Modern procurement processes are becoming increasingly volatile. America’s current economic climate has been challenging for many businesses and institutions, leading to losses and lean budgets for financial, programmatic, and operational needs.
But even in a slowing market, public fleet procurement is a secret weapon that ensures continuous organizational growth. Today, organization leaders can rely on new strategies to more easily procure public fleet vehicles.
Let’s explore the easiest way to do this at scale.
Challenges to the source and procurement of public vehicles
Buying and operating public vehicles presents several unique challenges, the impact of which on modern organizations has become more intense in light of changing circumstances and economic instability.
Traditional methods of public fleet procurement have led to six primary internal and external challenges.
Internal challenges
- Slow-moving contracts: The complex and often lengthy process of negotiating contracts can lead to long delays in obtaining vehicles for daily operations.
- Reduced workforce size: Organization leaders may lack the personnel to effectively manage responsibilities for purchasing and operating vehicles and can find themselves unable to meet the demands of daily operations.
- Procurement regulations: The world of public procurement is continually bordered by ever-evolving procurement regulations, which means some organization leaders may need help to stay compliant during crunch times or periods of uncertainty.
External challenges
- Market environment: Changing economic climates, spiking fuel prices, and other external factors can cause a sudden increase in public procurement costs, inflating organizational budgets by a significant margin.
- Legal environment: Changes to the national legal environment regarding taxation, environmental regulations, emissions standards, and safety features can spike public fleet procurement costs.
- Political environment: Political instability can cause delays in the implementation of public fleet procurement initiatives, leading to more slow-moving contracts and complex management pipelines.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to navigate public fleet procurement without flexible strategies and cutting-edge marketplace tools. Fleet managers must find new ways to reduce long contract times or remove bottlenecks that may affect operational efficiency, while simultaneously balancing a shrinking budget in changing economic circumstances.
Fortunately, this is where cooperative contracts come into play.
The easiest way to manage the source and procurement of public fleet vehicles
Cooperative contracts are far and away the easiest method of procuring public fleet vehicles. This strategy leverages the buying power of multiple groups or organizations to aggregate demand and negotiate better purchasing on behalf of other organizations. Cooperative contracts are commonly employed by public procurement officers at large facilities, although the practice is quickly expanding to organizations of any size or capacity.
Here's what you need to know:
- Contract solutions are competitively solicited from companies nationwide. As long as you are within the United States, national cooperative contracts are available to you.
- You can manually choose your own cooperative contracts or work with a specialist to identify possible solutions. This offers your organization the greatest amount of flexibility without the time loss created by other methods.
- Cooperative contracts can be awarded at the manufacturing level or leveraged to support a local dealer. You have decision-making power over any contract that you would like to procure and much-needed granular control over your operational budget.
- Any public-facing organization is eligible to leverage cooperative contracts. At Sourcewell, they are available to government institutions and schools across the United States.
Cooperative contracts offer everything that you need to remain strong in the face of economic change. They require zero commitment, come with no upfront costs, and are available to most organizations.
How to sign up with Sourcewell for the source and procurement of fleet vehicles
Getting started with Sourcewell is one of the easiest ways to source and procure public fleet vehicles. In fact, you can sign up in minutes to take advantage of cooperative contracts almost immediately. It takes three simple steps to get started:
- Check your eligibility online to see if Sourcewell is available to your organization.
- Sign up for free by providing a few necessary details. The registration process is simple, easy, and straightforward.
- Search contracts and quickly obtain a quote. Feel free to browse the collection by category, supplier, or ezIQC.
If you still have questions about registering with Sourcewell, watch this informative video about the signup process.
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!
