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Seamless Cooperative Experience Saves Indiana City Exponentially in Time and Money
Significant new responsibility in an unfamiliar spend category didn’t intimidate Jasper-Dubois County Public Library Director, Christine Golden.
What could’ve been an overwhelming furniture project for a state-of-the-art, 67,000 square foot new facility turned into a seamless, stress-free experience through a cooperative purchasing strategy. “Stress-free” may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s the result that cooperative purchasing provided for Golden and her team as they embarked on a $17 million project—the largest project in her 21 years at the library—in their growing community of Jasper, Indiana.
Challenge
Office interiors and furniture designs continue to evolve to accommodate the changing needs of organizations in a post-pandemic environment. Furniture plays an impactful role in public spaces and was a large part of Golden’s budget to create a space where community members with diverse needs could spend the day. As public procurement leaders everywhere are aware, staying within budget is paramount.
Solutions
Emphasizing the unique relationship with furniture manufacturers in the southwestern Indiana community, Golden knew she wanted to work with furniture supplier, Kimball International and its family of brands, Kimball, National, and Etc., headquartered in Jasper. For project inspiration, Golden’s team also partnered with architecture and design firm Hafer, where Senior Associate Jason Southwell guided the team in their goal to have local products represented in their facility, introducing the benefits of purchasing from Kimball International’s contracts through the OMNIA Partners cooperative. This route would provide major time savings since the RFP process had already been completed.
Savings
Golden described how using Kimball International’s cooperative contracts through OMNIA Partners saved her from worry and concern knowing cooperative purchasing is a great way for procurement to achieve success in all different types of projects. She says having that knowledge makes her stronger, more strategic, and agile.
“I would say we easily saved several hundred thousand dollars by being able to use an OMNIA Partners cooperative contract. It also saved us so much time and money that we didn’t have to hire someone else to do it!“
– Christine Golden
Director, Jasper-Dubois County Public Library
Cooperative Purchasing Strategy for Success
Procurement professionals purchasing for their agency or school are focused on meeting the needs of stakeholders and end-users while managing multiple complex spend categories. Leveraging a cooperative as part of the strategy can simplify and streamline processes while providing access to guidance from the cooperative’s subject matter experts. That industry insight helps organizations make innovative workplace or classroom design updates.
“I’m thrilled to be able to share this info on cooperative purchasing with other government entities and library directors saying, ‘We were able to provide quality furniture that’s going to last so you don’t have to settle for just buying furniture at a furniture store,’” says Golden. “I’ve been able to let several people know how to save time money and headaches with OMNIA Partners being so great to work with and helpful setting everything up.”
To read the full case study, click here.
About OMNIA Partners
OMNIA Partners is the largest and most experienced organization in procurement and supply chain management. Covering both the private and public sectors, OMNIA Partners unites industry-leading buying power and world-class suppliers to offer an extensive portfolio of sourcing solutions and partnerships. Learn more about the contracting process here.
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