Purchasing Cooperatives

Purchasing cooperatives are made up of groups of businesses that wish to jointly purchase services or supplies. A purchasing cooperative helps its members lower their operating costs and in turn stay competitive with big-box stores on the retail prices for their goods or services.  Ace Hardware, for example, is a cooperative of independent hardware stores that pool their buying power to purchase inventory.  Another example is CCA Global Partners, one of the largest cooperatives in the U.S.  CCA Global Partners organizes independent businesses to pool resources for buying, marketing, insurance, and financing in industries including flooring, mortgage banking, lighting, and bicycles.