Within the wholesale data center industry, it was common practice to say data center engineering was part of the supply chain. Data center developers would pick up the phone and call their engineer and say, “We have another project for you,” without competitively bidding the design. Their excuse to the shareholders was that the engineer was part of their supply chain and was familiar with the same design they had been churning out time and time again.
Recently, we have seen multiple companies restructure their design and procurement processes to meet shareholder demand. This has been a challenge for many.