When people think about cooperative procurement, they often focus on contracts from national or regional cooperatives. But did you know public entities can also use state and local contracts?
These contracts are a great option if they meet your compliance requirements. In fact, more and more agencies are piggybacking on local contracts. Don’t miss out on an increasingly important way to save time and reduce administrative costs for your next procurement.
As the largest collection of cooperative contracts in the nation, Pavilion sees the highest demand for national cooperative contracts overall. However, interest in local contracts has been increasing steadily, driven by:
In states like Arizona, California, and Florida, local entities or purchasing alliances have added their contracts to Pavilion. This makes it easier for other entities to find and use these contracts. In fact, in these states, local contracts as a whole see engagement that is on par with – or even higher – than with contracts from cooperatives.
Entities such as Orange County (CA), Maricopa County (AZ), and City of Austin (TX) are now including piggyback language in their contracts by default (see examples here). This trend increases the diversity of suppliers and services available through cooperative procurement, offering entities more options that meet their specific needs.
Particularly for purchases requiring services, local contracts can be a proxy for a supplier’s experience and availability to meet local needs. Megan deGrood from City of Thornton, CO shares an example:
“We needed document destruction services. Criminal justice records were involved, so the supplier had to adhere to the State of Colorado law. Denver had recently awarded an agreement. It had very similar legal requirements to what we would require, and contained piggyback language. The scope of work and pricing all met our needs. Piggybacking was a process that was much faster than had we gone out to bid.”
When piggybacking on a local contract, make sure the contract:
Pavilion has a checklist of due diligence requirements, but always check your entity’s specific requirements.
Make sure you’re leveraging state and local contracts to get the most out of cooperative procurement.
