TL;DRIT hardware procurement for remote teams involves three decisions: where to buy (central warehouse vs local sourcing vs employee stipend), how to get devices to employees (ship from central or procure locally), and how to manage the logistics of getting them there and back. Import duties, customs complexity, and lead times make the "just buy it and ship it" approach expensive and slow in many markets. This guide covers all three procurement models, when each makes sense, and how to avoid the most common cost traps.
Buying a laptop for a new hire in an office is simple. You order it, it arrives at the office, you hand it over.
Buying a laptop for a new hire who is starting in Nairobi next Monday is a different problem entirely. Do you ship from your central stock in London and pay import duties? Do you buy locally in Kenya? Do you give the employee a stipend and let them buy their own? And whichever you choose, what happens to that laptop when they leave?
Hardware procurement for distributed teams is one of the most underestimated operational costs in remote-first companies. This guide breaks down the three main procurement models, when each makes financial sense, and how to avoid the duty and lead-time traps that turn a straightforward purchase into a month-long logistics problem.
What Is IT Hardware Procurement for Remote Teams?
IT hardware procurement for remote teams is the process of sourcing, purchasing, and delivering computing equipment (primarily laptops, but also monitors, peripherals, and accessories) to employees who are not located near a central office or warehouse. It includes not just the purchase decision but the delivery logistics, customs handling, and asset registration that turn a purchased device into a working tool in an employee's hands.
For distributed teams, procurement is inseparable from logistics. Buying the right device at the wrong time, in the wrong location, creates delays and costs that erode the value of the purchase. The two decisions (what to buy and how to get it there) have to be made together.
The Three Procurement Models
Most companies fall into one of three models when equipping remote employees. Each has different economics, different operational demands, and different fit depending on team size and geography.
Model 1: Central stock, ship internationally
The company maintains a central inventory of devices (typically at HQ or a managed warehouse) and ships to employees in any country when they join.
Pros: Full control over device specification, MDM pre-enrollment before shipping, no variability in hardware quality or vendor.
Cons: Import duties apply on every international shipment. Transit times vary by country (3 days to 3 weeks). Customs complexity is high in certain markets (Brazil, India). Return logistics are equally complex.
Best for: Teams with moderate international spread, a clear standard device spec, and the logistics capability (in-house or via a partner like Raal) to handle cross-border shipping consistently.
Model 2: Local procurement in the employee's country
Rather than shipping from a central stock, the company (or a platform like GroWrk) sources a device from a local supplier in the employee's country and ships domestically to their address.
Pros: No import duties. Faster delivery in most markets (1-3 days domestically vs 5-15 days internationally). No customs complexity. Better alignment with local keyboard layouts, power standards, and warranty servicing.
Cons: Harder to standardise exact specifications across countries. Requires either a local purchasing relationship or a platform with local sourcing in the target country. More complex to manage MDM enrollment before the device ships if the platform does not pre-configure.
Best for: Companies with high-volume hiring in specific international markets where import duties and lead times make central shipping uneconomical.
Model 3: Employee stipend / BYOD
The company provides a hardware allowance and the employee purchases their own device. The company may reimburse against a receipt or pay the stipend upfront.
Pros: No logistics overhead for the company. Employee gets a device they chose. No import duty exposure.
Cons: Complete loss of hardware standardisation. MDM enrollment depends on employee cooperation. Data security and end-of-life disposal become much harder to manage. Recovery of value at offboarding is near impossible.
Best for: Very small teams or contractors where simplicity outweighs standardisation. Not recommended for companies managing sensitive data or with compliance requirements.
The Import Duty Trap: Why "Ship It" Costs More Than It Looks
The single biggest hidden cost in central-shipping procurement models is import duties. When a laptop is shipped from one country to another, import duty and VAT may apply at the destination. For company devices, the company typically bears this cost.
The economics vary significantly by destination:
| Destination | Typical Import Duty (Laptops) | Import VAT / Tax | Total Tax Burden |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU (from UK) | 0% (UK-EU TCA) | 19-25% (local VAT) | 19-25% |
| USA | 0% (ITA) | No federal VAT | Near 0% |
| Brazil | Up to 16% | ICMS + multiple taxes | Up to 40%+ |
| India | 0% (post BIS registration) | 18% GST | 18%+ plus BIS complexity |
| Australia | 0% | 10% GST (over A$1,000) | 10% |
| Canada | 0% (CUSMA) | 5% GST + provincial | 5-15% |
| Kenya | 10% | 16% VAT | Around 26% |
| Nigeria | 20% | 7.5% VAT | Around 27.5% |
For markets with high duty burdens (Brazil, parts of Africa, South Asia), local procurement nearly always wins on total cost. A laptop that costs £1,200 to ship to Brazil may cost £1,680+ after duties and taxes. Sourcing locally at £1,400 from a local retailer saves £280 per device and arrives faster.
The DDP rule: Always ship Delivered Duty Paid when sending devices to employees. Shipping DAP (Delivered at Place) means the import duty invoice arrives at the employee's home. That is not a welcome gift for a new hire's first day.
Related: How to Ship a Laptop Internationally: Customs, Packaging and What Goes Wrong
Related: UK Import VAT: How to Reclaim VAT on International Device Shipments
Lead Times by Region: What to Build Into Your Planning
Lead time is the other cost that is easy to underestimate. A device ordered on Monday for a hire starting the following Monday is straightforward in the UK. The same assumption fails in multiple markets.
| Region | Central Shipping Lead Time | Local Procurement Lead Time | Key Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Europe | 2-4 business days | 1-2 business days | Low |
| USA / Canada | 3-5 business days | 1-2 business days | Low |
| LATAM (excl. Brazil) | 5-10 business days | 2-5 business days | Medium |
| Brazil | 15-25 business days (customs) | 2-4 business days | Very High for central shipping |
| India | 7-15 business days | 1-3 business days | High for central shipping |
| Southeast Asia | 5-10 business days | 1-3 business days | Medium |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 7-15 business days | 2-5 business days (where available) | High |
The practical takeaway: for markets where central shipping lead times exceed 10 business days, notify IT at least 3 weeks before the employee's start date, or shift to local procurement for that market.
Related: Moving IT Devices Across Borders: 21 Countries with the Toughest Regulations
The Procurement Decision Framework
Use this framework to decide which model to use for a specific hire:
- Identify the destination country and check the duty rate. If the total tax burden exceeds 20%, local procurement is worth evaluating on cost alone.
- Check the lead time from your central stock. If the estimated door-to-door transit exceeds 10 business days, local procurement reduces delay risk significantly.
- Confirm whether local procurement is available in that country. Some markets have limited local sourcing options for specific device specs. If local availability is limited to lower-spec devices, central shipping may still be preferable despite the duty cost.
- Factor in MDM enrollment requirements. If you need the device pre-enrolled and pre-configured before it reaches the employee, central shipping with an experienced logistics partner (who can coordinate MDM enrollment before dispatch) is more controllable than local procurement.
- Plan the return logistics at procurement. The device you buy for a hire today is the device you will need to retrieve when they leave. The procurement decision should account for the likely return logistics: is your logistics partner able to retrieve from this country when the time comes?
Raal handles the logistics layer of central shipping procurement: customs documentation, packaging, DDP shipping, employee communication, and retrieval at offboarding. If you are using central stock and shipping internationally, Raal removes the operational overhead of doing it in-house. Get a cost estimate for your next hire's country.
What About Redeployment? The Hidden Procurement Saving
The most overlooked aspect of hardware procurement strategy is that procurement and retrieval are the same asset in different phases. Every device you retrieve from a departing employee is a device you might not need to buy for the next hire.
A well-run redeployment programme (retrieve, wipe, test, redeploy) can reduce net hardware procurement spend by 30-50% for teams with stable headcount or high turnover. A £1,200 laptop redeployed twice costs £400 per deployment rather than £1,200. The logistics cost of retrieval and redeployment is typically £150-£300, well below the cost of a new device.
This means the procurement decision and the offboarding process are financially connected. Teams that have a reliable retrieval process (via Raal or any managed service) recover more devices, redeploy more devices, and spend less on procurement over time.
Related: Device Redeployment: The Money Most IT Teams Are Leaving on the Table
Related: How to Build an IT Offboarding Process That Actually Works
Related: IT Onboarding Checklist for Remote Employees: Every Step, Every Country
FAQ
What is the most cost-effective way to procure laptops for remote employees internationally?
It depends on the destination country and volume. For markets with low import duties and short transit times (US, most of EU, Australia), central shipping is often cost-effective. For high-duty markets like Brazil, India, and parts of Africa, local procurement avoids duty costs that can add 20-40% to the device cost. For small teams or irregular hiring, per-shipment logistics via a service like Raal avoids the overhead of setting up local procurement relationships.
How far in advance does IT need to order hardware for a remote hire?
For low-complexity markets (Western Europe, US), 7-10 business days is typically sufficient. For international markets with customs complexity (Brazil, India, parts of Africa), allow 15-21 business days minimum. The safe rule is: IT should be notified of every international hire at least 3 weeks before the start date. HR handoff timelines are the most common reason for day-one device failures, not shipping speed.
Should I buy laptops locally or ship from central stock for remote hires?
Ship centrally if: duty rates are low, transit times are acceptable, and you need specific device specs that are not available locally. Buy locally if: import duty exceeds 15-20%, transit times exceed 10 business days, or your logistics partner cannot reliably clear customs in that market. For most EU and US hires, central shipping is fine. For Brazil, India, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, local procurement often wins on both cost and speed.
What is zero-touch deployment for remote employees?
Zero-touch deployment is the process of shipping a device to an employee that is already enrolled in MDM and pre-configured with the required apps, policies, and security settings. The employee powers it on, logs in with their company credentials, and their device is ready. It is achieved through Apple DEP (Device Enrollment Program), Microsoft Windows Autopilot, or equivalent MDM pre-enrollment. It requires the device serial number to be registered in your MDM before the device ships, which is straightforward for central-stock models and requires coordination for locally procured devices.
About Raal: Raal handles cross-border device logistics for distributed IT teams, including international shipping, customs clearance, packaging, insurance, and employee communication. If you ship from central stock, Raal handles the logistics layer so your IT team does not have to. Get a live estimate.
