National IPA Makes MRO Procurement Process Easier

If you’re responsible for buying maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies for a local, state or nonprofit entity, you know procurement can often be a frustrating and time-consuming process. While procurement processes may vary by agency, they often include the following steps:

1. Identifying the need to make a purchase
2. Determining the type of solicitation needed
3. Identifying stakeholders and conducting market analysis
4. Completing the solicitation/evaluation criteria
5. Evaluating bid responses
6. Awarding the winning bid
7. Completing the contract process

Fortunately, all of this has been done for you! National IPA, a cooperative purchasing organization, can save you time and money, as contract #R142105 has already been competitively solicited and publicly awarded by Region 4 Education Service Center.

National IPA, a subsidiary of OMNIA Partners, is the future of cooperative purchasing. The cooperative purchasing organization is dedicated to serving public agencies and educational institutions nationwide. All cooperative agreements have been competitively solicited and publicly awarded by a public agency/governmental entity. For more information, please visit www.nationalipa.org.

National IPA offers participation at no cost to agencies nationwide. Examples include:

• State and local government agencies: parks and recreation, city halls, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, correctional facilities, transportation departments, etc.
• Educational institutions: K-12 schools, vocational/technical/trade schools, public and private colleges/universities
• Most nonprofits: 501(c)(3) and 501(c)
• Municipal utilities

Individually, entities may not purchase items at a high enough volume to be eligible for a bulk discount. Participants of National IPA collectively have a large enough purchase volume to earn this discount. Participating agencies can choose among the suppliers available through National IPA and realize savings from a competitively solicited and publicly awarded contract. National IPA’s portfolio includes a broad range of categories, allowing you to purchase most, if not all, necessary supplies and services without duplicating efforts in the procurement processes.

Kimball Midwest is pleased to share that we hold an MRO contract available through National IPA. Kimball Midwest offers participating agencies a discount up to 33% off the standard list price. If you’re looking for an MRO supplier, we offer the following benefits:

• 49,000+ stocked products available with access to over 550,000 hard-to-find products
• 850+ experienced Sales Representatives nationwide offering personalized, local service and solutions
• 24/7 online ordering and technical information
• Over 99% fill rate on all orders with same day shipment and delivery to 85% of customers within 24 hours
• Free UPS standard ground shipping within the contiguous United States

Additionally, 80% of our inventory dollars are spent on American-made products, which allows traceability to the manufacturer. This helps ensure quality and keeps substandard, misrepresented, mismarked or counterfeit products out of the supply chain.

For more information please visit the Government Sales page on our website. National IPA participants may contact our Government Sales Team at 1-800-233-1294 ext. 2696 or at NationalIPA@kimballmidwest.com.