How This Company Simplified Procurement Across More Than 30 Sites

For leaders who are pursuing long-term growth, one big challenge is creating systems that grow with the business while supporting local teams.

Take Sciens Building Solutions for example. This leading fire and life safety solutions company has expanded rapidly through acquisitions, bringing together 32 divisions across the U.S. Each division operates locally, serving its community while contributing to the broader mission of ensuring that life safety systems remain compliant and ready to perform.

This growth model, while successful, presented a procurement challenge. Divisions were buying independently, often through personal Amazon accounts or manual processes, which made it difficult to track spending or negotiate consistent terms. That changed when Sciens began working with Amazon Business to create a consolidated program that reflects its values of empowerment and its “be one team” culture.

Building visibility into purchasing

Backed by the Carlyle Group, much of Sciens’ procurement function was handled locally across its many legal entities across the country. Nicholas Hartz, Procurement Manager at Sciens, says trying to keep tabs on spending across these divisions was challenging. When he began discussing these issues with their account executive at Amazon Business, the pair started uncovering opportunities for efficiencies, cost savings, and deeper purchasing insights.

Hartz’s first priority was improving visibility into spending across the enterprise. “Step one was to build the reporting,” he says. “We need visibility in one central spot to even understand what we’re buying across categories, subcategories, SKUs, etc.”

By consolidating that information, Sciens can track trends across divisions, compare product choices, and identify where Amazon provides stronger pricing or faster fulfillment. The result has been both clarity and cost savings.

Supporting fast growth and division autonomy

One of Sciens’ core values is to operate as “one team,” and Hartz says working with Amazon Business has supported that philosophy. Divisions can maintain their local operations while benefiting from centralized advantages. “Anytime we bring on a new division, there’s a lot of excitement knowing there’s an Amazon Business account,” Hartz says. “They can quickly adjust through a half-hour onboarding call and extension invites. And then, right away, they have tighter controls and what we’re looking for.”

That approach also simplifies purchasing for employees. “Once a division is a part of Sciens, they have access to our Amazon Business account and all the benefits that come with it,” Hartz says. “That’s not the case with other vendors, where we fight tooth and nail to get Sciens-level pricing established for our divisions.”

Positive impact across the organization

Feedback from teams has been strong, with divisions eager to join the program. “Feedback has been tremendous,” Hartz says. “Typically, within the first week, I’ll get with the new location, understand a full year’s worth of data and link that to national accounts that we have that in place today for Sciens. And one of the first questions is, how do we get involved with the Amazon Business account?”

Beyond onboarding, employees are experiencing the day-to-day benefits of efficiency and speed. Procurement can now cover everything from IT equipment to fire protection components in a single solution. “It allows us to be treated small, but then the reward is big,” Hartz says.

Another benefit has been reducing the need to store excess inventory. With faster, more reliable fulfillment from Amazon Business, Hartz notes that Sciens can keep less stock on hand, freeing up warehouse space for other priorities.

Creating new ways of working and a model for growth

The relationship with Amazon Business has also inspired Sciens to rethink its broader procurement approach. “With new opportunities, how do you inspire new ways of working? This involves getting granular and understanding where you’re going for specific products,” Hartz says. “We found that we’ve previously bought the same product from eight different suppliers. You can shift volume and behavior to partners that are willing to help you grow, and you get the benefits.”

For Sciens, Amazon Business is a way to unify a diverse organization while preserving local expertise. It improves visibility across categories and strengthens the company’s ability to grow.

As Hartz puts it, “Amazon Business fits our model. You can maintain autonomy, but then you get a large amount of business benefits and cost-saving initiatives that come with it.” These benefits include business-only pricing, and, subject to eligibility and approval requirements, additional features such as Pay By Invoice, extended payment terms, rebates, and Business Prime benefits for the entire organization, he says.

Looking ahead, Hartz sees significant potential with Amazon Business. “The runway and the horizon are essentially unlimited,” he says. “It just keeps getting more fun the more we spend.”

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