By Jeannie Fanning
January 17, 2011

Cities and other public agencies across America are reaping substantial savings, rebates, and efficiencies in their procurement processes through the national cooperative purchasing alliance, U.S. Communities.

Sponsored by The United States Conference of Mayors, as well as the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National League of Cities (NLC), the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), over 70 state and regional organizations, and under the oversight of key public procurement professionals, U.S. Communities administers contracts that have been competitively'solicited by lead public agencies on behalf of agencies across the nation. The end result is a combination of best supplier overall, government-priced products and services to choose from, and huge savings on time and resources agencies would normally spend on their own solicitations. Types of goods and services offered under the contracts include office supplies, sports and athletic equipment, uniform and work apparel, janitorial supplies, technology services and equipment – even roofing supplies!

Cities can even optimize their purchasing power through various rebate incentives made possible through contracts administered by U.S. Communities. The Tech Depot, an Office Depot company, contract provides a useful example. Under this contract, which provides various technology services and equipment, participating agencies have access to rebates via one of, or all of three, purchasing incentives in a given year (see table below).

Jeff Wierenga, Senior Sales Manager with Tech Depot, says these kinds of rebates are very rare in the technology industry and are likely what makes the contract unique compared to others. “Through this contract we bring agencies the solutions and savings opportunities they need, including e-commerce options and free shipping.”

The Tech Depot contract isn’t the only one offering agencies more bang for their buck through rebate incentives. With Home Depot’s contract, purchases between $25,000 and $99,999 earn a rebate of one percent, while purchases of $100,000 and over earn a 2 percent rebate. The BSN Sports/US Games contract delivers a one percent rebate on annual volume purchases of sports and athletic goods between $100,000 and $199,000 and up to a three percent rebate on annual volume purchases valued at $300,000 or more. These valuable rebates can be a great bonus to cities and their purchasing departments when budgets are tight.

Rebates aside, another critical feature of U.S. Communities’ contracts is the savings on time and resources agencies would normally spend on procurements. Now agencies can take advantage of contracts that have already undergone a fair, transparent, and competitive solicitation process. They can save time, money, and labor for other critical areas of their business instead of tying up those resources in processing and preparing RFPs, bids, or bid reviews, and having to endure lengthy solicitation waiting periods.

Sharon Brause works in the purchasing division in Chandler (AZ), and explains how her agency utilizes the Home Depot contract to optimize its procurement needs.

“We’ve utilized several contracts with U.S. Communities, but the specific one that I use is with Home Depot for general maintenance supplies and building materials. This contract is great for helping us fulfill the needs of our various city departments because they [Home Depot] have such a wide variety of product.” Brause says. “By using this contract, we eliminate the cost of going out for a bid, reduce the lead-time it takes for us to obtain products, and receive an annual rebate back to the city. We-re also part of a larger buying group and typically receive a discounted price because of the volume expenditures that the contract provides. I think it also helps that we have a great partnership with our local Home Depot Pro Account Manager as well!”

If you want to optimize your city’s procurement program, find more savings, and add more revenue to your bottom line, contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland at 301-460-5251 or send e-mail to kweyland@usmayors.org; or contact Jeff Bean at 202-446-8140 or send e-mail to jbean@usmayors.org. You can also visit www.uscommunities.org for more information.