Across the country, more than a third of university buildings are over 50 years old. With budget constraints, many higher education institutions have put off maintenance with limited dollars, which is causing downstream problems and emergency spending. Nationally, the total maintenance backlog across schools and campuses is a staggering $112 billion.
Unplanned expenses create budget problems, requiring expediting repair parts and driving costs even higher. The key to resolving this is preventative maintenance, and that starts with a smarter procurement strategy for repair parts and maintenance supplies.
Unlike capital projects, MRO spend often goes unnoticed. Facilities teams and others may purchase directly from dozens of suppliers, and these purchases may fall outside the traditional procurement process. This decentralized approach or off-contract/maverick spend can significantly drive-up costs.
You need a coordinated approach that provides visibility into where money is spent, and ensures you leverage negotiated rates and supplier warranties to avoid unnecessary costs.
By bringing facilities leaders and procurement professionals together with a shared strategy, you can streamline the purchasing process for maintenance, repair, and operations In many ways, you simply bring MRO under the same approach you use for procurement across campus. Surprisingly, many higher education institutions aren’t doing this already.
MRO supplies include all the materials, components, and services needed to keep your facilities running smoothly. HVAC equipment and filters, plumbing parts, janitorial equipment and supplies, safety equipment—they’re all part of your MRO spend and have a broader impact than many think. A well-managed MRO program can lower costs by extending the life of your facilities and equipment.
Efficient MRO solutions require preventative maintenance and planning work beyond the next crisis. It’s especially important in higher ed, where the appearance and functionality of your spaces can impact safety and student recruitment, and retention.
So, how do you put a strategy in place that works? Start with data.
When you have all of your data in one place, you can analyze trends. This provides insight into pricing, performance, and contracted vs. non-contract spend, making it easier to ensure everyone is using approved vendors for MRO supplies to maximize savings.
The result? Fewer surprises, better pricing, and faster service.
Cooperative purchasing is a proven way to streamline sourcing for MRO and facility needs. By opting into competitively solicited contracts with significant volume discounts, you can move quickly, without having to go through a lengthy RFP process or spend more for emergencies.
It makes sense for small institutions that may not have the leverage to negotiate more favorable rates, and also for universities managing hundreds of buildings and thousands of assets.
If you’re constantly in reactive mode, it’s expensive.
Procurement can play a key role in shifting to preventive maintenance. By analyzing historical purchasing data, facilities teams can more accurately forecast which parts are likely to fail, and budget for replacements in advance. This ensures you have the common repair parts you’ll likely need on hand. No more emergency premiums.
Let’s look at some specific, proven strategies to optimize MRO spend.
When you bring everything together in a consistent, strategic plan, you get several significant benefits, such as:
All of this can help you chip away at that deferred maintenance and create long-term, sustainable solutions.
Reactive MRO purchasing costs your institution thousands in hidden markups. Access E&I’s competitively solicited facilities and maintenance contracts and stop overpaying for repair parts.