The Pavement Network is always looking out for our members’ best interests. Recently, we were informed that some members were utilizing The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) to garner new business that they wouldn’t have been able to tap into before.
What is TIPS?
TIPS is a nationwide system that can help businesses gain government contracts for work. Many states have laws that require governmental entities to only purchase from an approved vendor list, which is why TIPS was created.
TIPS can potentially give you access to an untapped market of government contracts. It consolidates and personalizes the bidding process, and it simplifies the process for school districts and governmental entities to obtain goods and services. It also equalizes purchasing power for smaller entities that cannot command the best contracts for themselves.
They contract with over 4,000 high-performance vendors in many industries, including paving, construction, electricity, security, food supplies, furniture, and even books.
How does TIPS work?
It’s free to become a TIPS member, and the registration is streamlined to make it easy to join. There is a process for becoming a TIPS member:
- Register as a vendor.
- On the first Thursday of the month, TIPS will send you bids for contracts that match the goods and services you offer.
- Send in proposals to any bids you want to obtain.
- TIPS will score your proposals, and if they meet or exceed a certain score, they will be sent to the bidder as a good choice to award the bid.
- Each potential bid will come with its own deadline for a proposal, so you’ll need to keep that in mind when selecting which proposals you want to bid on.
- If you are awarded any of the bids you applied for, you will be informed the following month.
- Follow the steps that TIPS includes in your award email for next steps on the project.
Is TIPS worth it?
If you are interested in working with school districts and governmental entities, TIPS can be a great way to help you get these contracts. Since it’s free to join, you won’t be losing any money by sending out bids for projects each month. It can be a highly valuable tool that can help Pavement Network members who are interested in expanding their business.
“TIPS has been a valuable new tool that allows us to sell to public agencies without having to play in a low-bid / low-margin environment. We are able to sell ourselves on total value, which includes service, quality, responsiveness, and long-term relationships. We’ve done a little of $2M of business in the first year or so via TIPS, but we’ve really only scratched the surface, as there are almost 250 member agencies within our geographical footprint.” – Tom Merry, Owner, Rainier Asphalt & Concrete