The Contrax Pathway · Step 5

Get on a co-op contract

A co-op contract lets thousands of agencies buy from you with a purchase order, without running their own bid. You get on it by winning the co-op's bid for your category, once, when that category opens.

1. One bid for many buyers

A purchasing co-op runs one competitive bid for a category, such as roofing, HVAC, flooring or janitorial, on behalf of its member agencies: cities, counties, school districts, colleges and more.

2. Members buy without their own bid

Because the competition already happened, a member agency can usually buy from the winners with a purchase order. Whether it may depends on its state's law and its own rules; many states, Texas among them, allow it.

3. Answer when your category opens

You can't join any time. Each co-op re-bids each category on a cycle and posts the call for vendors on its own site. Answer it like any bid: your pricing, the area you cover, references and insurance. Many categories award several vendors.

4. Then sell it

Winning brings no orders by itself. Tell agencies you're on the contract, with its number, so they can buy from you without a bid. The co-op usually takes a small fee on each sale; check its terms.

Open for vendors now

From the co-ops' own pages (Sourcewell, BuyBoard, Choice Partners and OMNIA), checked every day. Answer before the due time on the co-op's site.

All (64)Janitorial (2)Construction (20)HVAC and plumbing (1)Electrical (1)IT services (1)Waste and trash hauling (1)

🔔 Tell me when my trade opens

Co-op categories open every few years. Leave your email and we'll send one email when yours opens at Sourcewell, BuyBoard or Choice Partners. Nothing else.

One-click unsubscribe in every email.

Announced or open, no due date listed here (check the co-op's page)

The co-ops

Sourcewell

A State of Minnesota local government unit and service cooperative.

Who buys: Thousands of government, K-12, higher education, nonprofit and tribal agencies in the United States and Canada.

How to get awarded: Answer the RFP for your category through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal before its due date. It also runs indefinite-quantity construction solicitations.

sourcewell-mn.gov/solicitations →

Its open solicitations are listed above.

BuyBoard

The Local Government Purchasing Cooperative, administered by the Texas Association of School Boards.

Who buys: Texas school districts, cities, counties and other local governments, plus members of its National Cooperative.

How to get awarded: Register as a vendor (free) and submit a proposal for your category's proposal invitation before its due date.

buyboard.com/vendor →

Its open solicitations are listed above.

TIPS

Region 8 Education Service Center in Pittsburg, Texas, as lead agency.

Who buys: Public agencies that join TIPS, in Texas and other states.

How to get awarded: Answer the TIPS RFP for your category. Several vendors are often awarded in a category.

tips.ionwave.net (TIPS eBid System) →

Not read by Contrax; check its site.

Choice Partners

The Harris County Department of Education in Texas.

Who buys: Agencies that join the Choice Partners cooperative, in Texas and other states.

How to get awarded: Answer its current RFP before the due date; downloading an RFP needs a Choice Partners vendor login. Many of its categories are job-order (JOC-IDIQ) contracts.

choicepartners.org/current-rfps →

Its open solicitations are listed above.

HGACBuy

The Houston-Galveston Area Council.

Who buys: Local governments nationwide that sign an interlocal contract with H-GAC.

How to get awarded: Win a category through its public bid or proposal process, posted in its procurement portal.

hgacbuy.org/bid-notices →

Not read by Contrax; check its site.

OMNIA Partners

Contracts are bid and awarded by a lead public agency, then offered nationally through OMNIA Partners.

Who buys: Public agencies across the country.

How to get awarded: There is no sign-up: answer the lead agency's RFP. Suppliers pay a small percentage of purchases made on their contract.

omniapartners.com solicitations →

Its open solicitations are listed above.

1GPA

A nonprofit national governmental purchasing cooperative based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Who buys: Government agencies that join 1GPA.

How to get awarded: Register as a vendor and answer the solicitation for your category, listed on its solicitations page.

1gpa.org/solicitations →

Not read by Contrax; check its site.

NASPO ValuePoint

State procurement offices: one lead state runs each solicitation for the group.

Who buys: State agencies, once their state signs a participating addendum for that contract.

How to get awarded: Answer the lead state's RFP. Each state then decides whether to use the contract.

naspovaluepoint.org →

Not read by Contrax; check its site.

Equipment categories: a way in for local installers

Some open categories, such as scoreboards, playgrounds or recycling equipment, are written for manufacturers. Many manufacturers on co-op contracts sell and install through authorized dealers and local installers, so a service business can often get the work by becoming one. Ask the manufacturer whether it adds dealers or installers to its co-op contract, and check that co-op's contract page for its dealer list.

For construction

Many states require agencies to bid building projects themselves, with bonds and sometimes prevailing wages, so co-ops matter most for repeat repair, renovation and trade-service work. The common construction route is a job-order or indefinite-quantity contract: one award with set unit prices, then a stream of smaller jobs. Sourcewell posts its indefinite-quantity construction solicitations in their own list; they show above when one is open.

Before your category opens

  • Register as a vendor on the co-op's site so you get its notices.
  • Have your insurance certificates, references and a price list or unit prices ready.
  • Decide the area you can serve well; co-ops ask, and agencies check.
  • Keep finding regular bids in the meantime: search Radar →

Each co-op's rules, fees and member lists are its own; read the solicitation before you answer. Contrax lists these calls for vendors so you see them; it is not part of any co-op.