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If your team is only in the United States, CDW is a strong option for IT procurement. The catalog is massive, the vendor relationships run deep, and domestic shipping averages two days.
But the moment you hire someone in Colombia, Germany, or the Philippines, the experience changes. CDW's international terms require you to prepay the full order in US dollars by wire transfer, handle all customs formalities yourself, and accept delivery timelines that "may vary by vendor and region" — their words, not ours (CDW International Shipment T&Cs). You can't even place international orders through their website — only by phone, fax, email, or mail (CDW International Orders).
That's the gap this comparison covers. Both companies can source the same hardware from the same vendors — many of our customers use CDW for US procurement alongside quipteams for everything else. The question is: what happens when you need to get a device to an employee outside the US, and then manage that device through its entire lifecycle?
CDW vs quipteams: The Basics
CDW
CDW Corporation is a multi-brand IT reseller founded in 1984, publicly traded on NASDAQ (ticker: CDW). With $22.42 billion in revenue for FY2025 and approximately 15,100 employees, CDW serves 250,000+ customers across business, government (CDW-G), education, and healthcare — primarily through hardware, software, and cloud product sales.
CDW's core business is procurement. The company works with virtually every major IT vendor — Dell, HP, Lenovo, Cisco, Apple, Microsoft — offering one of the largest catalogs of hardware, software, and cloud products in the market. Device lifecycle services (asset management, DaaS, asset disposition) are secondary service layers, not the primary product.
CDW maintains direct operations in the US, UK, and Canada, with select offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, and the Middle East. International fulfillment outside these markets relies on vendor and partner networks. According to their own documentation, "delivery timelines may vary by vendor and region."
quipteams
quipteams is a global device lifecycle management platform built for companies managing distributed teams across multiple countries. The platform operates in 133+ countries, handling procurement, deployment, asset tracking, retrieval, storage, buyback, and secure data wiping through a single unified system.
The pricing model is pay per use: you pay only for actual services performed. Each device delivered, each retrieval completed, each month of storage used. No platform fees, no subscription tiers, and no minimums. You get itemized quotes that break down exactly what you're paying for. Anyone can request a quote without commitment — pricing is visible before you decide to move forward.
Every customer gets a dedicated account manager available in real time — not a ticket queue, not a chatbot, not a hold line. When a device needs to arrive in a new country, your account manager coordinates everything on your behalf: local sourcing, delivery, and configuration.
HRIS integrations automate the workflow. Zero-touch deployment ensures devices arrive pre-configured and ready to use. When your HR system shows a new hire, quipteams triggers the device order automatically. When someone leaves, retrieval starts without manual coordination. The platform also offers an open API for custom integrations and provides real-time asset tracking across all coverage areas.
CDW vs quipteams: Direct comparison
This table compares the two on what matters when managing devices for distributed teams — not CDW's broader software, cloud, or consulting business.
Customer feedback: Where each company excels
Customer feedback: quipteams
Users consistently highlight quipteams' operational execution and personal service. Maddie C., People and Talent professional at a mid-market company, notes: "quipteams is a total game-changer — super fast shipping, great quality, and a dead-simple platform. Laptop ordering, shipping, returns, and tracking — exactly what we need, nothing more. No fluff."
Source: Verified G2 Review by Maddie C.
The speed advantage shows up across regions. Maddie C. adds: "A new hire in Argentina got her MacBook within 24 hours of placing the order... in addition to the speed of delivery, their pricing is fantastic, too." Franco B., Technical Support Sr., reinforces this: "What I like best about quipteams is how reliable and fast the service is. They always find a solution when we need help, and deliveries are super quick and always on time."
Source: Verified G2 Reviews by Maddie C. and Franco B.
The dedicated account manager model drives a different kind of relationship. One long-term user notes: "I appreciate the personalized service, with direct communication points and a willingness to propose solutions and help get hardware to our team on time. quipteams stands out with an excellent team and competitive pricing, along with exceptional customer service, flexibility, and a genuinely human touch in their interactions."
Source: Verified G2 Review
The platform's geographic depth proves particularly valuable across Latin America and emerging markets. Another user notes: "What I really appreciate about quipteams is their wide range of options in many of the countries where we operate, especially throughout Latin America. We currently have inventory with them in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, the United States, and others. Whenever we need a specific device model, they always help us find it."
Source: Verified G2 Review
Customer feedback: CDW
CDW's enterprise customers praise the breadth of its product catalog and vendor expertise. According to a G2 reviewer: "CDW makes it easy to find new products in the markets and also makes some good suggestions based on requirements... really have a wild range of options when it comes to hardware and software purchasing" (G2). On TrustRadius, a government manager noted "convenient website, competitive quotes, outstanding product range" (TrustRadius).
For large US-based enterprises with dedicated account managers, CDW delivers a reliable procurement experience. The company is "recognized for its reliability, with feedback emphasizing high-quality products and minimal breakdowns" (G2).
However, the experience degrades significantly outside the enterprise tier and outside the US. On Trustpilot (1.4/5, ~93 reviews), users report orders being "cancelled without explanation or reason, with CDW claiming costs have gone up from listed prices" (Trustpilot). One customer reported being "given multiple conflicting timelines for refunds (2–3 days, then 2 weeks, then several weeks) with still no refund after 5 weeks" (Trustpilot). On Sitejabber (1.4/5, 82 reviews, 90% one-star), a reviewer waited over 3 months for a laptop order that was "not even listed as back orders" (Sitejabber). On TrustRadius, an administrator noted "customer service is still lacking, even after all these years" (3/10 review) (TrustRadius).
The pattern is consistent: CDW excels at enterprise-scale procurement in the US with dedicated account management, but service quality degrades for smaller accounts and non-US operations.
quipteams vs. CDW: Which One Should You Choose?
The answer depends on where your team is.
Choose quipteams if:
- You have employees in multiple countries and need one platform to handle devices everywhere — procurement, delivery, retrieval, storage, certified destruction, and data wiping
- You need devices delivered in 4 business days through local sourcing, not shipped internationally from US warehouses with customs clearance on your end
- You want a dedicated account manager available in real time to solve problems and answer questions — not a support queue, a hold line, or a ticket that disappears into a system
- You need full lifecycle coverage (retrieval, storage, buyback) as a standard service in every country you operate, not a patchwork of third-party partners with unclear availability
- You want net-30 payment terms with the flexibility to pay in local currency, not prepaid wire transfers in USD
Choose CDW if:
- Your team is primarily in the United States and you need a one-stop shop for hardware, software, cloud, AND professional services with volume discounts across major IT brands
- You need government or education procurement (CDW-G) with domestic US compliance requirements
In a nutshell:
CDW is an excellent IT procurement company for US-based operations. quipteams is a device lifecycle management platform built for companies that hire across borders — no exclusivity, no minimums, and you only pay for what you use. If your team is distributed across multiple countries, get a quote and see how quipteams handles it differently.
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Frequently asked questions
If your team is in the United States and your primary need is IT procurement — hardware, software, cloud products — CDW's catalog and vendor relationships are hard to beat. If your team is distributed across multiple countries and you need full device lifecycle management (not just procurement, but delivery, retrieval, storage, and data wiping), quipteams is built for that. The best way to evaluate is to request a quote from quipteams for your specific countries and compare the experience.
quipteams sources devices locally in each of its 133+ coverage countries through 400+ direct vendor and logistics partners, handling customs, delivery, and configuration end to end. CDW ships to 170+ countries but maintains direct operations only in the US, UK, and Canada. For international orders, CDW ships under Incoterms DPU — the buyer handles all customs formalities, duties, taxes, and import licenses at their own expense (CDW International Shipment T&Cs). quipteams delivers in 4 business days through local sourcing; CDW publishes no international delivery SLA, warning only that "delivery timelines may vary by vendor and region."
CDW operates on a contract-based pricing model with annual or multi-year commitments and early termination fees of 50–100% of remaining contract value (Vendr). International orders must be prepaid in full in US dollars by wire transfer (CDW International Shipment T&Cs). quipteams operates pay-per-use with net-30 payment terms: you pay for what you use, with no exclusivity, no minimums, and no recurring fees. For international operations, quipteams also offers the option to pay in local currency in select countries.
quipteams' local operations in 133+ countries mean you can start ordering devices in a new country immediately — same platform, same account manager, same process. With CDW, international scaling depends on which vendors serve each region, requires prepayment in USD by wire transfer, and involves you handling customs clearance independently in each country. CDW publishes no guaranteed international delivery timelines, and real-world users report items listed as "In Stock" being delayed for weeks with ship dates changing repeatedly (Trustpilot).
With CDW, enterprise accounts get dedicated account managers, but mid-market and smaller companies report being routed through general support queues with long wait times — CDW holds a 1.4/5 rating on Trustpilot from ~93 reviews, with recurring complaints about unresponsive service and conflicting information (Trustpilot). With quipteams, every customer — regardless of size — gets a dedicated account manager who's available in real time to help you solve problems, answer questions, and coordinate logistics. When something goes wrong, you talk to someone who knows your account, not a hold line or a ticket queue.
Yes — many companies do. CDW is strong at US procurement, and if you already have a relationship there, it makes sense to keep it. quipteams covers what CDW doesn't: delivering and managing devices for employees outside the US, handling retrievals when someone leaves the company in another country, storing and redeploying hardware globally, and coordinating all of it through a single platform. Even in the US, some companies find that paying slightly more through quipteams is worth it for the dedicated account manager, full lifecycle coverage, and having one platform that handles everything in every country. There's no exclusivity requirement — you use it where it adds value.
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