[Cobo-qa] Purchasing Consortiums

[Schlotthauer, Scott]

Hello COBO members,

This is a great question, and I am glad to provide a procurement perspective. There are many Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) and cooperative contracts available in the market-some public and some private. Private GPOs are not generally subject to Oklahoma open records requirements, and in many cases the underlying solicitation and award documentation is not readily accessible.

For that and other valid reasons, the OSU/A&M central procurement office began formally vetting cooperative contracts in 2016 to ensure any contract utilized complies with Board Policy, OSU and A&M Procurement Guidelines, and Oklahoma law (including the requirement for an open and competitive solicitation process, unless otherwise authorized). Importantly, we vet and approve individual contracts for use-we do not "approve" the GPO itself.

It is also critical that we know exactly which contracts are being used across the system. A cooperative contract can only be relied upon if we can demonstrate it was competitively established, properly documented, and appropriate for the specific scope of work.

Approving contracts protects the University by ensuring we can:


  *   Defend compliance with Oklahoma procurement requirements and internal policy
  *   Respond to audits and public inquiries with clear documentation and approval history
  *   Confirm pricing and terms are valid (contract term, renewals, price schedules, and fee structures)
  *   Mitigate risk (insurance, indemnification, data security, termination rights, and other material contract terms)
  *   Ensure Oklahoma suppliers had an opportunity to compete, where applicable, and demonstrate fairness/transparency
  *   Prevent off-contract spend and avoid unauthorized commitments by ensuring the correct contract vehicle is used

To complete the contract vetting, we request the following documentation:


  1.  The original solicitation (RFP/RFQ), including any amendments and addenda
  2.  The list of suppliers solicited and proof of publication/advertisement (Did OK firms have an opportunity to respond, although OK has no preference laws, I ensure OK firms are not overlooked and are provided the opportunity to compete)
  3.  Bid tabulation and list of responsive suppliers
  4.  Evaluation methodology and scoring results
  5.  Fully executed contract and all attachments (pricing, SOW, terms and conditions)
  6.  Participation agreement, if applicable (including any administrative fee structure)

My office has 71 cooperative contracts approved for use within our procurement system. Many of these were for a specific need and used in rare occasions, we don't publish the entire list.  If one of the contracts will be useful for all agencies in our system, we publish it to our internal online procurement catalog.

During our most recent external audit, the auditor specifically requested the date the cooperative contract was approved for institutional use-a request we were able to satisfy due to the investment in the process of formal vetting and tracking.

If you are interested, please feel free to use our process but it is important to check with your internal procurement department and legal counsel to determinie if this process fits your university.

Best regards,

Scott Schlotthauer  C.P.M.
Associate VP & Chief Procurement Officer
The OSU and A&M System
405-744-5984
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From: Cobo-qa <cobo-qa-bounces at lists.onenet.net> On Behalf Of Hathaway, Nick
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2026 4:13 PM
To: cobo-qa at lists.onenet.net
Subject: [Cobo-qa] Purchasing Consortiums

I received this question from a business officer.  Can anyone help out?

Is there an "approved" list of consortiums for higher ed in Oklahoma? If not, what factors should I evaluate to know a "good" one from a "bad" one? And then once I've identified a "good" one, do I need to reference that consortium in our purchasing policy?

Nick
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