01 Jun HP for Education: The Cardiff & Vale College Story
We recently discussed the HP for Education programme with Alex Ley, Senior Procurement Officer at Cardiff & Vale College, who have seen some huge benefits from some of HPfE’s features, including trade-in.
Read about how Cardiff & Vale College discovered HPfE, how Academia supported the process, how they utilised the trade-in scheme, and most importantly how it had a positive impact on their teaching and learning environment.
What initially drew your attention to HP for education?
Our account manager raised it as a discussion point on a catch-up call as a potential option for us if we had any upcoming requirements. At that point, the programme wasn’t something we were familiar with and we had always previously treated disposal and purchase as separate pieces of work.
How did Academia (your account manager) assist you in terms of understanding the process?
Academia did a very good job at holding our hand through the whole process from the initial discussion on scope, parameters and benefits, all the way through to entering claims, arranging collection and following payment. The support removed what had the potential to be a time- consuming process researching what was involved at an extremely busy time of the year into a quick
pain free process.
Regarding HP Trade-In, what value has HPfE helped Cardiff and Vale College realise for old kit?
The scheme really has been a game changer. We’ve previously had fair to good quotes from suppliers, but this really is market leading. Due to the age of some devices we’ve had in the past, our only option was to pay for them to be taken away, so HP’s trade-in really is at the other end of the spectrum, returning great value.
How have you used the trade-in value, ie what services, hardware, etc has it helped you to access? (or will help you access)
The trade in value has helped us offset the cost of our upgrade programme, enabling us to increase the number of devices purchased.
What has the impact been and what does it mean for your IT and teaching staff?
The impact has been very positive as we’ve been able to refresh an additional 2 classrooms in effect as a result of the increase in device affordability. It means better resources for teaching delivery and a better morale for staff knowing they’re using capable resources.
What has the impact been and what does it mean for your students?
The impact has been very positive as we’ve been able to refresh an additional 2 classrooms in effect as a result of the increase in device affordability. More students have been able to benefit from better resources.
In your opinion, what are the 3 key points an institution should consider when weighing up the benefits of the HPfE programme?
The impact has been very positive as we’ve been able to refresh an additional 2 classrooms in effect as a result of the increase in device affordability. More students have been able to benefit from better resources. From a procurement perspective, it’s crucial to include trade in returns (if applicable) in tender documentation so that you can work the value into your evaluation piece. By including this as part of the evaluation you’re making sure that you know at the earliest point value of money is being achieved and that you’re getting the best outcome.
No device is too old, and as long as it works, however slow it may be, it still has value. Don’t bin anything, just keep it aside for the next time you have a chance to trade it in.
There will be paperwork to complete, collections to be arranged and boxes to packed, but the returns are very much worth it!
We thank Alex for his time and sharing the Cardiff & Vale College experience.
If you’d like to hear more about HP for education (HPfE) and see how you can also benefit from features like trade-in, speak to your account manager today.
Email – info@academia.co.uk
Phone – 01992 703900
