When it comes to fleet truck management, procuring fleet vehicles for public agencies is time consuming and complex. Even for the most efficient teams, it takes a significant amount of time to research, build RFPs, and disperse documentation. Then, there’s waiting for responses in the competitive bidding process, analyzing bids, vetting bidders, and ensuring that every step of the process complies with regulations.
It can be a headache no matter how well you do it, and even if you fast-track the process, it can still take months to complete.
It also hasn’t gotten any easier. An analysis by Bloomberg Government shows that the average procurement acquisition lead time has risen 72% over the past five years for public agencies, expanding from forty-three to seventy-four days.
A recent survey of government procurement professionals listed the top challenges in the fleet truck management and government procurement process. Procurement pros saw these items as the major stumbling blocks in an efficient and timely process:
- Pre-bid planning and research
- Meeting regulatory and contracting guidelines
- Workload and staffing limitations
- Working with stakeholders
It’s a delicate balancing act, which is why so many public purchasers have turned to cooperative contacts as a way to save time (and headaches) and make fleet truck management and procurement simpler and faster.
Saving time with cooperative contracts
Public purchasers avoid the lengthy and expensive bidding process by participating in cooperative contracts and can purchase fleet vehicles faster. By piggybacking on existing cooperative contracts, procurement teams can find the ones that already meet competitive bidding standards and agency compliance rules, eliminating the need for pre-bid research.
With cooperative contracts, purchasers can leverage economies of scale by joining with other public purchasers to reduce costs. This can result in significant savings even if only one vehicle is needed at the moment or for smaller communities that don’t have the buying power on their own.
Many purchasers use cooperative contracts to fill gaps where current contracts do not include specific products or suppliers that are needed or to find faster resources during emergency situations. Rather than paying a premium for replacement fleet vehicles during an emergency, for example, public purchasers can procure fleet replacements quickly while still leveraging competitive bidding practices.
How cooperative purchasing with Sourcewell works
Sourcewell’s cooperative purchasing is available to all government entities, public and private K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations. This is no cost to participate and no obligation.
Public leaders should first check their eligibility and register as a participating agency. Then, you can search for contracts by product type. You can quickly see the ones that have been awarded and the suppliers that are participating.
The Sourcewell procurement team handles the entire competitive solicitation process, including RFPs on vehicle purchases and fleet truck management services such as:
- RFP development
- Public notices
- Compliance and legal review
- Response evaluation
- Awarding of contracts
Once you have found a cooperative contract that fits your needs, you can contact the supplier and quickly get a quote. You can then finalize the sale using the contract and your agency’s Sourcewell account number.
It’s that simple: find a contract, contact a supplier, get a quote, and make a purchase.
Fleet truck management services
Besides purchasing fleet vehicles, you can also contract for fleet truck management services and avoid the lengthy process of awarding contracts. This includes services like:
- Equipment and equipment installation
- Maintenance and repair
- Roadside assistance
- Short-term rentals
- Leasing and financing
- Tires, parts, and accessories
- After-market products
These contracts allow for compliant purchasing to handle short-term or long-term needs. They are a perfect solution for times when you just cannot afford to wait.
Many agencies use Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contracts to offset labor costs or staffing shortages. This can help fill in the gaps when maintenance requirements are high and there is inadequate staffing or availability to meet your needs.
Another area growing in importance is managing the tech involved with today’s fleet vehicles. Many modern public purchasers deploy logistics and telematics in their vehicles, cameras and tracking, remote engine diagnostics, sensors, and route management tools. Sourcewell also has cooperative contracts with companies specializing in fleet truck management IT.
Reduce procurement headaches and save time and money
Cooperative contracts can reduce public agency procurement headaches and significantly speed up the procurement process. Sourcewell is a service cooperative created by the Minnesota legislature and is a government agency charged with helping public purchasers more efficiently navigate the procurement process and reduce costs. It is 100% free to join nationwide in the US and Canada.
Save time and money by purchasing fleet vehicles and fleet truck management services through Sourcewell’s ready-to-use, competitively solicited, and compliant contracts.
Here at Sourcewell, we help public agency buyers procure fleet vehicles faster by fulfilling the time-consuming bid process for them. Through cooperative contracts, we expedite the fleet vehicle procurement process so you can better serve your teams.
Want a faster procurement process? Contact one of our specialists today to buy the fleet solutions you need!
