1. Lower Costs
By combining orders and standardizing products and services, quantities purchased will increase, resulting in the benefits derived from the combined economies of scale of multiple organizations.
2. Lower Administrative Costs
With one procurement process and one contract serving multiple organizations, administrative costs are reduced as preliminary work has been done.
3. Improved Response from Vendors
Vendors realize they are bidding on larger orders and will be encouraged to compete for the purchase. Greater competition should lead to lower bid pricing.
4. Higher Quality Products and Services
Procurement professionals study and consult with experts to write specifications. Cooperative organizations can produce better contracts for higher quality products and services, since shared experience results in the development of much better specifications for goods and services.
5. Better Compliance with State Statutes on Purchasing
Since many purchases will be subject to competitive bids, they will be in compliance with the statutes on biding.
6. Convenience
Instead of seeking quotes, bids, or proposals, customers simply select products and services from the cooperative contracts, saving considerable time and effort.
7. Utilization of Resources
Eligible entities are better able to utilize their human resources and/or procurement resources for other contracts and tasks.
8. Greatest Benefit
A survey conducted by Government Procurement (Go Pro)**, in 2011, showed that cities, counties, school districts, universities, special districts, and state agencies projected their entity’s use of cooperative contracts will increase and that the greatest benefit included time savings (89.4%), and expense savings (79.5%).
As an initiative of Iowa's Area Education Agencies, AEA Purchasing is your local source for cooperative procurement. In addition to the above, portions of every purchase from our contracted partners stay in Iowa to support our workforce and education system.
For your next purchase, big or small, consider the options available to you via our various purchasing programs. If you need help getting started, let us know! We are in your neighborhoods waiting to serve.
Strategic sourcing. Sensational service!
*Including National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO); National Institute of Government Purchasing; (NIGP); National Association of Counties (NACo), National League of Cities (NLC), U.S. Conference of Mayors
**Cooperative Purchasing Today, American City & County Go Pro research quantifies usefulness of coop agreements, projects usage to expand, Aug. 1, 2011
