After nearly a decade of planning, the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center vision finally came to life. It would be home to the main library branch and Jasper Community Arts, as well as become a place for residents and visitors to gather with flexibility and comfort.
Partnering with local manufacturers to honor the town’s heritage of furniture and woodworking industries mixed with the buying power of a cooperative purchasing organization was a recipe for success. We spoke with Jasper-Dubious County Public Library Director, Christine Golden, about her ”stress-free" experience using a cooperative to complete this project.
Keep reading to find out how Golden and her team saved time and money by utilizing the value of a cooperative purchasing organization.
Challenge
Furniture designs are constantly changing and evolving to meet the changing needs of the post-pandemic environment. The impactful role that furniture plays in public spaces is why Golden dedicated a large amount of the project budget to creating a space for community members to comfortably spend time.
“With anything in government there are limited resources, and you have to make sure that when you go into a project, you know what you’re going to spend,” says Christine Golden, Director of the Jasper-Dubois Co. Public Library. “We set our budget for this project before we knew what type of furniture we were going to need. You have to. With that uncertainty, the most important part for us is to stay close to that budget.”
This project was a huge undertaking and Golden and her team knew they had to stay on budget while choosing furniture and products that still had great value and met their needs.
Solution
Golden knew she wanted to work with furniture supplier, Kimball International and its family of brands, Kimball, National, and Etc., after seeing what their team had proposed. For further project inspiration, Golden’s team also partnered with architecture and design firm Hafer to guide the team in their goal to have local products represented in their facility. The team at Hafer also introduced them the benefits of purchasing from Kimball International’s contracts through the OMNIA Partners cooperative. This route would provide major time savings since the RFP process had already been completed.
The team was able to drive just nine blocks down the road since Kimball International is headquartered in Jasper and choose the furniture pieces they wanted, versus having to flip through a catalog. They knew exactly what they were getting, and there were no guessing games. They got the products they wanted, and everyone was amazed by the new cultural center.
Savings
Golden described how using Kimball International’s cooperative contracts through OMNIA Partners saved her from worry and concern. She also added that having a cooperative on her side makes her and her team stronger, more strategic, and agile.
Cooperative Purchasing Partnership
While purchasing for the needs of end-users, balancing your complex spend cube becomes a major focus for a lot of agencies. Leveraging a cooperative opens the door to immediate access to solutions and savings through a streamlined process and guidance from subject matter experts.
Golden says she and her team at the Jasper-Dubois County Public Library continue to benefit from the buying power of cooperative purchasing.
“We were able to seamlessly work through it, and all it came down to was me seeing the quote, taking it to the board to approve and move forward,” says Golden. “I can see us using cooperative contracts down the road over and over again.”
To read the full case study click here!
