Are you waiting to learn more about what funds your department might receive from the $2 trillion Infrastructure Bill? Well, you’re not alone. Procurement agents across America are waiting to see the details of the final, approved bill, and then learn what types of funding they might receive to help their communities. However, you don’t have to simply wait for the windfall as there is a task you can complete in the meantime that will prepare you to hit the ground running once you learn more. If you want to get ahead of the game, you should gather all your preferred vendors in one place.
Why gather vendors in one place?
This may seem silly at first, after all, you know your favorite vendors! You likely have their email addresses saved in your contacts. However, do you know all your department’s preferred vendors? Some procurement agents may have them in an excel file, some on a clipboard, and others may have their vendor info saved online.
Not only that, but your favorite preferred vendors are likely businesses that you often use such as construction, road repair, or school supplies vendors. The Infrastructure Bill is going to cover a wide range of funding including telecommunications, clean energy, and more. For vendors and suppliers that you probably haven’t used as often, you might not have their contact info readily available, and if you’ve never had to use these services you probably don’t have any preferred vendors for these at all.
Consider organizing with a procurement network
If you’re starting to realize that you don’t have all the contact information you need in one handy spot, you might consider starting a profile with an online procurement network. A procurement network like DemandStar offers a wide range of tools that will be useful as you start to have funds come through from the Infrastructure Bill. The benefits of procurement networks are that not only do they offer you a place to collect and store your preferred vendor contact information so that your entire team has access, but it can be a great place to connect with vendors and suppliers if you don’t already have one in mind for a specific project.
You can also post your RFPs here and receive digital bids that are easily filtered to find the most qualified vendors. The procurement network can connect you with vendors across the U.S., and even send emails to vendors who will likely be a good match for your RFP prompting them to bid, giving your department the most options. Finally, another benefit of a procurement network is that it can be a huge time saver since it’s digital and will allow your team to access bids from anywhere in one central account.
Gather together
As your procurement department prepares to find out what type of funds they’ll be receiving, it would be a good idea to prepare and get all of your preferred vendors in one central spot. By starting a free account with DemandStar, you can get access to some great features at no cost to your department, and then all your vendors will be in one spot!
Does your procurement department have vendor contact information in multiple places? How will you prepare in advance for upcoming funds provided by the Infrastructure Bill? What other benefits of procurement networks have you seen?