By Jeannie Fanning
June 4, 2012

When it comes to public procurement, joining a cooperative purchasing program is an established best practice. Aggregating the purchasing power of public agencies can lower costs, increase services and save time.

Most purchasing cooperatives offer cost and times savings, which are key to running procurement departments effectively and efficiently. The very best cooperatives, however, offer more.

The U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance partners with public agencies to find solutions that benefit procurement professionals. Simply put, U.S. Communities was founded by public agencies for public agencies.

U.S. Communities is the only purchasing cooperative founded and co-owned by five distinguished sponsors: The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National League of Cities (NLC), and the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO). In addition, over 90 state associations show their support for the U.S. Communities program with sponsorship.

The founding mission is to provide participating agencies access to competitively solicited contracts with national suppliers offering a broad line of top-quality products and services. There are no fees to participate and no purchasing minimums, allowing maximum flexibility for participants.

Each supplier commits to providing their most competitive government pricing to all participating agencies. Regularly scheduled internal and third-party audits ensure compliance with contract pricing, terms and conditions, while benchmarking analyses evaluate the overall value. Contracts are also reviewed quarterly by the Lead Public Agency, and all documents pertaining to contract solicitations are publicly posted on the U.S. Communities website for complete transparency.

Since its founding in 1991, U.S. Communities has generated millions of dollars in savings for participating agencies.

Yet, importantly, U.S. Communities goes beyond providing outstanding contracts. Together with our supplier partners, we are committed to offering comprehensive business solutions that help agencies maximize cost-control while also improving operational efficiencies and performance.

U.S. Communities continually works with key government purchasing officials from across the United States to identify solutions gaps so that these needs may be addressed through U.S. Communities program contracts. U.S. Communities takes great pride in not only providing resources, but also in serving as a resource, with innovative offerings including an online shopping portal, educational webinars and trainings, and a green purchasing program.

The U.S. Communities Cooperative Purchasing Alliance truly is the gold standard when it comes to honest and effective public procurement, as well as partnerships dedicated to providing best-in-class procurement solutions. With over 400 new registrations each month, the continued rapid growth is testament to the program’s record of integrity and unparalleled value.

To register your city at no cost, simply visit the website www.uscommunities.org. You may also contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland with the Conference of Mayors at 301-460-5251/ kweyland@usmayors.org, Jeff Bean at 202-446-8140/ jbean@usmayors.org, or Jeannie Fanning at 240-393-9672/ jfanning@usmayors.org.