your stakeholders early
IT procurement challenges are plenty and it isn’t a solo sport. When decisions get made in silos, you risk overspending, underutilizing, or implementing tools no one even asked for. And that’s the fastest route to friction and wasted resources.
To avoid that? Loop in the right people early. IT, finance, operations, department leads, everyone who’s going to use, maintain, or pay for the assets should be part of the discussion.
This kind of involvement helps teams align on goals, needs, and expectations before money even changes hands. You’ll avoid backtracking, miscommunication, and last-minute fire drills when it’s time to roll things out.
Even better? High stakeholder engagement builds stronger relationships with suppliers. Vendors get clearer input, faster decisions, and fewer unexpected changes mid-project. It also helps uncover potential implementation roadblocks before they become full-blown problems.
9. You must have a risk management plan
One small glitch in the supply chain, a system crash, or a delay from a vendor, and suddenly your entire IT procurement workflow takes a hit. That’s why one of the smartest moves you can make is to build risk management into your procurement strategy from day one.
Start by identifying potential vulnerabilities, not just in your systems, but in your vendors’ as well. What happens if they face a sudden downturn? How do they respond to unexpected service interruptions? Are there built-in redundancies to keep operations running if a system or service fails?
You’ll want clear, proactive mitigation strategies in place for everything from delivery failures to underperforming tech. The idea is simple: don’t wait for the fire. Design the extinguisher beforehand.
By aligning your risk policies with your vendors’, you’re creating a safety net. One that reduces downtime, protects investments, and ensures a faster recovery when things go sideways. It’s this kind of foresight that keeps your procurement efforts from falling into costly traps and allows your IT infrastructure to stay resilient.
10. Bring in automation wherever possible
You’re juggling hardware sourcing, vendor coordination, lifecycle tracking, and asset deployment. Now, imagine doing all of that manually.
Yeah… terrible idea.
Manual procurement workflows are relics of a past decade. Slow, error-prone, and painful to scale. You need to bring in IT automation to your procurement workflow to keep up with the demand and not make mistakes.
Automate the mundane
The truth is, a lot of procurement tasks are repetitive, approvals, purchase orders, asset tagging, license renewals. With the right automation tools, these can run in the background while your team focuses on more strategic work. That means fewer mistakes, faster turnarounds, and a whole lot less stress.
One-click oversight
Automation doesn’t just save time. It gives you instant visibility into the entire procurement cycle. With one dashboard, you can track inventory, check asset health, monitor renewals, and generate reports. All without drowning in spreadsheets or sending twenty emails to find one answer. You don’t need to manually verify if a device reached your remote employee in time. The system tells you.
Fail-safe deployment
Real-time tracking and quality control are two of the best outcomes of automation in IT procurement. If a faulty asset gets shipped, automation allows your system to flag it before it becomes a support ticket. This is critical, especially when your employee is halfway across the world. Without it, you’re staring at two weeks of lost productivity and a frustrated help desk. With it, you’ve got faster resolutions and tighter control.
Bonus: Manage the entire device lifecycle on one platform
Procurement is just the beginning. To truly streamline IT operations, you need visibility and control over the entire device lifecycle from purchase to deployment, management, retrieval, and disposal. That’s where ZenAdmin comes in. It’s an all-in-one platform that takes the chaos out of managing IT assets, especially for distributed or scaling teams.
With ZenAdmin, you can procure devices from top brands, ship globally, configure remotely, enforce security policies, and retrieve assets from anywhere. All of this can be done through a single dashboard.
Devices arrive ready-to-use, and when employees exit, data is secured and hardware is retrieved with minimal effort. You get real-time visibility into every asset’s health, status, and activity, helping reduce downtime, boost security, and extend asset lifespan.
From sustainable disposal to automated refresh cycles, ZenAdmin simplifies every phase of the lifecycle, making IT management smoother, smarter, and far more efficient.
