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MiDEAL Member Success Story

 City of Hartford: "MiDEAL is Time Saving & Cost Effective" - March 2012

There is no question that local governments across Michigan are saving thousands of dollars using the state's MiDEAL Extended Purchasing Program. Just ask Yemi Akinwale, the City of Hartford's City Manager.

 

"MiDEAL has worked for the City of Hartford for many years," Akinwale explains. The City, which has been a MiDEAL member for approximately a decade, has experienced significant savings by purchasing road salt and vehicles through the program.

Akinwale estimates the city, "has saved at least 25% when purchasing the city's fleet," comprised of Hartford's police squad cars (one of which is purchased every other year), 3 plow trucks, a utility vehicle, a pick-up, and a front-end loader. "The participating dealers seemed to be very honest and helpful," he explains.

Hartford has been benefitting from road salt purchasing through the program as well. "The process automatically puts us on schedule for purchasing and we also get the salt at a very reasonable savings," Akinwale says. He estimates the savings in road salt to be anywhere between 30% and 35%.

"MiDEAL has worked for the city of Hartford in saving time, being cost effective and there is no reason for us not to continue using the program," says Akinwale. There is a small annual membership fee which according to Akinwale, "is paid for many times," with the programs savings.

DTMB-Procurement would like to thank Yemi Akinwale and the City of Hartford for sharing this story and we hope to hear about more MiDEAL savings from you.

 

MiDEAL Member Experiences Significant Savings by Choosing a MiDEAL Contract - August 2010

After analyzing their spend with their cell phone service and equipment provider, Lansing Community College discovered they could save $968 per month, for a savings of $11,834 per year, using a State of Michigan MiDEAL contract.

Lansing Community College (LCC) identified a need for approximately 100 cell phones and 20 cellular data devices during a recent evaluation of telecommunications technologies. To fulfill this need, LCC awarded a three year contract to Sprint through MiDEAL, benefiting from the state's purchasing power and saving an estimated $35,000 over the life of the agreement.

The MiDEAL Sprint contract features a 25% discount off standard service plans, a 20% discount on accessories, and flat rate promotional pricing on wireless devices, with other special offers being added frequently.

According to Paul Tisch, Sprint Public Sector Account Manager, Sprint has been very aggressive in adding value and lowering costs since the original MiDEAL contract was signed almost two years ago. Since then, Sprint has:

  • Added cost-saving Blackberry, Microsoft and Google Android bundles
  • Lowered the cost for IDEN Nextel modem usage
  • Lowered the price of 3G data service for connection cards and trunk-mounted Public Safety devices
  • Offered a $0.00 Monthly Recurring Rate Charge plan
  • Included 4G discounted pricing
  • Dropped the cost of messaging
  • Allowed most users to get 300 free messages each month