https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Co-op Solutions


Article

Careful planning helps Va. housing agency keep purchases on track

Careful planning helps Va. housing agency keep purchases on track

  • Written by Michael Keating
  • 13th May 2020

Growing workloads are a fact of life, says Delores F. Adams, Director of Procurement & Resident Services at the Portsmouth (Va.) Redevelopment and Housing Authority. “Procurement departments such as ours are expected to do more with less staff or rely on less experienced staff.  As people retire or move to other roles in the organization, the experienced personnel in procurement departments are faced with the challenge of keeping the ball rolling and ensuring the work gets done.”

Adams says newcomers into the procurement arena are great workers, but they lack on-the-job experience. “So staffers like me have to increase our workload as the new workers get trained. In my case, I lost an experienced procurement person who handled Request for Quotes. When this person left, I was expected to do quotes as well as complex solicitations such as Invitation for Bids (IFB) and Request for Proposals (RFP).”

Adams says her department’s staffing levels took a hit a few years back. “In my agency, there was a decrease in staffing and budget in 2018 that we haven’t recovered from.  However, I have seen a commitment to more training and education, which leads to a more professional procurement team.” Adams sees stability on the horizon for purchasing teams across the U.S. “I believe procurement departments’ staffing and budgets are staying the same for 2020.” Besides the director’s position, Adams’ department includes two procurement specialists. The specialists help with administrative work in addition to their duties on their main jobs.

Procurement planning is a tool that can help lean-staffed departments get more efficient, Adams tells Co-op Solutions. “It means looking at the future needs and plans of the agency for a particular time frame so that solicitations can be scheduled to meet those needs. That way we can be more proactive than reactive in our purchasing practices.”

Through effective planning, buyers can purchase at the optimal time and achieve efficiencies, Adams says. “You can research other options (i.e. cooperative purchasing); you can maybe combine solicitations, etc. It also helps plan the workflow of the procurement staff, particularly when it is limited.”

Procurement planning can include prioritizing among different buying departments, Adams explains. “I ask my department heads to outline their needs at the end/beginning of the year for the next year, and I work with my Executive Director to prioritize because everyone thinks their needs are the most important.” Advance planning, adds Adams, can include strategizing to ensure purchases are spread throughout the calendar year rather than bunched up near the close of the fiscal year.

Adams believes cooperative purchasing agreements can be a potential time-saver for public procurement departments. “If they meet the agency’s solicitation requirements, cooperative contracts can provide a means to procure goods, services and construction at a better cost, with better terms than individual procurement actions.   Using cooperative purchasing frees procurement staff to focus on more specialized and complex procurement actions that should be done locally.”

Cooperative contracts can be beneficial to very small procurement departments. “They provide cost savings due to economies of scale for many routine items like office and MRO supplies and uniforms.  We couldn’t get that kind of pricing with a local solicitation. In addition, the cost of placing bid announcement ads in the local paper is costly, approximately $800-$900 per solicitation, and we may have 5 – 8 a year,” Adams says.

Adams says there are some distinguishing characteristics in cooperative agreements. “I believe the cooperative procurement models that have a public agency issue the solicitation in partnership with the national co-op are better and more efficient. I also prefer those that provide a designated contact with the vendor that is familiar with the cooperative contract. Often, everyone in an organization is not familiar with the cooperative contract and how to implement it.”

Down the road, Adams predicts more public agencies will be relying on co-op deals. “In the future, cooperative purchasing will receive a larger percentage of our agency’s spend. I believe that we will see the number of national co-ops decreasing as they merge and combine with other co-ops, as evidenced by the merger of U.S. Communities and TCPN/National IPA into OMINA Partners.  I also imagine vendors with national co-ops partnering with more and more local companies as cooperative purchasing increases to keep up with the demand and provide timely service.”

Those local firms, Adams says, can include small and disadvantaged suppliers. In that scenario, the provider of a national cooperative contract partners and uses local small or disadvantaged suppliers to fulfill their contract obligations. “This type of partnership can be a win/win for the national company and the small local business as well as the public agency.” Adams says her agency has worked with national vendors that use local contractors to complete their maintenance, repair and installation work.


Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County and the GPN web site. Contact: [email protected]

Tags: Procurement Co-op Solutions Article

Most Recent


  • solutions
    Public sector administrative software solutions provider rebrands as Euna Solutions
    Bringing together critical administration technology solutions for the public sector, GTY Technology has rebranded itself into Euna Solutions, which will merge its current companies into a more integrated suite of offerings. GTY Technology started as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2016 and researched several markets before deciding government technology was the field for […]
  • metal buildings
    Metal buildings: Their versatility and durability suit them for public sector infrastructure
    Some cities and counties are looking at one structure type to help them meet their infrastructure needs, says Phil Skellorn, senior structural engineer at Buro Happold, an engineering and consulting services firm. “Some public owners are looking at metal buildings as an economical option.” Skellorn says metal buildings can offer advantages if the off-the-shelf product […]
  • sustainability
    To achieve their sustainability goals, cities and counties must engage with key stakeholders
    Local government leaders need to cast a wide net, says Laura Kroeger, technical director, leadership and management for the American Public Works Association (APWA). She also serves on the APWA Board of Directors, as chair of APWA’s strategic planning committee, and as executive director for the Mile High Flood District (Lakewood, Colo.). Kroeger urges agencies […]
  • green
    The future of carbon emissions and cities lies in green buildings
    When you envision the future, what do you see? For me, it’s a place where people of all generations live, work and thrive. And it’s a place where green, efficient buildings are integrated with nature and resilient infrastructure ties our healthy and productive places together into communities. However, in the face of climate change, that […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • A call to action: Moving procurement past its pre-pandemic mindset
  • Making deals: Cooperative agreements can help governments achieve supplier diversity goals
  • Procurement methods go to the head of the class in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
  • Deltek releases 12th annual Clarity Government Contracting Report

WHITE PAPERS


5 reasons why Plan Examiners need Objective Trapeze

30th May 2023

7 Permitting & Licensing Fails Slowing Community Growth

24th May 2023

The Secret Ingredient to Local Government Employee Retention

23rd May 2023
view all

Webinars


How to Centralize and Build a Grants Management Process at your Organization

24th May 2023

Making Permitting Easier: What We’ve Learned Helping America’s Largest Cities Improve Their Permitting Process

16th May 2023

Digital Property Tax Collection: Tales from the Trenches of Modernization

16th May 2023
view all

Podcast


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Gallery: Annual index ranks America’s top performing cities; most are in the West

30th May 2023

Gallery: Top 10 American cities for seasonal and summer jobs

25th May 2023

Gallery: 10 of America’s most affordable cities

9th May 2023
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

5 reasons why Plan Examiners need Objective Trapeze dlvr.it/Sptl5z

30th May 2023
AmerCityCounty

Navigating crises with confidence: Five ways strategic plans support crisis response dlvr.it/SptVKN

30th May 2023
AmerCityCounty

Gallery: Annual index ranks America’s top performing cities; most are in the West dlvr.it/SpszdK

30th May 2023
AmerCityCounty

2022 Crown Communities Award winner: Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts’ jury selection system dlvr.it/SphCBk

26th May 2023
AmerCityCounty

Gallery: Top 10 American cities for seasonal and summer jobs dlvr.it/SpdFWy

25th May 2023
AmerCityCounty

How to leverage digital tools to drive innovation in government dlvr.it/Spcktb

25th May 2023
AmerCityCounty

With many cities facing a fiscal cliff as ARPA funding ends, debt ceiling debate continues on Capitol Hill dlvr.it/SpZLph

24th May 2023
AmerCityCounty

7 Permitting & Licensing Fails Slowing Community Growth dlvr.it/SpYqBS

24th May 2023

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.