An outline of our convoluted process of ordering a PC from Dell (our de facto PC supplier).

1. Go to Dell's website
2. Navigate to the Public Sector section (look in footer)
   
3. Navigate to the Higher Education portal (look in the footer)
   
4. Configure your PC(s). Items to include are:
   • Windows XP, not Windows Vista (as of 12/2008)
   • No application software (we already have TAMU-CC site licenses)
   • Three year hardware support (ProSupport is nice too)
   • Accidental damage coverage (liquid spills, drops, waves), if it is a laptop
   • Keep your hard drive (3 years)
5. Save the configuration as an e-quote (to your account¹ as well)
6. E-mail the configuration to yourself (I have better luck w/ my @tamucc.edu e-mail address)
7. E-mail the configuration to our present arbitrary middleman HUB vendor (SHI) and ask for a quote, at easttexas@shi.com.
8. It is prudent to call SHI to make sure they received your query and are processing it
9. When you receive the quote from SHI, double check the system you configured and the quote they gave you
10. Get a PO# from Kat
11. E-mail SHI again to order the system, including
    • Billing and shipping address:
      Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
Division of Nearshore Research
Kat Santrock
Unit 5799
6300 Ocean Drive
Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5799
    • PO#
    • Shipping preference
    • Payment is Net 30
12. When you receive the system
    • Give original invoice to Kat to flag item as received and process for payment
    • Double check it to make sure it matches what you ordered
    • Give property ID tag to Sara for inventory tracking

Footnotes:

1. My Dell account doesn't work under the Premier Login login page. I access it by navigating to My Cart » Sign In