$1.8MM Saved: Why Envoy Relies on Tropic for Procurement Success

About Envoy

Envoy empowers over 16,000 workplaces and properties around the globe to redefine how their workplaces run. They connect people, spaces, and data in one seamlessly integrated workplace platform, providing a single solution to manage every aspect of any facility, anywhere. The San Francisco-based company has more than 200 employees and was recently awarded the 2024 RemoteTech Breakthrough and 2024 Security Innovator Awards.

Dan Hartz is the Procurement and Logistics Manager for Envoy. He has spent nearly a decade managing Envoy’s purchasing process of software, non-software, contractors, consultants, and events. 

The Challenge

Mitigate risk for overspending on large software purchases

Envoy spends millions of dollars annually on software, so it’s important—especially with larger contracts—to ensure they’re getting the best deal.

Hartz noted that it can be difficult to manage purchases when team members have limited time and experience handling large-scale software license negotiations.

"As we grow as a company, we want to formalize our procurement process," he said. "I’ve been helping standardize our procurement and move away from the wild west purchasing process of untracked renewal invoices and credit card purchases."

The Solution

Tropic's negotiation experts bring specialized expertise to high-impact purchases

Tropic's full service procurement team handles the tedious work of negotiating contracts - from handling back-and-forth communication, to managing reviews and approvals among Envoy stakeholders.  

Negotiators at Tropic have specialized expertise for each type of software tool, which gives the Envoy team a sense of security in handling negotiations.

"Tropic lowers our anxiety level that we are going to miss something—especially for those purchases that are six figures and beyond,” Hartz added. “Tropic manages those purchases and renewals with an innate understanding of the specifics around the tool and type of usage we need. I can’t do that all on my own."

Customizable intake forms help streamline purchase request information for multi-stakeholder approval process 

To ensure communication, reviews, and approvals from Envoy’s multiple stakeholders are kept in one place, requests are routed through the Tropic platform. 

Hartz can tailor Tropic’s intake forms to gather information based on the type of purchase request. Tropic then directs the request through customized workflows to involve the right team members at the right time. 

"The nature of procurement is that there is a vast number of purchasing scenarios,” Hartz added. “Tropic’s workflows and questionnaires are super customizable to gather the information needed for those requests."

The Outcome

$1.8MM in software savings and reduced time spent in negotiations 

Trusting Tropic to develop procurement savings strategies to handle their largest software negotiations has driven more than $1.8 million in savings for Envoy. 

"If you're involved in procurement, you're most likely going to have more of a broader knowledge of tools," Hartz said. "We gain peace of mind knowing that Tropic has specific expertise to drive the right negotiation levers for our team."