Challenge.

How do you replace nearly 8,000 PCs across 300 school sites—none of them Windows 11-ready—quickly, reliably, and on schedule? The City of Cologne turned to Bechtle, its trusted framework contract partner, to deliver this complex rollout on time. Planning, pre-configuration, delivery, installation, removal, and disposal—all from a single source under the existing agreement. And the swap? Right in the middle of everyday school life. A structured rollout, tailored to each school meant that every detail mattered. Plus, the delivery schedule had to be precise yet flexible—fast, smooth, and with no extra effort for the schools.

The rollout of the new PCs was an impressive achievement. What stood out most was the flawless execution and reliability, especially given the scale and tight timeframe. We kept communication open throughout the project, which allowed us to resolve any issues quickly and pragmatically—always with the schools’ best interests in mind. Feedback from the schools has been overwhelmingly positive as they felt fully supported thanks to transparent communication, on-site professionalism, and the way everything was handled from start to finish.

Markus Späinghaus, Team Lead, Media Deployment and Consulting, Department 12/Digitalisation and IT, City of Cologne

Solution.

Under its framework agreement, Bechtle provided the City of Cologne with high-performance Lenovo PCs and ThinkVision monitors—ready on demand whenever needed. The agreement also included the rollout of Lenovo devices to schools, funded by DigitalPakt government subsidies. For each school, the PCs were inventoried and prepared in advance, complete with security locks. Bechtle documented every device and organised them by school location, ensuring everything matched the agreed schedule and scope. Each PC was preconfigured for its destination prior to delivery, guaranteeing a smooth and efficient installation process. The team first removed the old equipment, set up the new systems, and triggered the base installation from the school server with just one click of a mouse. This meant the PCs were ready for immediate use with minimal downtime for the schools. And the old hard drives? They were securely wiped, fully documented, and disposed of through certified recycling partners. Even last-minute changes, such as increasing the rollout volume, were managed flexibly by Bechtle. And for the rollout plan? It was delivered with 98 percent accuracy. Across more than 300 school campuses, nearly 8,000 Lenovo PCs with matching monitors were delivered in just 11 months. Thanks to the commitment of everyone involved, the rollout was fast, structured, and perfectly coordinated—running smoothly at almost every location.

Business benefits.

  • Record-time rollout achieved through meticulous preparation and preconfigured systems.
  • A single, streamlined plan backed by a fully coordinated rollout strategy.
  • Everything from a single source – From planning and delivery to disposal.
  • Delivered on schedule in just 11 months, despite the large-scale rollout.
  • End-to-end coordination by Bechtle – From decommissioning old devices to installing new systems.
  • Secure disposal of legacy devices with certified data erasure – Fully documented and GDPR-compliant.
  • Future-ready IT with Windows 11 capability through the widespread deployment of powerful Lenovo PCs.
  • Tailored order fulfilment to ensure each school received the right quantity and configuration at precisely the right time.