Meet Josh, Procurement Manager

Technology is constantly changing and keeping your IT hardware up to date is a standard IT business best practice. For businesses that outsource their IT to a Managed Service Provider (MSP), this function is one of the many responsibilities the MSP takes on. Most MSPs have procurement departments that ensure clients have timely access to new hardware to stay productive, secure and on budget. In this month’s employee feature, we sat down with Josh Asselstine, our Vancouver-based Procurement Manager to chat with him about the evolution of his career and his role at Nucleus. 
 
10+ Years in procurement and counting 
 
Josh started his career in procurement at Simply Computing about ten years ago. His very first role was as a retail salesperson at a computer store and soon after he received a promotion to an administrative position in the company’s corporate department. The role introduced him to the world of IT purchasing, inventory and B2B sales. It was a great learning experience and set a good foundation for a future in procurement at a MSP.  
  
What stands out as different at Nucleus in your work experience? 
 
The biggest difference between Nucleus and my previous roles is how the organization values employees and the varying scales and verticals that we service. Since my first day at Nucleus, the organization has continuously made me feel valued. This is a prevalent attitude shared with many of my colleagues and is evidenced by the number of employees that have been here for many years. Another difference is the versatility. The number of clients Nucleus supports ranges from small businesses with 10-15 employees, to large enterprises with over 300 employees across so many different industries.  
  
What’s your typical day like at Nucleus? 
 
My day always starts with emails and reviewing any new service tickets that have come in. These two tasks determine how my day is going to pan out. If there’s nothing immediate to deal with then I use the first part of the morning to work on administrative tasks (updating existing tickets, responding to emails) and I reserve the rest of my morning for any meetings with vendors or other Nucleus staff. In the afternoon, I like to focus on more proactive work, like identifying new vendors or programs we’re not currently utilizing.  
  
How did the pandemic impact our industry and our clients?  
 
The pandemic was extremely disruptive to IT Procurement. The established “Just-in-Time” systems utilized by practically all industries and the monopolistic nature of tech manufacturing led to a decimation of the supply chain by the shutdowns. This, coupled with the increased demand for technology during the pandemic (due to the transition to remote work), led to an exponential increase in product lead times. For an extended time, products weren’t shipping and this added a large degree of difficulty to everyone’s jobs.  
 
It also changed the way clients had to approach their purchasing as well. Where the expectation previously was an order could be placed and fulfilled within a few business days, it was now 3, 6 or 9 months! Companies needed to forecast needs a year in advance to not be caught without necessary equipment. I had conversations around appropriate expectations with clients every day.  
 
Thankfully the supply chain has largely recovered but the lasting impact for both Nucleus and our clients has been pricing. Everything is more expensive now than it was pre-pandemic and our expectations have had to shift again as a result.  

What are you most passionate about when it comes to technology and how do you stay organized in your role?   
 
Back-end rebates and my calendar. It is my brain!  
 
What’s your favourite aspect about working at Nucleus? 
 
Related to being valued, I’ve been lucky to have a couple of very good mentors along the way. I have a great team and manager that allows me to set my own priorities and make decisions based on what I think is the best course of action. This has allowed me to learn so much and grow into my current role. And, when it comes to perks, the extended health package Nucleus offers has been extremely beneficial to my family.  

How do you balance life/work? 

I try to keep the phone/email/message notifications off while I’m with my family. Nucleus is very accommodating to the needs of a family and allows me any time I need to take care of family things that happen during a work day (kids’ doctors appointments, birthdays…etc).  

Can you share with us any hobby? 

I like to grow vegetables and garden and I enjoy cooking. Always looking for a new recipe or technique to try.  

If our culture seems like a good fit for you, please visit our career page for open positions.