The U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance, the only purchasing cooperative sponsored by the National League of Cities, recently honored the City of Orlando, Fla. for saving taxpayer dollars through the use of cooperative purchasing.
Orlando was presented with a U.S. Communities 2014 Customer Appreciation Award for supporting cooperative purchasing and utilizing multiple U.S. Communities contracts over the past three years and purchasing more than $3 million of products and services since joining the program. The city has saved as much as five hundred thousand dollars through its participation in U.S. Communities. Since it began in 1996, U.S. Communities has saved local agencies across the country more than $1.5 billion.
NLC Executive Director Clarence Anthony applauded the city for its accomplishment. “It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Orlando for receiving the Customer Appreciation Award from the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance. As a founder and sponsor of this great public benefit program, NLC is pleased that the city has actively used U.S. Communities contracts and achieved savings from the best pricing on products and solutions available through our cooperative purchasing program,” Anthony said.
David Billingsley, Orlando’s Chief Procurement Officer, accepted the award on behalf of the city from U.S. Communities’ Program Manager David Kidd.
Among the products and services purchased by Orlando were roofing supplies, electrical supplies, hardware and related supplies, elevator services, auto parts, playground equipment, janitorial supplies and office furniture.
In 2013, Chicago, Phoenix and Raleigh, N.C. were among the recipients of the Customer Appreciation Award. The use of government purchasing cooperatives is recognized as a procurement best practice by NIGP, the Institute for Public Procurement.
For more information about U.S. Communities, contact Marc Shapiro or visit the U.S. Communities website.
JANUARY 27, 2014
By Marc Shapiro