As a purchasing professional, getting the best quality product or service for the lowest possible price can be a challenge. Working together with a purchasing cooperative can often yield better results that working alone. Joining a cooperative contract can simplify the purchasing process greatly, making it as easy as counting to three.
1. Faster Project Execution
When time is a factor, using a purchasing cooperative can help you execute your projects faster. Contracts available through co-ops offer pricing and contract terms that have been vetted and preapproved. This allows a government agency to eliminate the time and effort it takes to do market research, write a bid solicitation, gather and evaluate competing bids, negotiate, get approval, and set a schedule and complete the project.
2. Guaranteed Competitive Pricing
Another benefit of cooperative purchasing is that it allows you to procure resources at a reasonable cost and reduce the time and effort needed for projects. When working with purchasing cooperatives, it’s important to remember that negotiating power and purchasing discounts are impacted by the overall size of the purchasing group. Large purchasing cooperatives can help you leverage your purchasing power, anywhere in the country.
3. The Best Nationally Awarded Contractors
Lastly, an additional benefit to working with cooperative purchasing programs can be found in the contractors they use. These contractors and their prices have already been vetted to allow the public sector to buy directly from the vendors. This eliminates the need for a formal procurement process that can sometimes take weeks.
While working with a cooperative contract provides an innovative way to save time, secure better pricing, and ensure that you’re working with the top nationally awarded contractors, it is important for a purchasing department to do it due diligence before considering the use of a cooperative contract. It’s important to research different cooperatives and see which would be best for your organization.
If you have questions about cooperative purchasing or are ready to get started, our team is always available to discuss cooperative buying and how it can help make your job easier as a government purchaser. Call 877.942.5613 or go to www.roofconnect.com/purchasing-contracts.
