The acronym GPO stands for group purchasing organization. In some cases, people may also refer to a group purchasing organization, or GPO, as a buying group. GPOs exist so you don't have to complete the purchasing process on your own. The GPO acts as your teammate or advisor to help drive efficiency, gain more spend under management and ultimately have a better experience with your supplier partners.
What is the GPO Model?
A Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) is an entity that consolidates the purchasing power of multiple organizations to negotiate better pricing, terms, and services with suppliers. By aggregating the procurement needs of its members, a GPO can secure bulk discounts and favorable contract terms that individual organizations would struggle to achieve alone. This model not only delivers significant cost savings but also streamlines the procurement process, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring compliance with regulations.
Three main types of GPOs exist:
1. Vertical Market: Focused on one industry or vertical. For example, a GPO that only services the healthcare market.2. Horizontal Market: Members of horizontal GPOs are from multiple industries, BUT they purchase a lot of the same goods and services to run their companies. OMNIA Partners is an example of a horizontal GPO
3. Master Buyer: This refers to a GPO with one chief buying organization that has substantial contracts with vendors that allow additional companies to buy off those contracts. The automotive industry is a good example of this where tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers access the pricing contracts that the manufacturer has already negotiated with vendors.
Who Can Use a GPO?
Any business can use a GPO, including small to large businesses, private equity firms and real estate organizations. Most companies have the same goal, operate efficiently and stay under budget while increasing revenue. Partnering with a GPO can help you achieve these goals.
GPO Member Benefits
Procurement professionals are thinly stretched trying to ensure smooth operations of the entire organization. They don’t have to do it alone... Partnering with a GPO can help alleviate some of their stress in addition to many other benefits:
Streamlined Procurement Process
GPOs focus on the entire sourcing process. They use market intelligence to ensure their agreements offer the best value and continuously manage the agreements, so they don't decrease in value over time.
GPOs, like OMNIA Partners deliver high quality group purchasing contracts that bypass and, in many cases, make the RFP process unnecessary. We have a seat at the table with industry-leading suppliers to ensure service requests are elevated, contracts are prequalified and RFPs are unnecessary.
High Quality Products and Services
Members gain access to suppliers that have been thoroughly vetted to ensure they are marketing leading and deliver exceptional service and quality. GPOs can help you increase your total cost of ownership (TCO) without ever sacrificing quality.
At OMNIA Partners, our team of contracting experts complete the sourcing process so you can trust in value beyond the contract. Our unique approach enhances the procurement process whole providing connections to the suppliers, products and services organizations need with industry-leading terms and conditions.
Speed to Savings
GPO members become part of a network of other organizations that pool their buying power together to negotiate better pricing, terms and conditions. Organizations will see cost-effective pricing, timely turnarounds and better contracts.
Market leading companies recognize that spending up to 500 hours of internal resource time to execute a competitive bid or RFP is inefficient. When you consider how much time it takes to align stakeholders, analyze data, navigate legal requirements and establish a supplier management process it makes it hard to justify doing it all on your own.
Beyond cost savings, at OMNIA Partners membership is free so there is no added cost to participate.
Risk Mitigation
Contracts are constantly managed by a GPO. As more members join and more spend flows through the agreement, GPOs can negotiate even DEEPER discounts and/or improved terms and conditions with suppliers. By this point, the GPO can further mitigate risk and create a path toward continuous improvement by engaging with multiple people at multiple levels throughout supplier organizations.
Ready to Get Started?
OMNIA Partners aids strategic procurement by offering the nation’s most comprehensive portfolio of products and services from market leading suppliers. Our approach is straightforward: to enhance your organization’s procurement process by providing access to volume discounts through our national supplier contracts, streamlining the process for thousands of products and services. We offer value-added solutions, tools, data, support, and expertise to help you procure more strategically and efficiently.
While every GPO offers contracts, OMNIA Partners goes the extra mile by offering access to subject matter expertise and spend visibility solutions. Our seasoned experts collaborate with members, sharing industry insights and offering personalized advice on category strategies. In addition to subject matter expertise, we have analysts who will compare your organization’s spend against our leveraged contracts to help you determine which programs will work best for you before committing resources to an RFP. This process goes beyond typical assessments to uncover overlooked cost savings opportunities at no cost or obligation
With OMNIA Partners, your free membership grants full access to our contracts, spend visibility solution, analytics, and expert advice. Join thousands of members transforming their procurement practices and building organizational value with OMNIA Partners today.
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