Lippert Components
How they're consolidating purchasing and reporting with Amazon Business.
Overview
Lippert Components, a global manufacturer, wanted to relieve its IT staff’s burdensome purchasing responsibilities. The company modernized its purchasing workflow by enabling plant workers and other staff to buy for work directly on Amazon Business, removing the need to go through the IT department for a wide range of indirect materials. By centralizing purchasing on Amazon Business, Lippert Components can manage purchases in one place, from invoicing to payments to reporting.
From garage to globe
Lippert Components is a company that’s always on the move, having grown from the founder’s garage in 1956 to a world manufacturing powerhouse with $1.7 billion in annual revenue, 52 facilities, and 8,000 employees. Lippert’s business really took off in the late 1990s, when it began manufacturing recreational vehicle (RV) chassis. It also produces components for buses, trailers, boats, and heavy trucks. Vince Doepker, Vice President of IT Operations, tells us how the company used Amazon Business to move purchasing responsibility off the shoulders of IT and into the hands of employees, where it belongs.
Q: What inspired your company to adopt Amazon Business?
A: While our manufacturing plants use state-of-the-art technology to reduce costs and drive innovation for customers, until recently, our company’s purchasing processes lacked that efficiency. Whenever a worker needed to order a computer mouse or other consumables, the request went through our IT department.
This took precious hours away from our technology professionals, which we could put to better use elsewhere. There’s really no added value for us in managing employees’ everyday purchasing needs. We want to be more productive and spend our time making Lipper t’s IT systems work better, not shopping for keyboards.
When we learned about Amazon Business, we saw an opportunity to address this challenge. We set up an Amazon Business account and began allowing factory personnel to shop for work directly on the marketplace.
“Overall, Amazon Business gives our IT team more time to do what we’re good at and makes us a more agile company.”
— Vince Doepker, Vice President of IT Operations, Lippert Components
Q: How has using Amazon Business helped make your business more efficient?
A: Now employees can purchase exactly what they need, and we don’t have to be the middleman. We’re also using Amazon Business for IT-specific purchasing, which has helped us achieve additional savings in both money and time. For example, the team that manages our hardware previously needed approval to purchase the expensive, specialized items. This required back-and-forth communication as we decided exactly what to buy. Now it’s much more efficient for them to choose items on Amazon Business, add it to the cart, and send us an approval list. This saves us time and ensures they purchase the right materials.
Q: What are the financial benefits of using Amazon Business?
A: We’re always looking for the best price, especially when we’re ordering ten or a hundred of something. The competitive marketplace of Amazon Business gives us peace of mind we’re getting those savings. It makes comparison shopping 100 percent easier. Plus, we don’t have to pay shipping charges, and we get our orders fast.
Q: How has Amazon Business changed the way you manage purchases?
A: Using Amazon Business means we can view the entire purchasing life cycle through one easy interface. I log in to Amazon Business and can see what we are being charged for, when payment is due, when it is received, and what the credit limit is—all there on one page. It’s very easy. Our invoicing is flowing better, and we can purchase faster than ever before. Overall, Amazon Business gives our IT team more time to do what we’re good at and makes us a more agile company.
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