Regional cooperative purchasing improves leverage with vendors and can be a catalyst for improving regional interoperability through the development of common equipment specifications.
The fire service is inherently a local phenomenon. Sure, there are federal agencies that provide training and guidance and there are national organizations that provide voluntary standards, professional membership opportunities and legislative initiatives important to the fire service as a whole. There are state agencies that provide training certification programs, fire prevention and investigation services and professional membership opportunities. And there are regional training centers and mutual aid agreements.
The result is 30,000 or so individual entities making purchasing decisions independent of each other. Increasingly, fire service leaders are asking themselves whether this is really the most cost-effective way to buy the equipment, goods and services necessary to safely deliver fire protection.
It is not uncommon to hear of neighboring departments banding together on a significant purchase in an effort to increase their buying power and drive down costs. Not only do these regional cooperative purchasing efforts improve leverage with vendors, but they can also serve as the catalyst for improving regional interoperability through the development of common equipment specifications. While these regional efforts are often effective, a larger cooperative procurement program with a "piggybacking" option may provide additional value that cannot be ignored during these economically challenged times as local governments seek out cost savings behind every door to meet constricting budget demands.
Public procurement is a balancing act between changing regulations and legal requirements, time-consuming proposal drafting, the search for the perfect specifications, and competitive pricing. Cooperative procurement offers an alternative to the traditional competitive bid process. In a cooperative procurement arrangement, a lead agency issues a Requests for Proposals (RFP) that contains the proper "legalese" that allows other public agencies to piggyback off the resulting vendor contract. As a result, piggybacking public agencies avoid the need to issue an RFP, thus saving considerable time and expense. Perhaps more importantly, such "grouping" of RFPs often commands national-tier pricing as vendors anticipate the additional volume opportunities driven by the cooperative procurement.
While there are examples of successful regional purchasing cooperatives such as the Houston Galveston Area Council (HGAC), the real opportunity (and challenge) is when cooperative RFPs are designed to work in multiple states or even nationally. Recently, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) released the new "Schedule 84" program which provides for access to certain contracts by any local government entity (note - this program is not accessible by non-governmental volunteer agencies). However, utilization of GSA contracts is often a bureaucratic process for the local department. Furthermore, Schedule 84, while a sign of things to come for fire service group purchasing, remains merely an option for those vendors that wish to participate.
Publicly awarded contracts obtained through a national purchasing cooperative must satisfy the cooperative purchasing requirements of most jurisdictions to prove useful as a purchasing tool. The challenge is drafting a contract with the proper piggybacking language while satisfying these rules across the nation. This is further complicated by the combination of state and local rules governing procurement.
First, the requirements of the state's procurement procedures must be examined and met. Then, in many cases, local rules and regulations supersede the states' requirements, adding another layer of complication. By increasing the awareness of the value of national cooperative purchasing and working closely with those responsible for these regulations, these barriers may begin dissolving. Once these challenges are met, individual fire departments can benefit immensely at no cost. Not only will fire departments have access to more competitive pricing, they will ultimately save time as they minimize or eliminate the RFP process.
For example, the League of Oregon Cities (LOC), a public corporation, has issued RFPs and awarded approximately 30 contracts with national and regional vendors offering national-tier pricing, including such commodities as defibrillators, stretchers, EMS supplies and office products. These easily accessible contracts are open to "piggybacking" by not only LOC member cities, but the vast majority of local governments across the nation, including members of FireRescue GPO (FRGPO), a free fire service group-purchasing organization open to any public or private fire department. Access to these contracts is available at no cost to the piggybacking FRGPO member. In addition, some purchasing groups such as FRGPO are willing to help local departments or municipalities draft RFPs with the inclusion of the proper piggybacking provisions. The result is an ever-increasing portfolio of publicly awarded contracts open to all fire departments.
The ability to access a publicly awarded contract requires review by legal counsel as local regulations vary. However, the opportunity for discounted national-tier pricing, as well as the reduction or outright elimination of the need for repetitive RFPs among local governments, warrants serious consideration in these fiscally challenging times.
BRUCE BUSCH is chief operating officer and legal counsel for National Purchasing Partners and Fire-Rescue GPO, a group-purchasing organization. He is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and a frequent speaker on local government cooperative procurement. CROSBY GRINDLE, a fire service consultant and association management executive, is executive officer of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. He was chief of training and technical rescue for the Roanoke City, VA, Fire-EMS Department, a firefighter/paramedic for the Arlington County, VA, Fire Department and director of professional development for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). Grindle has a bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia and a master of public administration from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program.
