CommonWealth Purchasing Group (CPG) was founded in 1998 as one of the country's leading community health center Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO). CHCANYS has partnered with CPG to help as many FQHCs in New York State as possible benefit from significant savings by enrolling in this program.
The following CHCANYS members are currently enjoying the benefits of the CPG partnership:
Betances Health Center Brownsville Community Development Corporation Callen-Lorde Community Health Center Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country Charles B. Wang Community Health Center The Chautauqua Center Community Health Center of Buffalo Community Health Center of Richmond, Inc. Community Healthcare Network Community Medical and Dental Cornerstone Family Healhcare Family Health Network of Central New York Finger Lakes Community Health Hometown Health Centers Hudson Headwaters Health Network HRHCare Community Health Institute for Family Health Jericho Road Community Health Center Morris Heights Health Center Neighborhood Health Center North Country Family Health Center Northern Oswego County Health Services NuHealth Family Health Centers Oak Orchard Community Health Center ODA Primary Health Care, Inc. Regional Primary Care Network Ryan Health Urban Health Plan Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center View:
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to show you how much your organization can be saving when you buy the same products you’re already using through CommonWealth Purchasing Group’s nationally recognized vendors. Here’s how to get your comparison:
Send us a representative sample of invoices along with a cover letter that includes your organization’s name and address, and the name of the person to whom we should send analysis results, including their title, phone number and email address.
Roxanne Wynn-Trotman Director, Corporate Relations and Meeting Support rwynn@chcanys.org
WHAT IS A GROUP PURCHASING ORGANIZATION?
A group purchasing organization (GPO) is a member-based organization that combines the purchasing power of several members in order to provide volume savings they couldn’t otherwise access as a single organization. In a GPO, vendors treat all members like one big company and base pricing and other benefits on total sales to the group. Because of the combined volume being purchased by multiple businesses, vendors offer better pricing and customer service on the products and services members use every day.
HOW GPOS ARE ORGANIZED
Many GPOs specialize in a particular industry - healthcare, electronics manufacturers, grocery chains, etc. Others are organized by location and may include a variety of industries. Single-focus GPOs typically provide greater value to members, with competitive contracts that cater to their industry-specific needs.
A FEW OF THE BENEFITS OF JOINING A GPO
Lower prices for members on the products and services they need to conduct business every day.
Improved customer service (which includes a variety of activities) can account for 50% or more of total savings for GPO members. For example, contracting vendors often waive delivery fees and other charges that “standalone” customers pay.
GPO vendors often offer additional services such as helping members to identify lower-cost alternative products - typically vendor house brands or generics - that will meet the members’ needs and save money.
Save time and money with consolidated billing, inventory management, simplified ordering, and many other supply chain improvements.
WHAT SETS COMMONWEALTH PURCHASING GROUP APART?
With more than 600 members in 40 states, CommonWealth Purchasing Group (CPG) is the nation’s leading group purchasing organization for community health centers and other community-based nonprofits. Members have access to over 75 nationally-recognized vendors that offer deep discounts and exceptional customer service.
CPG was developed by community health center professionals to meet the specific needs of health centers and similar nonprofit organizations, from single-site facilities to the largest multi-site systems. The remarkable growth of CPG’s membership is strong evidence of how valuable the program is to our members.
There are several features of the CPG program that make it a smart choice for every organization.
No membership fees. There is no cost to join CPG - our members never write us a check. All of our funding comes from administrative fees paid by our vendors.
No more shopping around. Not only will your organization realize significant savings on supplies and services, but you’ll have more time for your constituents, your community and your mission.
Flexibility. CPG members use only the vendors they choose - there are no minimum purchase or usage requirements.
Focus and specialization. CPG is focused on serving community health centers and similar nonprofit human service organizations. All of our policies and procedures are carefully designed to be most effective in this industry.
Membership eligibility. CPG welcomes health centers, human service providers, and similar nonprofit organizations.
More vendors mean more choices. CPG members choose from high-performing vendors in areas where they make the majority of their purchases. Most of our vendors are leading national companies and we also offer a number of regional contracts that meet specific needs. CPG regularly audits vendor contracts to assure competitive pricing and high levels of service are maintained.
Free cost-benefit analysis. CPG will perform a free, confidential price comparison that shows your saving opportunities over your current vendors.
Vendor account representatives. Each vendor will assign a dedicated account representative to your organization so every time you call you’re working with someone who understands your industry and your specific needs. Our vendors work with members to set up strategies such as inventory management, par levels, timesaving online purchasing, and demand management.
Free reports. Track your total savings and identify future savings opportunities with an annual purchasing snapshot report.
Ongoing education. CommonWealth Purchasing Group offers our members opportunities to learn cutting-edge management and money-saving techniques through conferences, presentations and education sessions customized for your organization.
Advisory board. CPG has a national advisory board that meets quarterly to provide strategic advice, give feedback on program performance and impact, and share ideas about additional product sectors and potential new vendors. It’s made up of senior staff from our members, including CEOs, CFOs and COOs.
Independence. CPG is an independent group purchasing organization. We do not endorse a remote “parent” GPO, so we contract directly with each of our vendors. For our members this means we establish and maintain every aspect of our program, from vendor selection to program performance and impact.
GROWTH, SUCCESS AND OVER $300 MILLION SAVED
Community health centers and other nonprofit organizations face a daunting challenge in maintaining good financial health. Rising prices, increased demand for services, and tighter budgets put constant pressure on management and staff to make the best possible use of every dollar.
A Solution to the Problem In 1998, CommonWealth Purchasing Group was created by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers - the Primary Care Association for the state - to address these issues. What started with only a few members and one vendor contract has grown exponentially into the nation’s foremost group purchasing organization in the health care industry. CPG is a value-added partner of CHCANYS.
CPG combines the purchasing power of more than 600 member organizations in 40 states to negotiate savings and superior service from a portfolio of more than 75 nationally-recognized vendors. From medical, dental and office supplies to computers, copiers and communications systems, CPG vendors deliver deep discounts and outstanding service. Members have purchased over $1 billion in supplies and services and have saved over $300 million. In New York State, CPG members realized over $2.7 million in savings as of this year.
Expanding Our Reach As we’ve grown, a number of other types of human service providers - primary care associations, community action agencies, family planning programs, and others - have joined to take advantage of member savings.
Enhancing Member Benefits It’s of the utmost importance to us that our members’ needs are not just met, but their expectations exceeded. Our portfolio of vendors, products and services continues to grow – we love finding new opportunities for members to save.
Membership is Easy and Free The best part about being a CPG member is that members access all the benefits of our program with no fees and no obligations - members can pick and choose only the contracts that work for them. The program is fully supported by administrative fees paid by our vendors.
If you’d like to learn more about the CommonWealth Purchasing Group and how we can help your organization save time and money on your purchases, give us a call today or find an application online at www.cwpurchasing.com.
EXACTLY HOW MUCH CAN YOUR ORGANIZATION SAVE?
Before you join CommonWealth Purchasing Group, we’ll provide you with a detailed estimate of the savings you can expect with a no cost, no obligation “apples-to-apples” comparison.
To develop your estimate we’ll take a representative sample of your most recent invoices and conduct a two-part analysis. (Note: A “representative sample” should be broad enough to include all of the products you routinely use to serve your patients and run your business. Typically, this is about one month of invoices; somewhat more for smaller centers, and perhaps a little less for very large organizations that order more frequently.)
We use invoices because they contain important information about the quantities you’re using and the Stock Keeping Unit (the “SKU” is the bar code information found on nearly every product from groceries to syringes which uniquely identifies the product, manufacturer and packaging.)
PART ONE: The first part of the analysis compares your current prices with discounted pricing available through CPG’s vendor contracts. This is a precise, “apples-to-apples” comparison. If we are unable to identify any item on your invoice we leave that item out of the analysis and note the omission (the vast majority of products have a universal SKU, but with some specialty items or house brands it is sometimes impossible to identify an exact match.)
This will give you a simple, three-part comparison:
Here are the products you’re currently buying and using;
Here’s what you’re currently paying; and
Here’s what you will pay with CPG’s discounted pricing.
PART TWO: The second part of the analysis offers you options on lower-cost products. In the purchasing world this is known as “scrubbing the buy.” CPG vendors will examine your current products and suggest alternative products - usually generics or house brands - wherever these are available. Of course, decisions on whether to switch to these alternatives are entirely up to you.
The complete analysis gives you the information you need to decide whether CPG can deliver value for your organization.*
*CPG’s contracted low prices are the result of our members banding together. Prices are not manipulated to make comparisons look more attractive. Most of the comparisons are completed by independent bid analysts. Health centers are asked to participate in our code of ethics by not sharing our contract pricing with their current vendors.
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