Here’s a striking reality: 70% of organizational contracts aren’t followed by the departments that use them, and 7 in 10 organizations can’t even locate 10% of their active agreements.
For higher education institutions managing everything from multi-million-dollar technology implementations to dining service contracts, these statistics represent more than administrative inefficiency. They signal compliance risks, barriers to strategic growth, and missed opportunities for savings.
Consider the scope. The average mid-size university might manage more than 2,000 active contracts annually, process thousands of purchase orders, and coordinate with hundreds of suppliers. Yet, research shows that only 22% of organizations are confident in their ability to track and manage these relationships effectively.
These numbers tell a story of the untapped potential of better higher education contract management. Institutions that have modernized their sourcing and procurement approach see dramatic results: 15-25% cost savings through strategic sourcing, 50–60% faster contract processing using digital tools, and measurable improvements in supplier performance.
Higher education procurement includes the systems, processes, and policies you use to source, buy, and manage the goods and services you need to keep things running smoothly. It can be day-to-day purchases like office supplies or janitorial services or complex agreements for IT projects and capital construction.
Regardless, finance and procurement teams are constantly juggling multiple priorities:
It’s no easy feat, and the importance of procurement teams has become even more front-and-center in today’s financial environment. It requires a strategic approach, from the RFP process to leveraging cooperative contracts and extracting greater value from suppliers.
A request for proposal (RFP) is used to solicit competitive bids from suppliers when you need a solution to a problem that goes beyond a typical commodity purchase. Compare that to a request for quote (RFQ) that defines the item and typically looks for the lowest-price qualified supplier.
RFPs define what’s needed, allowing suppliers to propose customized solutions that solve problems and meet institutional requirements.
Understanding what is an RFP and how to manage the RFP process effectively is essential for technology acquisitions, outsourced services, and mission-critical contracts that require a blend of pricing, technical fit, and qualitative evaluation.
The RFP procurement process begins with a needs assessment. Here are six steps that make up the typical RFP procurement lifecycle.
A few best practices can make a big difference in the success of any RFP process.
Henry Ford once said, “if everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” While that may or may not be true, one thing is certain. If you’re not collaborating and working together with key stakeholders, you might be left behind.
Procurement teams should engage all relevant departments—academic, IT, facilities, legal, finance, and anyone else—before building an RFP. This ensures the scope is realistic, requirements are complete, and the final contract will serve users effectively. This reduces rework and, ultimately, impacts adoption.
Ambiguity in evaluation opens the door to disputes and slows down the review process. The best RFPs include weighted rubrics for scoring proposals based on cost, quality, experience, compliance, and any other critical factors.
Public institutions, in particular, must ensure RFPs meet standards for transparency and fairness. That includes publishing clear timelines, offering open Q&A periods, disclosing evaluation procedures, and documenting all decision-making.
A transparent RFP process minimizes legal risk and enhances institutional credibility.
RFPs should reflect more than cost concerns. They should incorporate criteria that support broader priorities such as supplier diversity, sustainability, Title IX compliance, data privacy, and accessibility standards. Aligning procurement with institutional goals ensures that contracts contribute to fulfilling your mission and not just operational needs.
While often used interchangeably, sourcing and procurement are distinct components of the purchasing lifecycle. Sourcing is the strategic front end, generally focused on market research, identifying potential suppliers, evaluating proposals, and negotiating contracts. Procurement is more about execution, managing the transactions from purchase orders through approvals, invoices, and payments.
Understanding the differences in sourcing vs. procurement will help you develop long-term supplier relationships, consolidate spend, and negotiate better terms through competitive sourcing. When sourcing is strategic, procurement becomes more efficient. And when procurement is standardized, sourcing becomes more data driven.
Sourcing vs. Procurement: Key Differences | ||
Sourcing | Procurement | |
Definition | Identifying and evaluating potential suppliers | Executing the acquisition of goods or services |
Focus | Strategic, long-term | Transactional, day-to-day |
Activities | Market analysis, RFPs, negotiation | PO issuance, invoicing, payment |
Impact
| Shapes supplier base and contract value | Ensures delivery and compliance |
Although each phase has its own definition, both are critical parts of overall procurement in higher education.
Strategic sourcing is all about aligning spend with institutional objectives. Depending on your goals and situation, that might mean improving efficiency, fast-tracking digital transformation, consolidating suppliers to achieve greater discounts, or supporting diversity or sustainability goals—or all of the above.
Today, 79% of procurement teams report they are supporting more initiatives than just a few years ago. It’s a delicate balancing act, especially when you throw in budget constraints.
Instead of just reacting to department requests, procurement teams must think more strategically, using data and planning to proactively manage supplier relationships and category spend.
One foundational step is category management. By grouping purchases such as IT, facilities, academic services, and student life category managers can evaluate spending trends, identify preferred suppliers, and coordinate purchases across departments. This approach reduces fragmentation and typically lowers costs.
Institutions must also invest in cross-functional collaboration. Sourcing teams should work closely with department heads, academic deans, and administrative leaders to understand real needs and design solutions that work campuswide. This includes assessing contract performance, exploring cooperative contract options, and engaging in market benchmarking.
To be effective, strategic sourcing must also overcome common obstacles.
More than 30% of procurement professionals say getting stakeholder engagement is their top challenge. Yet without collaboration, many projects fall short; 17% also say there’s a lack of staffing, training, or time to handle category management efficiently. Effective category management pays dividends, but only if you can get cross-functional support as part of the sourcing and procurement process and have the resources to manage it—or work with a third-party like the category specialists at E&I Cooperative Services.
In higher education, strong contract management is essential for managing risk, optimizing spend, and ensuring institutional integrity. It’s not enough to catalog contracts and store PDFs. You need a system that enables you to:
Contracts really should be seen as living documents that shape service delivery and outcomes throughout their term. Institutions that prioritize contract visibility and lifecycle management see fewer risks, better renewals, and higher overall ROI.
As procurement functions mature, digital tools become more essential. Most academic institutions are undergoing continuing digital transformation. Colleges and universities are rapidly deploying eProcurement platforms and AI tools. A report from Wharton and GBK Collective showed that 94% of procurement teams are now leveraging generative AI tools, up from just 50% the year prior.
The productivity gains can be substantial. KPMG research estimates that 50%–80% of procurement workflows can be automated, eliminated, or offloaded.
E&I Cooperative Services offers competitively solicited contracts with leading eProcurement platforms, including Unimarket, Jaggaer, EqualLevel, and E&I Marketplace, which enables up to 90% of everyday purchasing spend to be brought under contract through one centralized interface.
Cooperative purchasing provides an alternative to institution-issued RFPs and gives cooperative members access to competitively solicited and negotiated contracts that meet public-sector procurement standards. For higher education, this represents significant value:
Cooperative contracts support every stage of the procurement lifecycle from sourcing and selection to compliance tracking and renewal. Whether you need a new technology platform, lab equipment, or facilities management services, E&I Cooperative Services can help you save money and reduce your administrative burden.
How E&I Cooperative Services Can Help | |
Needs Assessment | Offer benchmarks for pricing and service scope |
Sourcing | Eliminate RFP cycles with pre-competed options |
Contract Management | Standardized terms, renewals, and compliance tracking |
Implementation | Reduce onboarding time with ready-to-use solutions |
COST SAVINGS | Leveraging bulk buying power across 6,000 member academic institutions |
Category Specialists | Deep insight into categories, goods and services, suppliers, and innovation pipelines |
TRAINING and DEVELOPMENT | Professional development opportunities and collaboration with other education procurement professionals |
Modern procurement teams must demonstrate the impact of their work, not just in cost savings, but in strategic outcomes. Measuring procurement ROI means tracking more than transactional data. It includes qualitative and strategic indicators that show how procurement supports the institution’s mission.
Leading institutions define their KPIs clearly at the beginning of projects and monitor them through the contract lifecycle. Here are a few examples.
This includes cost savings from negotiated terms, cost avoidance through contract enforcement, and total cost of ownership improvements. Visibility into spend consolidation and price benchmarking helps quantify the procurement team’s contribution.
Metrics here might include the percentage of spend under contract, contract renewal rates, supplier audit results, and usage of cooperative agreements. Strong performance indicates alignment with federal procurement rules and internal policies.
Tracking on-time delivery, service quality, issue resolution, and supplier diversity participation reflects the value of supplier partnerships. Institutions should report annually on goals such as minority-owned supplier spend and sustainability outcomes.
The cycle time for requisitions, the level of user satisfaction, and the adoption of eProcurement platforms reveal how well sourcing and procurement strategies serve your campus.
Institutions must move beyond reactive purchasing and toward an integrated model that supports academic outcomes, fiscal responsibility, and long-term strategy.
Business has long embraced the People, Process, Technology (PPT) framework for success. It applies to your sourcing and procurement strategy as well. Get the right people on board, create a seamless process, and invest in the technology your team needs to get the job done right.
E&I Cooperative Services offers more than 200 competitively solicited cooperative contracts tailored to the unique needs of education procurement professionals. From RFP support and strategic sourcing to eProcurement platforms and contract management, E&I helps your team move faster, spend smarter, and stay compliant.
Stop being part of the 70% who can’t find their contracts or the 22% who can’t track them. Transform your procurement with E&I’s proven solutions and join institutions already seeing 15-25% cost savings.