It’s a pretty exciting day when your government agency gets the funding approved to purchase a brand-new mower. Then the real fun begins, or perhaps the “not so fun” if you’re stuck using an inefficient procurement method.
The traditional bid solicitation process can be painfully time consuming. A purchasing agent has to write specs and go to bid, analyze the bids that come in, and ultimately award a bid. By the time it’s all said and done, several weeks if not months could pass by. The really frustrating part is that all of that time and effort may still fail to produce the best result for the agency, i.e., the best mower at the best price, because product availability and pricing often vary from dealer to dealer, and the agency is reliant on dealers submitting bids in the first place.
Buying through state contracts can lessen some of the administrative burden. However, pricing still may not be the best because it’s based only on purchases made by agencies within that state.
Cooperative purchasing contracts, on the other hand, lessen administrative burden while also providing the best pricing. That’s because co-ops are regional or even national in scope, so co-op contracts leverage the collective buying power of numerous agencies across numerous states. Thus, even a small local agency that’s buying a single mower will benefit from the economies of scale a co-op contract provides.
Co-op contracts also shorten the buying cycle, which can be beneficial to agencies that are racing to meet a budget deadline.
"Grasshopper is available through several national cooperatives including OMNIA Partners and GovMVMT, making it easy for government agencies to skip the bid process entirely," said Brent Dobson, Director of Government Accounts at Grasshopper.
If you’re thinking that buying off a co-op contract sounds appealing, here are the steps you can take to make it happen.
Many purchasing agents specify a certain size of mower, oftentimes because that’s what the agency has had in the past. A true needs assessment should scrutinize that and more.
Grasshopper's government bid team offers a no-cost needs assessment to help agencies define specs before going to co-op. Sales consultants like to find out what an agency has been mowing with, what operators like and don’t like, etc. Sales consultants also like to learn about an agency’s unique mowing situation, such as acres to mow and mowing frequency, terrain and landscaping, other groundskeeping tasks crews need to perform, etc. Understanding what an agency needs to do with the mower helps put it on the right path to buying the right solution.
Things to consider include:
It’s also important for purchasing agents to learn about the unique features of different mowers to determine which best addresses the challenges operators have been facing. The needs assessment should look at factors like cut quality, operator comfort, durability, ease of maintenance, and parts commonality across models which can help reduce inventory needs.
Once a certain mower has been identified as a good fit for an agency, taking the time to demo the mower is essential. Operating a mower is the only way to truly get a feel for how it will perform.
Another important consideration is the support of a local servicing dealer. Even when buying off a co-op contract, agencies still have the opportunity to work with a local dealer. That can provide a lot of value down the road when the agency has questions or needs parts and service support.
Read questions to ask when you’re bidding new mowers for more insights.
Co-op purchasing organizations cover a wide range of products, but don’t always have contracts for commercial mowers. Those that do typically offer just a few brands. Purchasing agents should confirm that the mower they are interested in is available through the co-op they are considering.
Grasshopper is included on several government contracts.
Purchasing agents should also confirm that buying off a certain co-op contract will be compliant with whatever procurement rules they must follow. Contracts that have already been solicited and awarded to other public agencies generally present a safe and seamless option. Cooperative contracts are pre-competed and publicly solicited, giving your agency full audit documentation from day one. Additionally, agencies that “piggyback” onto an existing contract can be confident that the best pricing has been established, and that the vendors and products have been thoroughly vetted.
Compliance leads to another important consideration: transparency. The best co-ops provide the documentation agencies need to justify the purchasing decisions they’ve made. That documentation–which typically includes original RFPs and contracts–can come in handy if an agency is ever questioned or formally audited.
It’s a good idea to confirm that the contract is up to date, and that other aspects of the contract aside from pricing are to the agency’s liking, such as the opportunity to obtain additional volume discounts, shipping charges, order fulfillment timelines, etc.
It’s also a good idea to confirm if the co-op charges fees. Most prominent national co-ops, several of which Grasshopper has worked with for years, do not charge members fees. But it’s always a good idea to check.
Once a purchasing agent determines that a certain co-op makes sense for their agency, signing up is generally an easy process that involves completing a simple online form, and in some cases providing a modest amount of supporting documentation.
Once an agency is a member of a co-op, agents can begin researching the co-op’s collection of contracts. From there an agent can identify the manufacturer they want to buy from and reach out directly. In the case of Grasshopper, agents can contact Grasshopper’s bid department by sending an email to gov@grasshoppermower.com.
At that point, a Grasshopper representative will provide a quote, which is followed up by a purchase order. Then the mower is shipped to the agency’s nearest Grasshopper dealer where it is set up and delivered to the agency.
That’s one of the great things about buying Grasshopper mowers off a co-op contract. Even though the contract itself is national in scope and offers nationally negotiated pricing, each sale is facilitated at the local level. That provides the best of both worlds for a government agency.