Cooperative Purchasing

State Procurement Division (SPD) awards and manages hundreds of statewide contracts on behalf of state agencies and cooperative purchasing members.

With a massive marketplace and billions of dollars in purchasing power, Texas offers abundant opportunities for vendors of a wide variety of goods and services, including minority- and women-owned businesses.

Products and services offered have been established through open competition and meet state purchasing and competitive bid requirements.

All State contracts have been competitively bid or are considered set-asides and therefore, do not require any additional procurement steps on behalf of the University.

Cooperative Agency	Description
Buyboard	Cooperative Purchasing Agreement for a wide range of products and services. No bidding is required. A username and/or password is required. Request a username/password.
Educational & Institutional Cooperative Purchasing (E&I)	Not-for-profit buying cooperative. Contracts more than 80 suppliers in the areas of: Furniture, Interior Furnishings, Computers & Electronics, Maintenance, Food Service, Office Equipment & Supplies, Background Investigations, and Transportation & Delivery Services. No bidding is required.
HGACBuy	A nationwide, government procurement service striving to make governmental procurement process more efficient. All contracts available to participating members of HGACBuy have been awarded by virtue of a public competitive procurement process compliant with state statutes.
National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance (NCPA)	A leading national government purchasing cooperative working to reduce the cost of goods and services by leveraging the purchasing power of public agencies in all 50 states. NCPA specializes in Technology, Cloud, Facilities, Construction, Athletic, Transportation, Furniture, Medical Supplies and Security equipment and services. No bidding is required.
Sourcewell	A public agency serving as a national purchasing cooperative with 170+ competitively awarded contracts and 50,000 member agencies. No cost, no obligation membership. Technology, MRO, Facilities, Scientific/Laboratory, Construction, Heavy Equipment, Transportation, Waste & Recycling, Appliances, Electronics, Logistics, and more. No bidding is required.
Choice Partners	Partners include: Facilities Planning and Facility Contracts, Supplies and Service Contracts, Food Contracts with Bread, Dairy, Grocery, and Produce, Technology Products, and Choice Energy Partners. No bidding is required. A username and/or password is required. Request a username/password.
Vizient	Offers a full spectrum of cost-effective products and services including student health products, dining services, and building services/facilities management. No bidding is required.
OMNIA Partners	Assists in helping public agencies and non-profits reap the benefits of national leveraged pricing, with no cost to the member. Contracts cover: Facilities, Furniture, Office Supplies & Equipment, security Systems, and Technology and other goods and service industries. No bidding required.
The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS/TAPS)	Provides school districts and other governmental entities opportunities for greater efficiency and economy in acquiring goods and services. No bidding is required.
Tarrant County Purchasing	A leader in providing interlocal agreements that allow other government jurisdictions to obtain goods at competitive prices.
U.S. Communities National Purchasing Cooperative	Provides resources and solutions to: local and state government agencies, school districts (K-12), higher education, and nonprofits. Reduces the cost of goods and services to include, but not limited to: Facilities, Office & School Supplies, Specialty Items, and Technology. No bidding is required.
University of Texas Supply Chain Alliance (UTSSCA)	UTSSCA was created to expand the use of joint purchasing and explore new opportunities to leverage the collective size and strength of the UT System institutions through cooperative purchasing. Please contact procure@twu.edu for assistance in looking up contracts.

State Contracts	Description
Department of Information Resources (DIR)	Offers more than 650 contracts for technology products and services including: hardware, software, staffing services, maintenance, and other services with a high customer demand, such as managed services and technology training. No bidding is required.
SPD	Term contracts that have been awarded by the state. Purchasing under a state contract exempts bidding requirements.
Texas Correctional Industries (TCI)	Benefits the state of Texas by generating cost savings and by providing quality products and services to eligible agencies. Products include: mattresses, shoes, garments, brooms, license plates, printed materials, janitorial supplies, soaps, detergents, furniture, textile and steel products. No bidding is required.
WorkQuest	Is a catalyst for employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Serves as the interface between vocational rehabilitation centers and the purchasing systems of the state, cities, counties, schools districts, and hospital districts. No bidding is required.
Texas Multiple Award Schedule (TXMAS)	An alternative purchasing method where contracts have been developed from contracts awarded by the federal government or any other governmental entity. No bidding is required.

Federal Contracts	Description
GSA Multiple Award Schedule	Contracts negotiated by the federal government that can be used for the purchase of goods and services in the areas of technology and facilities. As an institution of higher education, TWU may use the contracts listed on the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) for IT products, services and solutions as well as law enforcement and security products, services and solutions. No bidding is required.

Page last updated 3:38 PM, May 11, 2022