TIPS and PEPPM can leverage the power of cooperative purchasing to save government offices time, money, and effort.
If you work on procuring supplies for a government agency, you have probably heard of The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS). You may also be familiar with the Pennsylvania Education Purchasing Program for Microcomputers, better known as PEPPM. These two organizations are "cooperative purchasing programs," which act as middlemen between public procurement officials and private contractors. If your organization hasn't already signed up with them, you might want to do so, as the benefits can be significant.
TIPS and PEPPM can help your organization find the right vendors, save money, and ensure compliance with government standards. The goods on offer range from electronics to furniture to medical supplies. Both TIPS and PEPPM provide free registration, and neither one locks you into using their services. As such, it's worth your time to sign up for both groups and see what they can do for your institution.
What are TIPS and PEPPM?
Both TIPS and PEPPM are both "cooperative purchasing" or "cooperative procurement" programs. In this arrangement, public institutions can purchase through already bid awarded contracts for goods and services. This can help lower costs for buyers, as bigger professional groups tend to have more leverage than smaller ones. Think as far back as medieval guilds, or collective bargaining in modern trade unions.
Cooperative purchasing isn't a zero-sum game, though. This system can also be good for vendors. They can advertise their services to hundreds of organizations at once, all across the country. Furthermore, TIPS and PEPPM can help ensure compliance on both sides. This is because the U.S. government has strict rules on how institutions procure supplies.
TIPS and PEPPM are similar, but vary somewhat in scope. The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) originated in Texas in 2002. Originally, it was a cooperative that helped schools in Texas negotiate lower prices for supplies. Now, it serves schools, government offices, and nonprofit organizations anywhere in the country.
PEPPM began in 1982 as the Pennsylvania Education Purchasing Program for Microcomputers. It started off as a way for Pennsylvania schools to get better prices on computers. Now, the organization works with public agencies as well as schools. Like TIPS, PEPPM is also available anywhere in the United States.
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Benefits of TIPS and PEPPM
There are three major benefits to TIPS and PEPPM: convenience, simplicity, and cheaper prices.
If your agency procures supplies on its own, then you have a lot of hoops to jump through. You have to find vendors yourself, and ensure that they offer reliable and compliant services. By contrast, TIPS and PEPPM do most of this work for you. They vet vendors themselves, and offer contracts directly on their websites. All you have to do is find the right vendor and get in touch.
This process can also lead to shorter wait times. Consider a case study from TEMA Roofing, a TIPS-affiliated contractor. The company renovated the Federal Building's roof in Youngstown, Ohio, and credited The Interlocal Purchasing System with reducing wait times between bidding and execution.
TIPS and PEPPM also make it simple to sign up. Neither organization charges for membership, as they make their money through government subsidies and grants.
To join TIPS, simply visit the website's Membership Portal. From there, you'll have to enter information about your agency, including its name, address, and area of service. Your state may also require some additional paperwork, which TIPS provides.
PEPPM's signup process is similarly intuitive. Visit the Registration link, enter your organization's clerical data, and create a username and password. According to the website, PEPPM vets most prospective organizations within a single business day.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of cooperative procurement is in pricing. Because TIPS and PEPPM work with so many agencies and vendors, they can often have the benefit of offering pricing that an individual organization cannot. The exact rates will vary depending on the project, however. You'll still have to do some firsthand research with phone calls and send e-mails. The difference is that you'll do so with the passive support of hundreds of other public agencies.
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Challenges of TIPS and PEPPM
There aren't many disadvantages to using TIPS or PEPPM. Registration doesn't cost anything. Both of them offer huge databases of reliable vendors. Joining either organization doesn't mean you have to use their services. If you decide that you're better off procuring supplies independently, you're free to do so.
Still, the Engaging Local Government Leaders advocacy group has pointed out a few potential pitfalls in cooperative procurement. Having access to so many vendors can create "analysis paralysis," compared to finding just a few on your own. Having access to vendors from all around the country can also make it more difficult to highlight businesses in your own region. This can be especially hard on minority- and women-owned businesses, as they often rely on local customers.
Our recommendation: RICOH C125 MF
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