The Cooperative Purchasing Network is Now in New York

Cooperative purchasing is changing the way governments, nonprofits and schools are buying

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Wed., Aug. 1, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Bill S.5525c, Chapter 308, allowing municipalities and school districts in New York to jointly contract for goods and services with any other federal, state or local government agency. The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) is a national governmental purchasing cooperative that competitively bids and awards contracts to national vendors for commonly purchased products and services allowing such entities to make compliant purchases at a valued rate.

“In today’s economy of shrinking budgets and the high demand for increased efficiencies, purchasers are looking more often to leverage the buying power of cooperatives to help them save time and money”

Purchasing through a cooperative has proven to reduce administrative and production costs, increase efficiencies and stretch shrinking budgets during difficult times. With TCPN contracts, the competitive bid process is already complete and public agencies no longer need to go out for solicitation on goods and services.

All TCPN contracts are awarded by a single lead public agency, Region 4 Education Service Center, using a competitive solicitation process consistent with applicable procurement laws and regulations. Each solicitation contains language that advises all suppliers that the contract may be used by other government agencies throughout the United States.

City and county governments, municipalities, schools, religious organizations and nonprofits are eligible to use such cooperative purchasing. Over thirty thousand entities are already actively using at least one TCPN contract, from vendors such as AutoZone, HON, Trane and Office Depot.

TCPN provides access to hundreds of national vendors for commonly purchased products and services, including furniture, office and school supplies, p-card solutions, public safety supplies, security systems and equipment. All TCPN contracts are non-exclusive and there are no restrictions on the amount or size of any order.

TCPN is the only national co-op that is ISO certified and the organization routinely monitors vendor contracts through third-party audits and regular reviews to ensure vendor accountability. These processes assist entities in adhering to compliance issues, procurement laws and regulations.

“In today’s economy of shrinking budgets and the high demand for increased efficiencies, purchasers are looking more often to leverage the buying power of cooperatives to help them save time and money,” said Tray Moses, TCPN Director of Operations/Business Development. “The goal of TCPN is to provide state and local governmental entities with the opportunity to purchase commonly used products and services in an efficient and cost-saving manner.”

Public agencies can register to participate with TCPN at www.tcpn.org. Registration is free and no purchase is required to be a member.

TCPN is a national governmental purchasing cooperative, established in 1997 that competitively bids and awards contracts to national vendors for commonly purchased products and services, including facilities, furniture, office supplies and equipment, security systems and technology. Entities that must comply with purchasing procedures mandated by state laws and regulations, like public and private schools, colleges and universities, cities, counties, nonprofits, and all governmental entities, use TCPN contracts to increase their efficiency and economy when procuring goods and services. As a national purchasing cooperative, TCPN leverages one of the largest pools of purchasing potential and allows agencies to receive a combined buying power regardless of the entity’s size. For more information about TCPN, please visit www.tcpn.org.