MPC Interviews Blake Wetzel of AuctionIQ (AIQ)
Please state your name, title, company, and email address to provide to prospective partners and customers interested in receiving more information.
Blake Wetzel, Chief Executive Officer
AuctionIQ (AIQ), blake.wetzel@aiq.co
How are you different than other brands in your space?
AIQ is a consultancy providing “procurement as a service” to midsized and large enterprises. We help companies renegotiate, re-bid, and reduce their enterprise technology expenses by, on average, over 40%. Other business consulting firms will charge you a lot of money for a high level assessment of your technology spend. In contrast, AIQ provides end-to-end service: high level assessment, vendor identification and vetting, reverse auctions, direct negotiations, finalizing terms and conditions, and delivery of ready-to-execute contracts.
How would you describe your value proposition to prospective customers and channel partners?
AIQ’s 20 years of experience and extensive proprietary data shows that practically every company is significantly overpaying for enterprise technology. By renegotiating and rebidding enterprise technology contracts to the true market value, AIQ harvests millions of dollars of operating capital and returns it to the company’s balance sheet. Companies can use that capital to fund projects or avoid budget cuts and layoffs – or they can return it to the bottom line and improve the company enterprise value and valuation.
PRESS RELEASE
Study Finds Enterprises Pay 79 Percent Higher Technology Costs Than Necessary
Research Conducted by AIQ Finds American Businesses Consistently Over-spend Optimal Market Prices
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Channel partners can benefit from AIQ’s referral bonus program where they earn 10% on any deal closed via referral.
PRESS RELEASE
AIQ Introduces Channel Partner Referral Program
Go-To-Market Initiative Enables Partners To Expand Revenue Streams While Strengthening Customer Relationships
What near-term opportunities will 2024 present to you and your team?
The macroeconomic environment is turbulent. Interest rates and inflation are fluctuating. SaaS vendors, BPOs, data service providers, and telecommunications providers continue to raise their prices year after year. Corporate tax policy is subject to change. All these factors are difficult to predict for company leaders struggling to set budgets and optimize growth and profit.
By contrast, AIQ can provide a predictable flow of zero-interest operating capital to the business that can be used to offset this uncertainty.
What’s a key trend for your industry in 2024, and why do you think it’s important?
Many companies are eager to invest in Generative AI because of its transformational promise. However, IT budget growth is expected to be meager or flat next year according to research from Forrester and others. By optimizing the company’s supplier contracts and clawing back overspending, companies are able to fund AI even if their overall IT budget is not increasing.
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IT Budgets are Not Growing Fast Enough to Support Investment in AI
