Why Higher Education Institutions Should Rely on Cooperative Purchasing Agreements

The to-do list for procurement and finance teams in higher education seems to grow longer every day. Purchase more goods and services but reduce the amount of money we’re spending. Meet a growing list of internal requirements, but don’t overspend. Ensure we’re working with high-quality suppliers but work efficiently so you don’t waste time.

While you may not be a professional juggler, it may feel that way. Trying to keep all the balls in the air and handling each task smoothly takes a real pro. But even real pros need help at times, especially when workloads increase and budgets shrink. Fitch Ratings forecasts mild net tuition growth in the range of 2–4% next year for most of the colleges it surveys. However, these small increases are not expected to cover the rising costs of goods and services.

Cooperative purchasing agreements can help overcome the challenges procurement teams face, achieving economies of scale to reduce costs, broad access to supplier networks, and efficiencies to streamline the procurement process.

Key Features of Cooperative Purchasing Agreements

Cooperative purchasing agreements are designed with efficiency and cost-effectiveness in mind. Some of the most valuable features include:

• Bulk Discounts: By pooling the purchasing power of multiple organizations, cooperative agreements offer access to volume pricing discounts that individual institutions cannot achieve alone.
• Pre-Negotiated Terms: Contracts are negotiated on behalf of all member institutions, ensuring competitive pricing and standardized terms.
• Streamlined Processes: Eliminating the need for repetitive vendor evaluations and lengthy negotiations, higher ed cooperative agreements streamline procurement, saving you time without sacrificing quality.

8 Key Benefits of Higher Ed Cooperative Agreements

Relying on cooperative purchasing organizations to act as an extension of your procurement and finance team, you can knock things off your to-do list and realize these eight significant benefits.

1. Cost Savings

At the top of the list is saving money. With today’s budget constraints and future budget concerns, higher ed cooperative agreements save money. You can secure lower prices for goods and services when you aggregate the demand and needs of multiple academic institutions.

2. Time Efficiency

Time is a precious resource for procurement teams. Cooperative purchasing agreements save valuable time by providing pre-negotiated contracts ready for immediate use. This time savings significantly reduces the administrative burden, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives instead of routine tasks.

3. Access to High-Quality Vendors

Higher ed cooperative agreements can cover a broad selection of reputable suppliers. This ensures you have access to high-quality goods and services that meet your specific needs. The vetting performed by the cooperative also guarantees consistency in service delivery, minimizing the risks associated with untested vendors.

4. Flexibility and Scalability

Although these agreements are standardized to ensure compliance, they remain flexible enough to meet individual institutional needs. Whether you are a small college or a large university system, you can scale your purchases based on changing demands without sacrificing the benefits of negotiated terms.

Many agreements lock in pricing for purchases or discounts for catalogs while offering flexibility in the volume of goods you order or services you select.

5. Transparency

Cooperative purchasing agreements through an education-focused cooperative are compliant with procurement regulations, including competitive solicitation requirements. You get transparency in the procurement process from start to finish, reducing risk.

6. Meeting Internal Demands

Colleges and universities are trying to balance cost savings against meeting internal goals, such as working with local suppliers, or sustainability. Higher ed cooperative agreements can help you meet your social responsibility goals.

Larger contract opportunities attract more diverse suppliers that may not respond to individual RFPs, and many agreements allow for sourcing diverse or local suppliers as part of fulfillment.

7. Category Expertise

Cooperatives often have category experts with unique insight into specific categories of goods and services and industry trends. This knowledge helps source the best solutions and craft agreements with favorable terms and conditions.

8. Relationship Management

Cooperative agreements represent large volumes of business for suppliers, so they are more likely to deliver superior service to avoid loss of business. This includes creating strong relationships with their customers.

These relationships foster collaboration, helping find innovative solutions to your procurement challenges.

Overcoming Procurement Challenges

Cooperative purchasing agreements offer higher education institutions a practical and strategic way to overcome procurement challenges.

By partnering with E&I Cooperative Services—the only nonprofit member-owned sourcing cooperative dedicated exclusively to the education sector—you get access to hundreds of contracts negotiated specifically for school districts, colleges, and universities.

Get in touch with the education procurement experts at E&I Cooperative Services today to discuss your needs, or view available cooperative purchasing agreements.