A simple system for tracking equipment pricing and lead times. No enterprise software. Fifteen minutes a week.
You need laptops for three new hires. Last month they were $899. This month, $1,049 and the lead time tripled. You found out at checkout.
Here's a common scenario. A company gets quotes in January for a new office buildout. Budget is approved in February. They go to order in March.
By then, prices have shifted 20%. Tariffs were announced. RAM costs spiked. The approved budget no longer covers the approved list.
Here's what works. A simple system. An AI search prompt. A log to track changes over time. About fifteen minutes a week.
A month in, you can see which items are volatile:
Monitors drop every 6-8 weeks
Laptop inventory gets tight before back-to-school
Networking gear lags tariff announcements by about three weeks
You have fewer surprises.
We tend to think supply chain monitoring requires enterprise software.
But what if a structured prompt and a simple log got you 80% of that visibility?
What would change if you knew your equipment costs or lead times earlier?
1. Build a Claude Project Your equipment categories, your suppliers, what data matters to you.
2. Set a Calendar Reminder Weekly is enough for most businesses. The scheduled task runs automatically in ChatGPT.
3. Run the Check The AI searches current pricing and lead times across your suppliers.
4. Log the Results Paste into a spreadsheet. That's where you accumulate the history.
After a month, you have data. After three months, patterns. After six months, you're timing purchases instead of reacting to them.
Tracking thousands of SKUs? Get the software. Tracking 10-30 key items? This is enough.
Coupa, Precoro, SAP Ariba
$200-500/month minimum
IT setup required
Training and onboarding
Ongoing maintenance
AI subscription you already have
A calendar reminder
15 minutes a week
A spreadsheet or note doc
Capital planning — know what's volatile before budget season.
Project purchasing — catch price shifts while approvals are pending.
Recurring supplies — time bulk orders for the dips.
Equipment pricing and lead times are volatile. Enterprise tools exist but are overkill for most small businesses. A calendar reminder, an AI project, and fifteen minutes a week gives you 80% of the visibility. Start with your top five categories.
Free lunch-and-learn. Sixty minutes. No pitch. Just the method.
You'll leave with:
The project template — copy and customize
The weekly prompt — just type "run the check"
A sample tracking log — start this week
Your top 5 categories — already identified
10 spots available
Rose Thun | Design Rosetta, Founder and AI Transformation Consultant
After decades in technology, I know the systems people actually use are simpler than the ones vendors sell. This is one of those simpler systems.
A: Use a Claude Project or ChatGPT scheduled task to search supplier pricing weekly. Log results in a simple spreadsheet. After a month, you'll see which items are volatile. This gives you 80% of the visibility of enterprise procurement tools at a fraction of the cost.
A: Start with your top 5 most purchased or most volatile categories: laptops, monitors, networking gear, office furniture, and recurring supplies. Focus on items where price shifts or lead time changes impact your operations or budget.
A: About fifteen minutes per week. Set a calendar reminder, run your AI prompt, and paste results into your tracking log. The system does the searching; you just review and log.
A: Either works. Claude Projects are good if you want a dedicated workspace with persistent instructions. ChatGPT scheduled tasks can run automatically. The workshop covers the Claude approach; the same method adapts to ChatGPT.