Buying On A Budget

Over the last several years there has been a proliferation of purchasing cooperatives in the education space, and it’s easy to see why. Procurement professionals continue to face the daunting challenge of spending less and getting more. Be it through increased efficiencies, aggregated knowledge or leveraging resources, cooperative purchasing contracts can help.

Strength in Numbers

The sheer volume of purchasing power aggregated by the size of the cooperative provides individual members with economies of scale they would likely not be able to achieve on their own. Add to that the considerable time savings associated with researching new product categories, sourcing competitive quotes and negotiating pricing. By eliminating time spent on these tasks, resources can be reallocated to focus on more strategic projects.

Cooperative contracts can also represent a revenue generating tool. On top of exclusive savings and rebates, a true member-owned cooperative typically shares its profits with its members in the form of “patronage” refunds, which are based on a member’s annual purchases.

Strategic Value

“Resources are tight and are likely not going to improve in the future,” says Barry Swanson, chief procurement officer at the University of Kentucky. “Cooperative contracts require less time to develop and implement, while offering competitive prices under terms and conditions that meet our needs. Savings are achieved more efficiently, freeing up these limited resources for use in protecting the individual institution’s core mission of teaching, research, and service.”

According to Swanson, the combined spend of the cooperative creates an opportunity to attract quality suppliers, in addition to providing the leverage to negotiate the best possible pricing and terms. And then there’s the pool of knowledge created by a cooperative community.

“Cooperatives create a community that learns from each other as it works together,” he said. “Innovative processes, benchmarking, problem solving, and case studies are examples of valuable tools shared among cooperative members.”

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Design Firm Populous Acquires Fentress Architects

    Design firm Populous, which specializes in sports and entertainment venues, recently announced its acquisition of Fentress Architects, based in Denver, Colo., according to a news release. Fentress’ primary focus is aviation projects and public buildings like museums, convention centers, and government facilities

  • Lewis C. Cassidy Elementary School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Lewis C. Cassidy Elementary School has been recognized with an EDS 2025 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Texas A&M Adds ALPR Technology to Parking Solutions

    Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, recently integrated automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology into its parking services and enforcement strategies, according to a news release. The university’s Transportation Services division deployed Genetec AutoVu ALPR to manage the campus’ 36,000+ parking spaces.

  • ECM Technologies Wins ‘Most Innovative Business of the Year’ Award

    HVAC preventative maintenance and efficiency solutions provider ECM Technologies was recently named the “Most Innovative Business of the Year” at the 2025 Champions of Change Awards, according to a news release. The program recognizes Arizona business leaders and organizations taking steps to make a positive impact on the state through innovative thinking and philanthropy.

Digital Edition