Benefits of TIPS Contract for Public Education and Government
National purchasing cooperatives provide a way for education and government entities to receive better deals on goods and services from leading vendors.
Under programs like the
TIPS Purchasing Cooperative, school systems, colleges and universities — as well as federal, state and local government agencies — have access to special pricing based on being part of a larger, “national,” high-profile contract.
Not only does a TIPS contract allow smaller education and government entities to get a better deal than they could on their own, it also makes the overall purchasing process much less stressful. The TIPS staff helps members through the bidding process, saving time and financial resources that would be associated with fulfilling these requirements in-house.
Benefits of Cooperative Purchasing
For schools and government entities, the need for new technology, equipment or even expanded facilities often outpaces available budget. Cooperative purchasing allows these public agencies to leverage the purchasing power of a national contract to get a better price on the goods and services they need.
How does it work? Basically, a public agency competitively solicits a bid and awards a contract for goods and services. Other government, education and nonprofit agencies that are members of the co-op can then piggyback on it to get the same deal. (These government co-ops are strictly for public entities. Private businesses and other for-profit organizations do not qualify.)
This also simplifies the procurement process because a contract only has to be bid and awarded once, which saves the time it would take to write, submit and evaluate bids. Without having to go through the lengthy bid solicitation process, an agency’s procurement staff can more efficiently source and procure supplies and services.
Steeper discounts can be offered because goods and services are being provided to a much larger pool of agencies. Vendors benefit because they don’t have to respond to multiple bids from each institution — a process that can be time consuming and expensive.
National purchasing co-ops also allow public agencies to receive significant “bulk” discounts without the inconvenience of buying and warehousing more supplies than they actually need. Instead, they can order what they need, when they need it.
Today, cooperative purchasing is a popular way for entities to get what they need for the best price. This includes all kinds of services and supplies including IT support, hardware, software, office and janitorial supplies, heavy equipment, furniture and grounds maintenance equipment. National cooperative purchasing contracts also help public agencies invest in innovative technology by providing access to the latest technology at a discounted price.
Most states have legislative statutes that recognize and encourage cooperative purchasing for educational institutions and public entities.
What is TIPS?
The TIPS Purchasing Cooperative, also known as The Interlocal Purchasing System, began in 2002 as a cooperative of the
Region 8 Education Service Center (ESC) in Texas. Today, the TIPS cooperative is a national operation and has more than 5,000 member agencies all over the United States. Membership is free to eligible public agencies including schools, city municipalities, hospitals, churches, state agencies, charitable organizations and emergency services districts.
TIPS prepares solicitations of all bids for goods and services, and the ESC 8’s board of directors awards all TIPS contracts to agencies that provide the best value to its member entities.
Aventis Systems Awarded National TIPS Contract
Earlier this year,
Aventis Systems was awarded a national contract from TIPS, making it easier for public education and government entities to buy the best IT hardware, software and services without breaking the budget.
Aventis Systems is a leading certified reseller of a wide range of products from
Dell, HP, Microsoft, Veeam, Red Hat, BitDefender, Symantec and more. Aventis offers customized IT solutions to build and operate complete physical and virtual infrastructures including high-quality new and refurbished hardware and software, as well as infrastructure consulting services, cloud hosting and migration, data and disaster recovery, security consultation and virtualization deployment services.
Under the contract with TIPS, which extends through 2020, education and government agencies that are members of TIPS will receive 10% off the list price for all Aventis Systems products, as well as Net 30 terms for invoice payments. TIPS staff will provide assistance with the purchasing process, and all members receive free shipping.
Budgets are tight for today’s SMBs, and having a dedicated IT staff on hand to solve complex issues can be expensive. Under-staffing IT teams can lead to constant issues and unexpected downtimes, while having an internal IT staff sitting idle wastes critical company funds. By outsourcing IT to a trusted MSP, you have the benefits of an enterprise IT team for a SMB price.
To learn more about special pricing on Aventis Systems hardware, software and services for TIPS members, contact us today at 1-855-AVENTIS.
