Hi, We’re AIQ®
AuctionIQ (AIQ) is a team of passionate client advocates who have advised hundreds of Fortune 500 company executive and others on a wide range of strategy and change issues with a focus on money saving projects including IT Services and telecom procurement and contract negotiation.
AIQ has advised clients in global sourcing, development, and design projects, working with teams composed of executives, legal, professional and technical experts. In this role AIQ makes domestic and global in-country sourcing and cost reduction easy for the client, while typically producing savings of around 50%.
Since the beginning, AIQ consultants have been raising expectations of its clients and delivering with alacrity. At a time in history when the world was using other consultants who were manually crunching the numbers on paper, AIQ consultants were dedicated to automation and innovation. While others were manually cranking through paper and word based RFPs with the fewest bidders possible, AIQ consultants were running global multi-service online auctions with dozens of bidding entities providing real-time analytics to both clients and bidders. They have been a real game changer. The world is now accessible to AIQ clients because AIQ consultants operate globally, using all forms of automation.
1985-1991
Applied Research Technologies, Inc. (ART) was founded on February 22, 1985 in Tarzanna, California by Brad Buxton. Buxton was then a manager at Sprint in San Francisco, and was a co-founding member of National Telecom (now known as TelAmerica), followed by being Allnet’s youngest branch Manager, (at the time, the nation’s 4th largest long distance provider.) Later, Buxton worked at Ford Aerospace on the Starnet network, before he went to work for GTE and Sprint at their Burlingame Headquarters in San Francisco. He also had experience performing WAN design and recommendations work for several large consulting firms. At the onset, ART focused originally on the design and optimization of large, domestic corporate voice networks. The first network optimizations by ART were for Caesar’s World in Las Vegas and the Mann Theatre Corporation in Los Angeles.
1991
ART moves headquarters from California to Salt Lake City with core competencies in telecommunications network consulting, design, and analysis.
1995
ART conducts the first Internet-based RFP for Netscape and sets the world afire with its automated technology. That year, Netscape Global Network Architect, Ken Dacus characterizes ART as the “Platinum Standard against which all others should be measured”
1996
ART runs first on-line reverse auction on the Internet for Netscape.
1994-97
Notable ART clients include Oracle, Silicon Graphics, Genentech, Johnny Carson, Autodesk and Charles Schwab.
1998-99
ART automates its processes and webifies its deliverables with the launch of its unique suite of web-based RFP, TEM and Optimization applications which were given the moniker by its clients that eventually stuck: “ARTools.”
1997-2000
Some notable clients include Apple Computer, IBM, Applied Materials, Seagate, Sun Microsystems and Yahoo!
2000-2004
The addition of more high profile clients continues, including AMD, Hitachi, Intel, Bechtel Corporation, ChevronTexaco Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Nordstrom, REI, Alaska Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Safeco Corporation (Clients now include 6 of the Fortune 100) – eventually making it to 4 of the Fortune 5.
2009
AuctionIQ (AIQ) founded, US patent #7412412 issued.
2005-2011
The acquisition of a diverse set of large global clients continues. The size of the companies ranges from 5K – 85K employees and $1.8B – $17.7B in annual sales. Some of the industry verticals covered with these clients include:
- Airlines
- Energy, Gas & Oil Exploration companies
- Architecture engineering and construction
- Heavy equipment
- Manufacturing – Industrial machinery, tires, tools electronics, IT optical networks, medical supplies
- Insurance
- Banking
- Software
- Data storage
- Semiconductor (chip fab)
- Digital imaging
- IT outsourcing
- Big Pharmaceutical and biotech companies
- Healthcare
- Hospitality
2012-Present
AIQ continues its mission of innovation in order to best serve its client’s needs to maximize savings, EBITA improvement, and growth. Continued investment and ongoing development in the area of business process, machine learning, and AI results in AIQ being awarded US Patent #10,979,315 on April 13, 2021 “MACHINE LEARNING FEEDBACK LOOP FOR MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY IN TRANSACTION FLOW”. This is the 3rd process patent awarded to AIQ’s founder, and the first award to some of AIQ’s executive team inventor members.