Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

How A Purchasing Co-op Can Help

  • By Angela Webb
  • 10/01/16

For people working hard to educate students, time and money are invaluable; there’s not a minute or a dollar to spare. That’s why it’s so important for districts to take advantage of every resource. Purchasing cooperatives are a great place to start.

Co-ops save you time and money by doing the work for you. Co-ops can offer competitive pricing that’s otherwise unavailable to individual districts by nationally leveraging their purchasing power. In other words, vendors are willing to exchange lowered prices for a pool of customers. When you’re part of a co-op, the vendor will provide a list of eligible and approved products available at exclusive prices — all you have to do is shop the list to save money.

If you’ve got a large project, you can use your co-op as a centralized place to see all products, so there’s no need to get multiple bids. These items are pre-approved to make sure they’re competitively priced and meet state guidelines — which means you don’t have to spend time wading through red tape. Since they’re designed to meet statutory, policy and administrative requirements, you can think of co-ops as a one-stop-shop for your district. Plus, you’ll benefit from “customized contact” perks. These include coordination of delivery and certain on-delivery services not available to individual customers.

When you join a co-op, you become a member of a network of educators. You’ll be invited to exclusive conferences on current trends, summer-creditive programs and opportunities to meet other educators. Essentially, a co-op offers a place for you to do all the things you want and need to do, but wouldn’t otherwise have time or money for.

Many co-ops offer free membership. TIPS is available nationally, is free to join and includes all standard services. Shop around and see what’s best for you.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Angela Webb is director of Sales at School Outfitters. She can be reached at 866/619-5311 or [email protected].

Featured

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • UNL Kiewit Hall

    Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

    Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.

Digital Edition