Purchasing agents for government agencies and other nonprofits have a difficult job to do, particularly when it comes to buying equipment like lawnmowers.
On the one hand, it’s important to choose mowing equipment that will be productive, durable and reliable. At the same time, most purchasing agents are not blessed with unlimited budgets to buy whichever mowers they want at whatever prices are being asked. With hundreds of lawn mower makes and models out there, gathering and analyzing all of the necessary information to find the optimal balance of specifications, performance, and value can be a difficult task.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to greatly reduce the time and effort required to research lawnmowers and solicit bids? Wouldn’t it be even nicer if you were also guaranteed the absolute best pricing on the best lawnmowers you could buy?
There is.
Cooperative purchasing organizations create economies of scale by leveraging the collective buying power of their members. These groups then establish contracts with various vendors—contracts that ensure discounted pricing for all of their members. In exchange for their across-the-board discounted pricing, vendors benefit by gaining seamless access to a large pool of potential customers.
There are hundreds of cooperative purchasing organizations out there, many of which cater to federal, state and local government agencies and other nonprofits. Here’s a look at the top five ways an individual agency can benefit from purchasing through a cooperative contract.
1. Secure the best pricing
As touched on, a cooperative purchasing organization leverages its collective buying power to negotiate discounted pricing from vendors. These lower prices are granted to all members of the co-op, regardless of how many mowers they are looking to buy. Under normal circumstances, smaller agencies may not qualify for a “volume discount” if they are only buying a small number of mowers. But when part of a co-op, even the smallest of agencies can save money, too.
2. Save time researching
Cooperative purchasing organizations gather all of the necessary product information for purchasing agents to make sound buying decisions. With as many lawn mower manufacturers as there are, this can be an incredibly time-consuming task for a purchasing agent. Now all of the time normally spent doing product research can be allocated to other tasks.
3. Save time soliciting
Co-ops also help eliminate the step of soliciting bids, which can be an equally time-consuming process for a purchasing agent. The co-op sources the vendors, negotiates the pricing and establishes the contracts. All an individual co-op member has to do is choose from the available options.
4. Product-quality peace of mind
Because vendors have been thoroughly researched and vetted through the co-op, individual agencies can be confident about the products they are buying.
In order to make their products available, manufacturers like Grasshopper must demonstrate the ability to not only provide an excellent product, but also support that product with reliable distribution and after-sale service. That gives purchasing agents peace of mind that they will obtain the mowers they need, and that the mowers will provide the performance and durability they require.
Over the past 25 years, Grasshopper has established relationships with several cooperative purchasing organizations that specialize in government and nonprofit agencies. Furthermore, Grasshopper continues to make its entire product offering available, as opposed to just a selection of certain models, sizes or engine options. That complete range of options means agencies can always choose the best mower for their particular application.
5. Maintain control over purchases
Even though the co-op takes care of the product research, bid solicitation, contract creation and transaction, individual agencies still make their own buying decisions. On that note, agencies are free to confer with vendors to seek information to help make better product selections.
Grasshopper is one of just a few lawn mower manufacturers that have a dedicated bid department to support the purchases made by government agencies. Additionally, all mower sales to government agencies are facilitated through Grasshopper’s nationwide network of independent sales/service dealers. Dealers are available to answer questions, set up and deliver mowers, and provide any initial start-up training as necessary. As importantly, Grasshopper dealers are ready to support all mower sales with ongoing parts and service.
When you get down to it, a cooperative purchasing organization is really there to shoulder a lot of the laborious burden a government purchasing agent has to deal with when procuring new equipment. There is typically no cost to join one. And because they must go through a rigorous vetting and registration process of their own, co-ops are typically well respected and trustworthy. Factor in the discounted pricing that applies to every purchase, and the upside of buying mowers off a co-op contract becomes pretty obvious.
