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Just because you don’t consider it doesn’t mean it isn’t important
Stephen B. Gordon, director of graduate certification in public procurement and contract management at Old Dominion University, discusses the risks associated with cooperative contracts.
Kevin Beardsley, the director of procurement for Virginia Beach Public Schools, suggested: “Write about the need to train entry-level public procurement staff on how to determine whether a cooperative contract should be used to fulfill a requirement. If so, how can one determine which cooperative contract they should use?” That A+ suggestion connects to two daunting challenges in public procurement: accurately defining requirements and securing what truly is the best deal (as opposed to what...
This is an important topic
This is an important topic for discussion. The use of a cooperative purchasing agreements, properly executed to comply with the majority of public procurement requirements can save time and reduce administrative burden associated within the public solicitation process. However, the astute procurement professional realizes that the still must be an investment in: the needs assessment (understanding the requirement and the various ways the need can be met); market analysis (which cooperative agreement is best for the particular requirement and the age of the agreement); a thorough review and understanding of the original requirement(s) of the lead agency and how it was articulated in the outgoing solicitation documents; the terms and conditions of the resulting cooperative purchasing program agreement, paying particular attention to regional and industry differences (e.g., construction regulations applicable to public schools v. those to public housing), price schedules (e.g., does the same price schedule apply to a mid-west entity v. a northeast entity), and terms and conditions that could conflict with regulatory requirements specific to the accessing entity. The use of the cooperative purchase program does not preclude the accessing entity from performing its own due diligence, and collecting current documentation from the provider. And, many such acquisitions will require the approval of the governing board.
My experience has shown that there is not a significant reduction in the amount of time to deliver a solution to my customers – perhaps 25%. What I have witnessed is a significant redistribution of the effort to other parts of the procurement process, namely source selection and contract negotiation.
I am interested to hear what other procurement professionals have experienced with the cooperative purchasing option over the past 5-7 years.