Excerpt

Public procurement is often a challenging and time-consuming process. Factor in the costs involved, and you realize that getting what you want is harder than usual. But that is where cooperative contracts come in. Sourcewell can expedite the procurement process if you are buying fleet vehicles.

The purchase of electric fleet vehicles has become very popular. This is due to governments worldwide making an effort to curb greenhouse emissions. Buying electric vehicles is not cheap. But cooperative contracts can help you save money. 

Change is a difficult concept to embrace. But there can be no progress without it. As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, you need to implement changes that promote sustainability. Switching to a fleet of electric vehicles is a great way to commit to going green.

Sourcewell has created this Ebook to highlight how cooperative contracts expedite the public vehicle procurement process. The following are some of those roles:

• Effective pricing strategies 
• Research and surveying 
• Greater collaboration 
• Greater supplier choice 
• Leverage data in decision making 
• Source strategically 
• Best practices for procurement 
• Efficient bidding 

Many myths surround the procurement of fleet vehicles, especially electric ones. Sit back and read on as we dive into how cooperative contracts expedite the procurement of fleet vehicles. 

1. Effective Pricing Strategies

Businesses will always use pricing strategies that maximize their profits. Thus, normal procurement of goods and services often involves negotiating a lower price. But businesses will often know that you want a lower price. Hence, they will often quote a higher price when they initially offer to sell their products.

Cooperative contracts can help you by influencing the pricing strategy chosen by sellers. Cooperative contracts give you significant power over the market by increasing your purchasing options. Unlike normal procurement, cooperative contracts allow you to negotiate for better prices by providing you with economies of scale.

Sourcewell understands the different pricing strategies that exist in the market. Thus, we will use this knowledge to ensure that you get various pricing mechanisms. Greater variety in pricing strategies helps you determine the one you want.

Depending on the pricing strategy, you may decide to rent instead of buying fleet vehicles. But renting is only a great option if you follow a normal procurement process. This is because many sellers often use cooperative pricing strategies.

A cooperative pricing strategy is quite common among competing business entities. Under this strategy, competitors maintain their prices within a specific range. This strategy aims to ensure that consumers have no alternative but to buy the goods at a particular price.

Cooperative contracts can help you bypass cooperative pricing strategies and reap greater discounts. This makes buying fleet vehicles cheaper than renting when using cooperative contracts.

Cooperative contracting gives you economies of scale. Thus, unlike a normal consumer, you can work with a vendor to get a pricing strategy that works for you. Some of the most common pricing strategies in use are:

• High-low pricing
• Penetration pricing
• Premium pricing
• Bundle pricing
• Competitive pricing

Cooperative contracts give you access to professionals who know the above pricing strategies. These professionals can help you decide on a seller with a good pricing strategy. Thus, you can choose a supplier with a pricing strategy that saves you money.

Thus, you can exercise greater fiscal responsibility while getting products of higher value. Finding the right pricing strategy for a consumer is difficult. But cooperative contracts give you the power to do just that. They also grant you access to various pricing strategies for buying fleet vehicles.

2. Research and Surveys

Choosing the right supplier takes time. Additionally, you need to find out a company’s:

• Mode of operations
• Pricing strategy
• Reputation

It would be best if you considered all the above before deciding whether or not to make them your supplier. Cooperative contracts grant you access to research findings.

Speed is a key part of expediting the public procurement process. Cooperative contracts can reduce the time taken to engage in research. Thus, you can decide which supplier will meet your needs in good time. Cooperative contract bodies have to evaluate suppliers and their responses.

Cooperative contracting allows you to make informed decisions based on research and data. Sourcewell will provide you with the right information. Doing so increases your awareness of the suppliers available in the market. This will improve transparency and deepen your relationship with new or existing sellers.

Research and data can help expedite the negotiation during the procurement process. The availability of research can help you in the following ways:

• Convince suppliers to lower prices
• Know which suppliers have the best products
• Determine which supplier offers the best solutions

Cooperative contractors have a wealth of information that helps you understand a supplier’s full scope of work. Sourcewell can provide you with research and surveys of the type of product you are buying.

For instance, if you are buying fleet vehicles, Sourcewell can provide you with data on electric fleet vehicles. We can help you decide on the exact specifications of the goods you need for optimal utility.

Research and surveying focus not only on the available buyers in the market. Cooperatives contracts help you access the latest research on current and new market trends. Thus, you can make both decisions based on the market’s short-term and long-term performance.

Other research areas that cooperative contracts give you access to include:

• Newest technology
• Product specifications
• Negotiation

Newest Technology

Technology influences any critical decisions involved in buying fleet vehicles. Public procurement staff is often overworked. Therefore, they do not have enough time to research or survey the newest technologies. This puts them at a disadvantage if they are looking for fleet vehicles to acquire.

Sourcewell understands the myths and facts about electric fleet vehicles for public use. For instance, there is often concern that electric vehicles cost too much. But the newest technologies can help you save thousands of dollars. For instance, electric batteries and affordable charging stations have improved the performance of electric vehicles.

In addition, newer technologies have created better models of electric fleet vehicles. These models have a lower total lifetime cost than traditional options. Knowing the latest technology or any innovation can help expedite procurement and avoid costly mistakes.

Product Specifications

Cooperative contracts give you the research you need on the exact product specifications. Conventional procurement does not always give you the exact product you need. Cooperative contracting gives you access to a wide array of suppliers who offer the right product with the correct specifications.

Negotiation

Developing a contract requires negotiation with sellers and suppliers. To negotiate properly, you need to know suppliers that will meet the terms of your contract without fail. That is where cooperative contracts come in.

Sourcewell has considerable experience negotiating with sellers and understands what you need to develop the best contract. Cooperative contracts reduce the time it takes to negotiate a contract, thus expediting the procurement process.

3. Greater Collaboration

Cooperative contracts enhance greater collaboration among different public entities. You will understand different vendors better and develop collaborative relationships with them. This is because a cooperative contract fosters a mutually beneficial relationship between you and the vendor.

Additionally, some cooperatives can highlight certain gaps in the vendor-buyer relationship. This allows for the growth of collaborative relationships as vendors get to work on their gaps or weaknesses.

Unlike conventional procurement processes, you do not have to change a vendor if they are not meeting your objectives. Instead, a cooperative contract allows you to pinpoint what you need in the relationship through the cooperative agency or body. Thus, you don’t have to waste time cultivating the right relationships to get what you need.

Buying fleet vehicles is not a one-time process. You may need additional support from the vendor with regard to maintenance and repairs. Thus, maintaining a good relationship is essential to improve the outcome and performance of the vehicles after acquisition.

You do not have to build relationships from scratch when using cooperative contracts. You can have greater collaboration by:

• Leverage existing supplier partnerships
• Reducing the administrative burden of building the right relationships
• Eliminate resource constraints

Leverage Existing Supplier Relationships

Cooperative purchasing bodies such as Sourcewell have already built relationships with a vast array of suppliers in the market. Thus, cooperative contracting allows you to leverage those relationships to achieve your objectives.

The time taken to build a collaborative partnership with certain suppliers would usually take a while. But with cooperative contracts, you can piggyback on the relationship already made by the cooperative body and enjoy numerous benefits such as:

• An expedited purchasing process
• Better engagement with the vendors
• Take advantage of shortcuts to ease the purchase process

Reducing the Administrative Burden

It is an administrative burden to build the right relationships with vendors. Procurement offices in public entities are often understaffed and underfunded. Having someone else build collaborative relationships on your behalf can reduce the administrative burden of doing so yourself.

Eliminate Resource Constraints

Procurement offices do not have unlimited resources at their disposal. Your staff may not have the right tools to build collaborative relationships fast enough to expedite the procurement process. But Sourcewell does not require additional resources to help you create meaningful collaborative partnerships.

We understand that procurement staff often feel overworked. This is primarily due to the lengthy solicitation and research process that goes into procurement before settling on a vendor. Sourcewell can eliminate any resource constraints and grant you access to vendors willing to collaborate with you.

4. Greater Supplier Choice

Due to the bureaucratic nature of conventional procurement processes, many entities often face a limited choice of suppliers whenever they want to make a purchase. However, cooperative contracts eliminate such bureaucracies and give you access to a variety of vendors.

Additionally, getting in touch with large-scale suppliers may seem challenging for a small public entity. But letting Sourcewell work for you means you have access to any number of suppliers regardless of size.

Better supplier choice expedites the procurement process. This is because you can get a supplier who meets your needs fast. A greater pool of suppliers gives you more purchasing options.

In addition to increasing the number of suppliers, cooperative contracts also:

• Help you get flexible contracts
• Improved compliance
• Local preferences
• Support of social or local goals

Flexible Contracts

Cooperative purchasing organizations, such as Sourcewell, will evaluate contracts offered by vendors. This can help you choose contracts that will not cause a constraint for you.

A conventional procurement process is often done in haste. This often denies procurement officers a chance to go over contracts they sign with vendors. But a cooperative purchasing body already has several suppliers with knowledge of their contract terms.

Thus, we can help you get in touch with suppliers who offer the most flexible contract terms. Contract flexibility is crucial in the procurement process because your needs may change if there is an emergency.

Improved Compliance

You have found a supplier offering goods of the right quality and price. But you are not sure about their compliance. This is another area where cooperative contracts come into play. Sourcewell does an extensive background check of all suppliers it works with.

Sourcewell will help you choose from suppliers with excellent compliance history. You do not have to waste time or more resources diving into the past dealings of vendors. Sourcewell will provide that information and warn you of vendors with a history of non-compliance.

Local Preferences

Shopping locally is the best way to go. But finding the right supplier from your local area is not that easy. Sourcewell can help find a local supplier if you are buying fleet vehicles. Remember that making a purchase is not just about keeping costs low. It is also about promoting local businesses.

Conventional procurement processes and competitive bidding often give large suppliers an unfair advantage. Cooperative contracts can help you find a local partner to meet your needs.

Support of Social or Local Goals

Cooperative contracts can help you contribute to the achievement of local or social goals. Sourcewell evaluates supplier responses during the procurement process. Thus, you can set different criteria suppliers must meet to get your business.

For instance, you can decide to only work with vendors who have committed to going green. Thus, Sourcewell can provide access to suppliers with similar goals and objectives. This can enhance public trust in procurement because it is their money.

5. Leverage Data in Decision-Making

Data analytics is a core part of every financial decision in the modern age. You may not have enough time to gather all the data you need to make informed decisions. Cooperative bodies such as Sourcewell have data analytic experts who can help eliminate inefficiencies in the procurement process.

There are numerous types of data analytics in procurement, such as:

• Predictive data analytics
• Descriptive data analytics
• Prescriptive data analytics
• Market data analytics

Predictive Data Analytics

Making a purchase decision requires a bit of knowledge regarding the predicted outcome of such a decision. When buying fleet vehicles, let Sourcewell help you understand what might happen. This can help you make smarter decisions.

For instance, predictive data analytics can help you understand why buying electric fleet vehicles is better, instead of using conventional models or choosing a rent option. Understanding why you need such goods creates better transparency.

Sourcewell will analyze correlated data and patterns from the market. Predictive analytics can help you prepare for the future by forecasting certain trends. Data analytics offered by Sourcewell is in real-time. Thus, the procurement process is not stalled at any moment, and you can get data on demand.

Descriptive Data Analytics

Many people shy away from data analytics because they think it is too technical. But it doesn’t have to be. Sourcewell can condense your data and provide you with usable information.

Sourcewell can analyze current and historical data to help you make better decisions. Data analytics does not have to be too technical to understand. Descriptive data analytics make it easier to get new insights from already gathered information. Additionally, Sourcewell can facilitate data integration from various sources.

Thus, you can get a holistic view of various data types to make smarter decisions. Additionally, data integration will help you recognize more gaps in the procurement process.

Prescriptive Data Analytics

Maximize the outcome of decisions in the procurement process by getting data analytics on all future outcomes. Prescriptive data analytics can help you determine the best course of action based on what may happen during and after the procurement process.

Prescriptive data analytics can help streamline the procurement process. It will also help you save resources and costs you might have incurred. You can use prescriptive data analytics based on research and surveys from other organizations that made the same purchase decision.

Market Data Analytics

Make smarter purchase decisions using market data analytics. Sourcewell can provide market data after qualitative and quantitative research on prevailing market conditions. This will help you make decisions based on data about:

• Suppliers
• Target audience
• Growth opportunities in the market

Data analytics helps you derive more value from the procurement process when buying fleet vehicles. Data analytics provides the information and tools needed to expedite the procurement process.

6. Source Strategically

Cooperative contracts can help you avoid costly mistakes by enhancing strategic sourcing. Sourcewell can understand your sourcing needs and fast-track the solicitation and bidding process. Thus, you do not have to waste a lot of time to get what you need.

Procurement offices do not have the resources or time to source strategically. This often leads to long wait times for public entities to get what they want before budgetary deadlines lapse. Cooperative contracts can help you get the right source with due diligence already in place.

Thus, no additional time has to get wasted negotiating with suppliers. Strategic sourcing can help you in the following ways:

• Adhering to regulations
• Enhanced product adoption and utilization
• Achievement of set objectives

Sourcewell maintains relationships with all its suppliers. Thus, the sourcing process does not have to begin afresh every time you need to make a purchase. Instead, the company will leverage its relationships to help you find the right source. This expedites the procurement process and grants you access to high-value contracts that address your needs.

Strategic sourcing allows you to meet public needs in record time. Buying fleet vehicles is often a time-sensitive issue. Expediting the procurement process through strategic sourcing allows you to satisfy demand.

Conventional public procurement is extremely sluggish. This is due to the time taken to find the right sources, prepare terms, evaluate bids and agree on pricing. Thus, a process that may take a few weeks could stretch for years. Cooperative contracts expedite procurement by minimizing the time taken from purchase order to acquisition.

Cooperative contracts allow for piggybacking. You can use an existing contract to get what you need. Buying fleet vehicles is something that new jurisdictions are already doing. Thus, you do not need to agree on terms with new vendors. Sourcewell can help you find vendors who are already meeting similar needs.

Piggybacking is an advantageous way of strategic sourcing because it is:

• Easy to administer
• Lowers the administrative costs of procurement
• Helps you save money, especially if you are facing budgetary constraints
• Greater variety of contract terms

Sourcewell will provide technical assistance to make the sourcing process more efficient. Thus, you can get help with product specifications and other terms. This helps you narrow down on what vendor has what you need.

Cooperative contracts help you derive the best value when sourcing. Sourcewell provides you with a wide variety of vehicle types and suppliers. Additionally, Sourcewell can step in and assist you if there are any challenges in sourcing.

7. Best Practices for Procurement

Cooperative contracts guarantee greater compliance with procurement best practices. A mistake made by a procurement official can result in significant losses. But cooperative contracts minimize or eliminate the risk of making mistakes. For instance, Sourcewell will use its experience and expertise to enhance adherence to best practices.

In addition, Sourcewell will choose vendors with a good reputation. Thus, you will face a minimized risk of getting into an exploitative contract. Sourcewell conducts due diligence on all suppliers it works with. This ensures you only work with vendors who comply with state and local laws.

Compliance with best practices is vital; first, it may affect the funding process, and second, it enhances integrity and transparency in the procurement process.

Compliance is a time-consuming process. This is because procurement staff has to explore numerous issues. Moreover, best practices are constantly changing, making it difficult for your team to guarantee compliance.

Sourcewell will help you learn the best practices to get high-value contracts. Adherence to best practices will help you get better results and continuous value throughout the contract’s lifespan.

8. Efficient Bidding

A significant part of the procurement process is bidding. You can waste a lot of time entertaining bids from thousands of suppliers. Cooperative contracts expedite the procurement process through efficient bidding.

You do not have to evaluate hundreds of bids that all seem great. Sourcewell facilitates a competitive bidding process. Thus, you can get access to suppliers who are new and offer better terms.

Conventional procurement processes create loopholes where contracts go to specific suppliers. But cooperative contracts handled by a third party guarantee you only see the best bids. Sourcewell will advertise that you are buying fleet vehicles to encourage bids.

The bidding process is well-structured and documented. You can see the bids through Sourcewell’s digital platform. Thus, you can begin the evaluation process early and narrow down the vendors with the best offers.

Sourcewell improves the efficiency of the bidding process by leveraging the staff’s expertise. Staff who understand your product needs are better suited to evaluate the offers you receive. Thus, you can trust Sourcewell to strategically select bids that offer the best value.

Cooperative contracts make bidding efficient by eliminating corruption or nepotism. Sourcewell has a detailed research and solicitation process. Greater transparency in the bidding process enhances public trust in the procurement of public vehicles.

Using Cooperative Purchasing Contracts

Cooperative purchasing is not a new concept. But many people are still apprehensive about it. This is mainly due to concerns about working with cooperative purchasing bodies. But you can choose the right partner based on the following:

• Reputation and experience
• Availability of resources and support tools
• Established network and field of specialization

The right cooperative contract partner can help you achieve your objectives. You do not need to do the heavy lifting anymore.

Expedite the Public Procurement Process Today

Buying fleet vehicles through traditional procurement is a time-consuming and costly affair. Sourcewell has considerable experience handling the purchase of public vehicles. We will expedite the procurement process and save you time and money.

Sourcewell can help you meet sustainability goals by providing guides on transitioning to an electric fleet. Sourcewell can improve your purchasing options regardless of size. Find out more about cooperative contracts and how Sourcewell can help you achieve your goals by contacting us today.