We've been hearing a lot lately about the wonders of the state master contract. In most states, the government has negotiated deals with a variety of vendors, obtaining steep discounts that local government agencies can take advantage of. You can buy hardware, software, supplies, even cars off of state master contracts. Not every state has this great arrangement, but most do. Also, the details vary widely from state to state.

Benefits of State Master Contracts:

• Saving money.
• In many areas, these contracts comply with local laws and purchasing regulations. In other words, if you buy off the SMC, you don't have to issue an RFP and endure the vendor selection process.
• Also, most vendors who have state contracts will devote at least one person to managing that relationship and helping customers. So you still have someone at Dell, HP, Verizon, or wherever that you can turn to for assistance and advice. Often it takes months or years to find a competent sales rep and build a relationship with that person. When you buy off an SMC, the relationship is already in place. Moreover, vendors often assign their best employees to handle these interactions.

Why aren't more libraries buying off of state master contracts?

In many cases, librarians don't know about these deals, or they don't know who to contact. If you're familiar with the SMC situation in your state, spread the word. If you don't know anything about SMC's and you want to learn more, get in touch with your state library.

Stories and advice from librarians

Below are some quotes from two recent interviewees, Jay Roos from Great River Regional Library in Minnesota, and Matt Beckstrom from Lewis & Clark Public Library in Montana. Both are big fans of State Master Contracts.

Matt Beckstrom, Lewis & Clark Public Library, MT:

"In Montana a lot of people don't know this still and I've been trying to educate people, but our State government, when they negotiate contracts with vendors for software or hardware, they almost always throw the clause in that local government agencies are allowed to purchase off those contracts. So we get a pretty hefty discount for a lot of things -- not only hardware but software and services like my cell phone; my business cell phone is through a State term contract."

Jay Roos, Great River Regional Library, MN:

"I don't even look at the retail pricing anymore. Even if I called Dell, for example, and I ask for a quote, they already know that I have a state contract, so I get the state contract pricing by default. I don't know what pricing I would get if it wasn't for that. But I was looking at a laptop and it was at least $500 difference between what was on their website versus what the state contract pricing was. It's great...I found out about it just because the person before of me was aware of it. And I have a feeling that the way we got onto it in the first place was we were using a state contract for purchasing vehicles. And you know, vehicles are such a significant purchase. You're always looking for the best way to get it...Ongoing paperwork is nothing. It's just fill in our organization address and send a check to participate in the Cooperative Purchasing Ventures as they call it in Minnesota. And the fee is small. I'm guessing it's just to cover administrative costs. "

A Question

So to summarize, by buying off an SMC, you can save lots of time and lots of money. Does anyone else out there have stories, advice or thoughts about State Master Contracts?

Technorati Tags: purchasing state master contracts