Understanding Cooperative Purchasing: How These Programs Benefit You

Cooperative purchasing programs are powerful. While much of the CCTV sewer inspection equipment and technologies purchased by municipalities and government agencies are complex and expensive, cooperative purchasing programs simplify the purchasing process while slashing costs. 

Under the ideal cooperative purchasing program, these organizations can pool their buying power for steep discounts on much-needed products, such as CCTV pipeline inspection trucks and grout rehabilitation trucks, without undergoing lengthy bidding processes and seeking approvals. 

At CUES, we’re active in a number of cooperative purchasing programs across the country to deliver better prices and a variety of additional benefits to our customers. Read on to learn more about the benefits of cooperative purchasing and how you can access CUES equipment and technology at a discounted rate.

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How Does A Cooperative Purchasing Program Work?

Under a cooperative purchasing agreement, a state or government agency sources contracts with vendors and then shares volume discounts with member agencies and municipalities.

In our case, we regularly bid on our CCTV pipeline inspection equipment and asset management software with cooperative purchasing programs all over the United States. When members of these programs search for our CCTV pipeline inspection equipment and  pipe inspection software, they can enjoy a streamlined purchasing process at volume discounts as they can forgo their traditional bidding process while benefiting from the collective purchasing power of each member organization. 

In some instances, vendors offer new bids on an annual basis or every few years. This grants members greater confidence in their purchases as they can be confident they’re receiving the best price from a pre-vetted and pre-approved vendor and the products they require. 

 

Advantages of Cooperative Purchasing

Joining a cooperative purchasing agreement unlocks a variety of powerful benefits for you and your organization. Some of the biggest advantages of cooperative purchasing include: 

1. Time Savings

The biggest advantage to cooperative purchasing is the time-saving advantage that comes with knowing every item has already been bid upon. When you remove the traditional purchasing process of sourcing bids, evaluating a long series of submissions, holding tedious meetings, and scheduling vendor demos, you can sometimes reduce the time to purchase by five to six months! In fact, a cooperative purchasing agreement empowers you to successfully purchase products as quickly as your team can move.

2. Financial Savings

Cooperative purchasing works, in part, by securing a volume discount on products. By purchasing through a cooperative agreement, you can enjoy a volume discount on small quantities—even on single orders—regardless of your individual organization’s size or overall purchasing power.

3. Purchasing With Greater Confidence

When you purchase from inside a cooperative purchasing agreement, you know that the vendor and their products have been pre-vetted, and you can place extra trust in the equipment you’ve purchased. This results in greater confidence for you and your team members who ultimately use the equipment and CCTV sewer inspection software—including our full line of CUES products—in the field. 

4. Access to Cutting-Edge Technologies

As a member of one of our purchasing cooperatives, you’ll have immediate access to the latest CUES equipment, like sewer inspection and CCTV cameras, without facing potentially prohibitive costs. With these advanced technologies at your disposal, you can ensure your CCTV pipeline inspections remain precise, accurate, and efficient while your organization maintains the highest industry standards and follows best practices. 

5. Enhanced Collaboration 

Joining a purchasing cooperative agreement grants you access to a robust network of organizations in your region with similar objectives and interests. These newfound connections create new opportunities for collaborations, resource sharing, and knowledge exchanges. 

How to Join A Cooperative Purchasing Program

Before working to join a cooperative purchasing program, check to see whether you’re already a member. As companies and municipalities experience employee turnover, they sometimes become members of a cooperative without all members of the team realizing it. In general, the process of joining a cooperative purchasing program is incredibly straightforward, and it often requires little more than completed paperwork and a signature from an authorized representative of your organization, though local legislation may be required.In many cases, membership is even free and auto-renews every year.

List of Purchasing Cooperatives

At CUES, we’re involved in a variety of Purchasing Cooperatives across the United States. Some of the biggest include: 

• HGACBuy - HGACBuy is a contract that can be used nation wide and is open to state agencies, counties, municipalities, special districts, political subdivisions, and qualifying nonprofit corporations. 
• Ohio Procurement Services - This cooperative purchasing program is available to local governments and political subdivisions in Ohio to acquire CCTV pipeline inspection equipment and asset management software through existing participating state contracts. 
• North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association - Although this association was originally intended for law enforcement agencies, it has opened up to county and city government agencies and specializes in heavy equipment like fire trucks, forklifts, lawnmowers, and more. 
• COSTARS - Under the COSTARS program, Pennsylvania local public procurement units and state-affiliated entities can take advantage of contracts established by the Department of General Services.

If you don’t see a program in your area, that doesn’t mean we’re not active in one. Skip to the next section to learn how to contact your local CUES Sales Representative or authorized dealer. 

Join A CUES Purchasing Cooperative

To join one of our cooperative purchasing programs, visit the links above, or contact us or your CUES Regional Sales Representative or authorized dealer. We’re involved with programs all over the United States, and it’s very likely we are part of a program in your region.