Endorsements
With over 30 years experience we have helped NUMEROUS clients and saved MILLIONS of dollars – please take a moment to read the endorsements of just a few of our clients.
With over 30 years experience we have helped NUMEROUS clients and saved MILLIONS of dollars – please take a moment to read the endorsements of just a few of our clients.
“Gigie is extremely vigilant and passionate about her work. She is a consummate professional that takes on complex issues with common sense approach. She is a highly sought after professional that will explore every opportunity to deliver the highest achievement for her clients. Gigie has an extensive and broad knowledge of technology along with superior procurement principles. These robust skills sets along with a tenacious negotiation demeanor is the difference between good and great.”
“Gigie sets the standard for excellence!”
Peter R Wallace, CCIO
Chief Information Officer
City of Chesapeake, VA
“I worked closely with Gigie Button for three years while managing various Information Technology projects as the Enterprise Financials Coordinator at the City of Chesapeake and Chesapeake Public Schools. The first order of business was to upgrade the aging PeopleSoft Enterprise Financials System. $450,000 was budgeted and savings of $75,000 was achieved through Gigie’s negotiation talents. My first experience with Gigie was when she quickly turned around the multiple procurement requests for the hardware infrastructure and consulting services required for the upgrade. Not only did Gigie fully execute these contract requests, in every case they were completed ahead of schedule with significant cost savings.”
“The next project to coordinate was the procurement of a new Enterprise HR Payroll System. I specifically requested Gigie to be assigned to the project team to streamline the procurement efforts. Gigie’s ability to rapidly negotiate and execute the associated contract provided the foundation for another successful project. Gigie was able to provide a contractual framework that encompassed all the user requirements, adhered to the City and State Procurement Codes, kept the project ahead of schedule, and provided significant cost savings. $4.5M was budgeted for this project. Gigie negotiated $800,000 off the vendor’s proposed contract pricing. Furthermore, Gigie creatively reduced travel and associated expenditures by negotiating project consultant hotel rates with nearby hotel chains, resulting in an additional $500,000 of savings from the travel and expense line, which is 30% of the budget for a project this size.”
“The project finished well under budget without “cutting any corners”. Gigie negotiated a Gap-Fit strategy that contractually obligated the winning vendor to include all the required City functionality into the base core product. The City was then able to purchase an HR Payroll product that satisfied all the functional requirements for all City Departments without any product customizations. This was the first successful implementation of this type of procurement strategy.”
Robert Davis
Former Enterprise Financials Coordinator
City of Chesapeake and Chesapeake Public Schools
“During my employment as a crime analyst with the Chesapeake Police Department, I had the opportunity to collaborate with GigieButton during the procurement of a major crime analysis software package. My role as the Project Manager allowed me to work closely with Gigie for over a year. Her negotiating efforts and vast knowledge of procurement processes aided in the successful purchase and implementation of this software, with an incredible savings of over $211,000 to the city of Chesapeake. Gigie’s expertise on contracts, tenacious attitude, and time management skills got the purchase completed faster than expected and under budget. Gigie participated in weekly meetings with the project team and was a positive asset to all discussions.”
“This particular procurement required the utmost attention to detail, as this project was highlighted to be the first to use the city’s newly adopted management system for IT projects, from start to finish. It was highly successful due to Gigie’s contributions. Gigie favorably negotiated terms in the contract that not only provided an immediate savings to the city, but included five years of software maintenance and support, which provided an additional savings to the city.”
“In all aspects of the procurement process, Gigie maintained professionalism, a great attitude, and worked meticulously to identify the contractual needs and requirements down to the smallest details. Gigie was also working several other major procurement projects simultaneously and did so with ease. This is her passion! It was a pleasure to work with Gigie and I would wholeheartedly recommend her for any procurement needs.”
Bianca Conn-Winkelspecht
Former Crime Analyst
City of Chesapeake
“I work in the Information Technology Dept. at the City of Chesapeake and Gigie Button worked as our procurement agent for about a decade. I dealt with her on a number of purchases and on multiple RFPs and contracts, some of which had a value of well over a million dollars.”
“You will be hard pressed to find someone else who has the breadth of knowledge of government procurement that she does. She is also a great advocate for her clients in dealing with vendors and during contract negotiations. Her tenacity in getting the best deal for her clients, not only on price but contractually, is hard to beat.”
“I recommend her for any sort of procurement you are working on as well as in negotiating any contracts during procurement.”
Todd Stevens
Systems Security Analyst
City of Chesapeake
Information Technology
“I came to the City in 2013 as a temp to hire and was placed under the supervision of Ms. Button. My previous experience was in private sector purchasing.”
“On my first day I felt like I had entered procurement boot camp. Most of what I knew was not directly applicable to my new position. Ms. Button recognized this and immediately took me under her tutelage. It was grueling at times.”
“Ms. Button showed incredible patience and made it her project to transform me into the best public buyer possible. She not only told me what I needed to know, but why it was important to know it.”
“Upon earning my wings, Ms. Button turned my education to procurement of IT goods and service, which is the most complicated of all procurements. She taught me the tips and tricks that she had gleaned over her years as the IT Buyer for the City. She showed me how to distinguish best value, and not only the lowest price. She instructed me to not only negotiate pricing and service level, but to pay close attention to the Terms and Conditions all IT firms require as part of their offerings, and to always keep the client’s best interest in mind, all while staying in strict adherence to the VPPA and City Code.”
“Ms. Button was already well known for her prowess in negotiation strategies and due-diligence, and she unselfishly shared all of her knowledge with me.”
“I am currently a Senior Buyer with the City in charge of Information Technology purchasing. With the knowledge Ms. Button imparted to me, I have successfully negotiated several high-visibility, big-dollar, city-wide, and highly complex procurements saving the City in the neighborhood of 3M dollars, and at the same time ensuring best value.”
“Ms. Button’s extensive, by-the-book knowledge, willingness to share this knowledge, and her commitment to public procurement excellence is unparalleled.”
Jeff Lowe
Procurement Specialist II
City of Chesapeake
“As a Information Technology manager with over 30 years of local government experience I have watched the field of automation specialization continue to reach new and existing business processes. Information systems have become critical business components for every organization.”
“In today’s business environment it has become critical to have someone with the technology and procurement experience to understand these automation solutions and to ensure the acquisition and procurement meets or exceed the needs of the organization.”
“Since March of 2001, we became integrated with Ms Button, as our procurement specialist, as technology and technology contracts became increasingly specialized and critical to the bottom line of the organization.”
“Ms Button has that unique Information Technology experience to assist any organization from procurement, contract negotiations, software licensing and including contract penalties and default.”
Mike Fitchett
Assistant Director (Retired)
City of Chesapeake Department of Information Technology
“I have known and worked with Gigie Button, Procurement Specialist, for over 10 years with the City of Chesapeake Virginia Purchasing Division. Gigie is a multi-tasker; she is well versed in the Information Technology field, she comes to the table exceptionally prepared for contracts and is very skilled in the negotiation process. She is very professional and she goes far beyond what is necessary to be sure whomever she represents is more than satisfied with her performance.”
“Her integrity is above reproach and is well respected among her peers.”
Phyllis Slaughter
City Of Chesapeake Purchasing Division (Retired)
Training and Development“Gigie is a dedicated supervisor and her extensive procurement knowledge and training experience allowed her to quickly and effectively bring me up to speed, so that I could be a contributing member of the team on day one.”
“While at the City of Chesapeake, she always made herself available to answer any question and sought to match an employee’s interests and skill set with the work that needed to be accomplished.”
“She is very enthusiastic about her work and motivates others through her passion and positive attitude. I would gladly work for her again!”
Kylie Robbins
City of Chesapeake Intern, Old Dominion University
