Sourcewell Formally NJPA
Whether you have worked with the National Joint Powers Alliance NPJA or are brand new to the community, you have probably noticed that it has undergone some major changes over the last year. NJPA is now Sourcewell, and they are celebrating 40 years of partnerships by making sure you know exactly who they are and how they contribute to this industry. Here is a breakdown of some recent changes with NPJA/Sourcewell and the cooperative purchasing process with an overview of the community, its purpose, and functions.
What happened to NJPA?
What’s in a name? According to Sourcewell, a name should be much more than just an acronym, and that’s the biggest change they wanted to make. So in June of 2018, NPJA became Sourcewell in order to provide better clarity on who they are, what they do, and how they build relationships. The new Sourcewell logo represents the streets connecting all aspects of a community, with the orange section standing for forward progress. Their mission to connect through contract purchasing solutions remains steadily in place.
What is Sourcewell?
Not familiar with either NJPA or Sourcewell as names? The concept behind Sourcewell is to act as a bridge between government, education, and nonprofit agencies and the organizations that offer solutions. Sourcewell originally serviced only the regional counties in Minnesota but has since expanded to service connections across the country. The process of finding the right vendor can be stressful and time-consuming, and Sourcewell does the work for its members.
Cooperative Purchasing
If you’re an organization looking for a vendor, Sourcewell’s site has all partnered vendors conveniently arranged by category. For example, the “Construction Contracting” section would take you to a comprehensive list of all the vendors that serve in this category, which you can then further define by state and county. Agencies can also use the ezIQC® tool to search for IDCC (Indefinite Delivery Construction Contracts) and IQC (Indefinite Quantity Construction) contracts as opposed to traditional construction.
Sourcewell vets each and every vendor to ensure the best possible matches are recommended to each organization and takes the competition out of the solicitation process.
Organizations must apply to become members in order to participate in the cooperative purchasing process. Membership is free, and once you’re approved, you use your Member ID number for the entire process of securing a vendor. Membership is for government, school, and nonprofit agencies, and businesses are encouraged to sign up as vendors.
What about vendors?
Sourcewell’s vendor site is also a thorough resource to help vendors connect with prospects. As a vendor, you can look up the membership of prospects and invite them to sign up. Marketing resources are also available for download and distribution. They recently added five nationally recognized vendors to their Facility MRO, Industrial, and Building Supplies category. As the community grows, Sourcewell is becoming an essential partner for vendor contracts, with a catalog of the most qualified companies to choose from based on needs and geography.
Be sure to check out our blog and infographic: Reduce Anxiety of the Bid Process with Sourcewell.
Contact ACI to Learn More:
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