Menu
Purchasing cooperatives in education work with a wide variety of suppliers across industries relevant to school districts, colleges, and universities. Because of their scope, they can achieve significant discounts for the procurement of goods and services and help you streamline your procurement processes.
This focus on a national procurement strategy to benefit members of the cooperative provides deep insights into the education sector and uncovering best practices. Here are five key lessons you can learn from understanding how successful education cooperatives work.
Cooperative purchasing organizations enable schools, colleges, and universities to pool their buying power to secure favorable terms from suppliers. Organizations like E&I Cooperative Services provide access to pre-negotiated, competitively solicited contracts that save time and reduce costs, eliminating the need for individual institutions to conduct extensive solicitations.
For example, rather than purchasing IT hardware independently, a university partnering with a cooperative can benefit from bulk discounts and standardized agreements. This drives down costs and streamlines the procurement processes.
Cooperative purchasing also promotes equity by making high-quality resources accessible to smaller schools with more limited budgets.
While securing the lowest price may seem like a win, focusing on the total cost of ownership (TCO) reveals the long-term impact of a purchase. TCO considers factors such as maintenance, operational costs, and lifespan, offering a more comprehensive view of a product’s value.
Opting for a cheaper HVAC system may save money initially, but if it requires frequent repairs and consumes more energy, the long-term expenses could outweigh the upfront savings. Conversely, a slightly more expensive, energy-efficient system with a robust warranty may provide better value over time.
Education cooperatives emphasize value-driven purchasing by selecting suppliers who provide reliable, high-quality solutions that deliver long-term savings. This approach helps you maximize your resources without sacrificing quality or functionality.
Your national procurement strategy will benefit from looking at purchasing as more than transactional. Building long-term partnerships with suppliers you trust lets you collaborate on solutions that fit your needs.
When suppliers and educational institutions work closely over time, suppliers gain a deeper understanding of your goals, pain points, and operational concerns. This insight allows them to offer customized products and services that support your strategic objectives.
As an example, this understanding could influence a software provider’s product development, ensuring that updates cater to the needs of schools. Such collaborations foster mutual trust and often result in shared innovation.
Long-term supplier relationships also reduce the costs associated with onboarding and vetting new vendors, further enhancing efficiency.
It’s tempting to bypass the time-consuming process of vetting suppliers, especially when working with familiar vendors. However, conducting competitive solicitations regularly ensures the best value for your money.
By inviting multiple vendors to bid on contracts, you can uncover opportunities for significant savings or discover innovative solutions they might not have considered. Competitive solicitations also encourage existing suppliers to remain competitive to retain their contracts.
School districts looking to add to their bus fleet might explore other suppliers rather than just reordering from their current providers. This can uncover new players or options in the market and produce more competitive pricing.
Due diligence should also involve a thorough process of evaluating suppliers, contracts, and options to ensure the best value while mitigating risks and ensuring compliance. Additionally, it can include assessing crucial factors like sustainability to build a foundation for informed decisions.
Purchasing cooperatives in education conduct competitive solicitations to provide access to a wide variety of suppliers, making sure you have multiple options wherever possible.
Even when deploying a national procurement strategy, you still need to ensure the contracts align with your requirements. Scope misalignment can be expensive and create problems for years. Often, cooperative contracts offer pre-negotiated terms while allowing you to customize certain elements. For example, you may get large volume discounts for different tiers of purchases. A contract for janitorial services might have a base charge for cleaning services and areas covered, but you might get preferred pricing based on frequency.
Where possible, look for contracts that offer flexibility. As your needs evolve, you may need to adjust the scope or service delivery. Ensuring the contract allows you to scale or renegotiate when appropriate can help you avoid disruptions. You should always do a thorough review of any contract to ensure it aligns with your immediate needs and your future goals.
National procurement strategies used by successful education cooperatives can serve as a roadmap for you to optimize your operations. E&I Cooperative Services can help. As the nation’s only nonprofit member-owned organization that exclusively serves the education sector, E&I offers hundreds of ready-to-use contracts with top suppliers who offer volume pricing discounts and terms favorable to academic institutions.
Contact E&I Cooperative Services to streamline your procurement process and save money, or view available contracts.
