As public school and local government offices scramble to allocate their budgets effectively, minimizing expenses and maximizing the value of every penny, a helpful resource lies in the form of cooperative purchasing.

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So, what is cooperative purchasing? Essentially, it is a system whereby multiple organizations pool their resources - in this case, their buying power - to purchase goods and services at a lower cost. The Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU) offers two programs that provide such benefits: KPN and PEPPM. KPN focuses on the operational and facility needs of a school district or government entity, while PEPPM meets the technological needs.

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Cooperative purchasing offers a variety of benefits, and it is not just limited to savings on purchase costs. Firstly, there is a significant reduction in the burden of paperwork and administrative costs for those participating in cooperative purchasing programs. When multiple organizations combine their purchase requests, there is less delay and bureaucracy associated with the procurement process.

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Secondly, participating in cooperative purchasing provides access to goods and services that institutions might not be able to afford on their own. This leads to a more robust selection of quality goods that otherwise might not be feasible to obtain.

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Finally, cooperative purchasing reduces the risk of fraud. It is often harder to identify and eliminate fraud when there are many individual purchases, and fewer resources available to conduct thorough checks. By contrast, cooperative agreement strategy ensures that sellers bid for contracts, thus ensuring that the prices offered to buyers are competitive and awarded to the lowest responsive bidder.

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In the end, the power of collective purchasing through programs like KPN and PEPPM helps public schools and local government offices leverage their resources to procure necessary goods and services at a lower cost. However, as we have seen, the benefits are not limited to simple savings - indeed, participants enjoy an array of other perks including reduced administrative costs, access to premium goods, lower risks of fraud and increased market competition.

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If your institution has not yet taken advantage of cooperative purchasing, it may be worth exploring. Who knows? It could save you more than just a penny or two.