Procurement teams often juggle a long list of tasks, which can often feel overwhelming, especially with today’s uncertain funding and tight budgets. There is considerable pressure to reduce costs without compromising on quality, while also finding ways to reduce the administration burden that comes with procurement.
Purchasing cooperatives offer a strategic advantage to help reduce your workload, find significant savings, and help you improve supplier relationships for better service.
An individual school, regardless of its size, typically has limited purchasing power. Even some state systems and large school districts do not buy the volume that a collective of thousands of institutions can represent. Purchasing cooperatives consolidate this demand and create a significant, reliable revenue stream for suppliers. In turn, suppliers offer significant savings that are typically reserved for only their largest accounts.
For education procurement professionals, this means accessing pricing tiers that would likely be unattainable on their own.
Beyond simple discounts, this collective leverage often yields better contract terms and conditions. You might find extended warranties, enhanced service levels, and contracts tailored to the education sector. Suppliers recognize the efficiency of serving multiple educational institutions through a single contract vehicle and pass those operational savings along through more favorable terms.
Cooperative buying enables you to benefit from more than just better pricing.
As the only member-owned nonprofit sourcing cooperative that exclusively serves the education sector, E&I Cooperative Services competitively solicits contracts on behalf of more than 6,000 academic institutions. This creates value that goes beyond just the contracts.
“It’s not just the contracts,” said Barry Swanson, Chief Procurement Officer at the University of Kentucky. “A lot of times, it’s the networking and the people that are involved that also add a lot of value.”
“E&I as an organization has given me a network of trusted allies and friends in the higher education space,” said Wanda Hernandez, Executive Director of Procurement and Business Services at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “I think of them as a friend I can reach out to at any time with any issue, and they’ll help me find a solution.”
Mark Sillman, Associate Director for Purchasing at UNC-Chapel Hill agrees. “When you talk to them, they can actually direct you to other institutions that may have the same or similar problems,” he said.
E&I Cooperative Services also helps you develop stronger supplier relationships.
When you choose a cooperative contract, you can also form direct relationships with suppliers. This provides benefits for both you and the supplier. A cooperative approach often produces innovative solutions, such as:
Investing in building stronger supplier relationships creates a higher level of transparency, which can benefit both parties. A McKinsey study showed that when buyers and sellers work collaboratively, they get twice the results compared to those who do not. Organizations that build strong benefits and innovation regularly with their partners see the biggest benefit.
Establishing strong relationships also helps to get earlier warnings on product changes or potential supply chain disruptions. Suppliers who are vested in the relationship are more likely to find alternate solutions or suggest phased delivery schedules that align with your academic calendar. When supply chains tighten, suppliers naturally prioritize their most valuable, long-term relationships.
For education procurement professionals who want to maximize these relationship and pricing benefits, several strategies can help:
Contact E&I Cooperative Services today to discuss your procurement needs and see how we can help your academic institution secure better pricing, create stronger supplier relationships, and streamline your purchasing through cooperative buying.
