Alabama School District Leverages Cooperative to Achieve Savings & Spend Relief Funds

Around 25 miles north of Montgomery, Alabama, Elmore County Public Schools serve approximately 11,000 K-12 students. Making sure “every student is empowered and every student succeeds,” teachers and administrators in Elmore County are dedicated to the education, growth, and potential of each child that walks through their doors.

Procurement teams in school systems across the nation know that equipping their schools with innovative education supplies and health and safety items is crucial to maximizing the student learning experience. Though not in the classroom with the kids, Director of Federal Programs, Celeste Tilley, and Federal Programs Accounting Specialist, Cecile Sanford, spend each day ensuring that Elmore County students and teachers have all the school supplies they need, right when they need them through collaboration with their cooperative purchasing organization, OMNIA Partners.

Challenge & Opportunity

Purchasing for 15 schools with a variety of needs isn’t an easy task. Add more money than you’re used to dealing with to the equation, and it becomes even more overwhelming. Elmore County received Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding and were in search of assistance with sourcing and coordinating a large volume of orders for their schools.

In dire need of high demand school supplies quickly, along with better vendor communication and support, the education purchasing leaders turned to OMNIA Partners' supplier, Quill, for classroom solutions and PPE/cleaning supplies to improve the learning and teaching experience. By working with Quill and OMNIA Partners, Celeste and Cecile were able to maximize spend and use their ESSER funds quickly and efficiently.

Strategy

Elmore County’s dedicated account manager at Quill assisted with sourcing, pricing, and coordinating solutions tailored to meet the district’s needs. Structured and productive communication between Quill and the county to discuss accurate pricing for large-item quantities saved the district thousands.

Leveraging both the OMNIA Partners cooperative and industry-leading supplier Quill helped streamline Celeste and Cecile’s bid process saving them a “tremendous amount of time,” which made a world of difference.

Easy, Efficient, Effective:

"Why would I want to go through that bid process if someone else has already done it? Just the process and the advertising requirements and the time it takes and all of it. The fact that OMNIA Partners exists to do that process, to do that for public entities, it’s a game-changer for us. It eliminates a huge amount of work. It simplifies the process."

- Celeste Tilley, Federal Programs Director, Elmore County School District

"We would almost have to have another hired person to do [the purchasing] part if we weren’t a part of any cooperative. Because it’s so time-consuming."

- Cecile Sanford, Federal Programs Accounting Specialist, Elmore County School District

Solutions for Success

Education purchasing leaders Celeste and Cecile are helping pave the way for the future of their industry by leveraging cooperative purchasing in their strategy to save several thousand dollars. While saving Elmore County money, time, and resources, Quill fulfilled multiple large volume orders delivered to various school buildings across the Alabama district.

About Quill

Quill provides the quality and breadth of school and office supplies you need, the values and savings your organization wants, and the best-in-class customer service you deserve. In addition to 400+ bid items and significant category discounts under the OMNIA Partners contract, purchasing from Quill through OMNIA Partners helps support and celebrate Women-Owned business. Learn more about contract offerings from Quill here.

About OMNIA Partners

OMNIA Partners is the largest and most experienced organization in procurement and supply chain management. Covering both the private and public sectors, OMNIA Partners unites industry-leading buying power and world-class suppliers to offer an extensive portfolio of sourcing solutions and partnerships. Learn more about the contracting process here.

CASE STUDY: Elmore County School District