Top Five Reasons to Join a GPO: How WellLink GPO Can Help You and Your Organization

Many organizations overlook the benefits of a group purchasing organization (GPO) simply because they are not fully aware of the impact one can make. In reality, a GPO can significantly transform the way your organization buys, streamlining the procurement process and reducing administrative burden, and ultimately unlocking meaningful cost savings.

Let’s discuss the basics before we get into the top reasons to join a GPO.

What is a Group Purchasing Organization?
A GPO leverages the collective buying power of its members to negotiate discounted pricing with suppliers. Any type of business or practice can become a member with access to negotiated contracts within the WellLink GPO portfolio. 

Suppliers benefit as well. By gaining visibility across the GPO, suppliers can expand their client base and reach new markets. Through close collaboration with account managers and GPO purchasing experts who specialize in specific classes of trade, suppliers are connected to the members who are the best fit for their contracts.

At WellLink GPO, we’ve been enhancing the purchasing process for more than 100 years. Today, more than 28,000 member locations nationwide rely on us to streamline procurement and secure supplier pricing that would be difficult or even impossible to negotiate independently. 

Now, let’s take a look at the top five reasons to join a GPO:

1. Your Organization Can Save by Joining a GPO
The collective strength of thousands of members enables suppliers to offer their products and services at discounts that would otherwise be inaccessible to an individual person or business. 

WellLink GPO’s membership is expansive, diverse and extends far beyond healthcare. This allows organizations of nearly any type to find savings of 10-20% on the goods and services they use every day.

2. Joining WellLink GPO Does Not Cost You Money 
Like many GPOs, there is no cost to join WellLink and no annual membership fee. Plus, there is no required commitment to use an agreement. 

WellLink supports organizations of every size by helping them save on the products and services they use every day. And members have the freedom to access as many agreements as they want with no commitments and no penalties.

As an added perk, members can take advantage of our employee discount program, which provides access to savings through well-known suppliers such as AT&T, Verizon, Sherwin Williams, Hertz and Office Depot.

3. Dedicated Account Managers
It’s understandable that navigating the workings of a GPO can cause hesitation, but luckily, most WellLink GPO members are assigned dedicated account managers.

At WellLink, account managers with deep knowledge of the agreement portfolio work closely with members to understand their purchasing needs and connect them with the agreements that will benefit their organizations.

Members are free to use our portfolio in whatever way works best for their organization and can engage with their account manager as often as needed. We also offer a biweekly member newsletter that includes information on contract launches, renewals, price changes, recalls and any related educational opportunities. Our members receive support from not only our national account managers and client services team, but the entire GPO department.

4. GPOs Provide Access to Diverse Portfolios
A GPO portfolio can include everything from small locally based suppliers to globally recognized brands, giving members access to a wide range of options that support many types of organizations. What does the WellLink GPO portfolio include? Between our relationship with Premier and our own agreements with local suppliers and manufacturers, our portfolio features more than 4,000 agreements. 

We take pride in offering a diverse portfolio that helps members identify the best savings for their unique needs. Our agreements span categories such as nursing, operating rooms, foodservice and essential services like natural gas and IT. We also have a focus on diverse suppliers and highlight them for our members. This includes woman-owned, veteran-owned and minority-owned business enterprises. 

5. Customized Service
A GPO should strive to help members find supplier agreements that work best for their organization. At WellLink, that is exactly what we do.

We want our members to see us as a purchasing resource whenever they need to procure a product or service. What do we do if a member can’t find an agreement in our portfolio to meet their purchasing needs? Luckily, we can even create custom agreements for our members.

In the past few years, WellLink GPO has worked with a large health system in Northeast Ohio to create more than 45 custom agreements, helping this member secure savings and meet its organizational goals of investing in the local economy.

What Sets WellLink GPO Apart From Others?
At WellLink, we stand out because of our dedicated account management, growing portfolio, and our communication and availability to our clients and suppliers. 
Truly, we want our business partnerships to be a great experience for everyone: suppliers, members, and WellLink.

How Do I Become a WellLink GPO member? 
It couldn’t be any easier. The approval process takes an average of 2-3 business days to create an entity code allowing new members access to the full portfolio. The WellLink team then works closely with new members to activate contract pricing as quickly as possible. Become a member and learn more at welllinkgpo.com.