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Exclusive research by Government Procurement (Go Pro) magazine confirms the popularity of cooperative purchasing as a component of the procurement strategy for the vast majority of government entities of all types. Results of Go Pro's online survey indicates that 95.2 percent of respondents already use cooperative purchasing, and the outlook is bright for even greater expansion of cooperative contracts in the future. Half of the survey respondents project their entity's use of cooperative contracts will increase in the next three years. (See the end of the article for demographics and other information on the survey).

The biggest benefits of cooperative purchasing listed by survey respondents are time savings (89.4 percent of respondents) and expense savings (79.5 percent), with program rebates listed next most commonly at 35.4 percent. Other listed benefits included well-written contracts, expanded pricing tiers and better quality of service from vendors. One respondent noted that cooperative contracts provide the ability to "concentrate on solicitations to which we can add value."

"One of the main purposes I personally will look at a cooperative over conducting a solicitation is because of the time factor," said Peggy Hayes, a Yuma, Ariz., buyer who responded to the survey. "The solicitation has already been conducted and finalized. All I have to do is a due diligence review of the processes to be sure it complies with our own requirements, and then proceed. Price is important certainly, but occasionally time is even more crucial."

"Many times we choose cooperative contracts to save time and money by forgoing the bid process," added Susan J. Hyatt, senior buyer and purchasing card administrator in Grand Junction, Colo., another of the survey respondents. "Lack of service or delivery problems can easily override or negate any 'savings' we may have anticipated, whether the perceived savings are time or money," she said.

Limitations of cooperative purchasing

In fact, pricing was the main complaint of survey respondents about cooperative purchasing contracts - 47.1 percent of respondents see "pricing not aggressive enough" as a limitation of cooperative contracts they have used.

"When everyone gets a contract, pricing may not be as aggressive as it could be," notes Paul R. Edwards, purchasing agent in Hillsboro, Ore., another of the survey respondents. "A large bulk purchase going to a single location will generally beat the pricing of the cooperative purchasing agreements, which are generally priced for the one- to two-quantity purchase."

The first table on p.14 lists limitations included in the survey. Other complaints include operational/logistical problems, choices that are too narrow and a lack of service. Notably, 27.1 percent of respondents said a limitation is that cooperative contracts "do not meet competitive solicitation standards."

"When you have to do more with less, you appreciate efficient, timely service," commented Hayes. "It is difficult to use a cooperative contract if the vendor frequently leaves you waiting for an answer. If the service associated with the contract is lacking, it defeats the primary purpose of using it."

Edwards commented: "When buying anything that requires some level of maintenance, it is critical for the vendor to have a service department that can take care of the equipment when things don't go well."

Other complaints listed by respondents include lack of transparency (pricing not publicly available) and lax logistical guidelines or scope of work. A couple of respondents pointed to the fact that cooperative purchasing does not address sustainability or minority-owned, women-owned or small business requirements.

One unidentified survey respondent offered this comment: "The cooperative organization reaps the most monetary benefits and is not always concerned with the members' results. Related to that, cooperative sales people often oversell to vendors and members, making things appear better than they really are. Poor recordkeeping for tracking cooperative purchases is also a problem."