Cooperative purchasing and piggybacking
Also called: cooperative purchasing, co-op contract, purchasing cooperative, piggybacking, piggyback contract, joint powers purchasing, intergovernmental purchasing
Cooperative purchasing lets a public agency buy from a contract that another agency or a purchasing cooperative competed and awarded, instead of running its own solicitation; using another agency's contract that way is called piggybacking.
Authority comes from each state's procurement code, which says whether and how a city, county, school district or university may use a contract awarded by another public body or by a cooperative such as a state purchasing division's contract, a regional education service cooperative or a national cooperative run by a government entity. Federal GSA schedules are open to state and local buyers for certain categories under the cooperative purchasing program authorized by 40 U.S.C. 502(c). The original award must have been competed in a way the using agency's code accepts, and the contract must contain a cooperative use clause.
What to check: which cooperatives your target buyers use (their board agendas and purchase orders say), the solicitation calendar of each cooperative, the fees the cooperative charges on sales, and whether a piggyback purchase requires the buyer to document that it is cheaper than a new bid. One cooperative award can replace dozens of local bids.
What it is not: available to federal buyers, who cannot piggyback on state contracts.
See also: State procurement portal, GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), Bid opening, Public records request, Statewide term contract
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