MEMORANDUM
TO: MOWAA Members
FROM: Enid Borden, Chief Executive Officer
Over the past few months, you have probably heard about the new collaborative services initiative that MOWAA is developing to assist its members in preparing for the future. One principal component of this program is Common Goods, the newly-revamped and improved group purchasing effort formerly known as the Marketplace that is being undertaken by MOWAA as a service and as a benefit to its members and other community-based meal providers across the country.
Common Goods will enable your program to take advantage of food and supply prices not available to individual MOW programs. You will have access to national contract pricing, not only for food and non-food supplies, but also for services such as express mail, exterminator services and background checks & testing. Even vehicles and tires can be purchased through Common Goods.
Common Goods is designed to link all community nutrition programs with the purchasing power of MedAssets, a national healthcare group purchasing program. MedAssets has thousands of other members who, because of their collective purchasing power, can access national contract prices that have been negotiated by MedAssets.
MedAssets has in turn partnered with SYSCO, the world’s largest food distributor, to make certain that MOW members receive the best service and most economical delivery solutions. Because of the relationship between MedAssets and SYSCO, even the smallest meal providers will have access to the low food prices and efficient distribution services offered through Common Goods. Purchasing is easy through eSYSCO, its online ordering guide where you can buy the food items you need.
MOWAA has set a goal of reducing the food costs for each community nutrition program by at least 10% while maintaining the flexibility that is required to meet your clients’ needs. We are very happy to tell you that we have been able to achieve this goal with the MOW programs that have already joined Common Goods, and with more participation, the pricing will only get better.
It is just like someone writing your program
a check for $100,000 if your
annual food purchases
are $1 million each year.
In considering whether your program will join Common Goods, two important factors should be kept in mind:
There is no cost for your program to join Common Goods and take advantage of the pricing and services that are now available.
It doesn’t matter if your program produces your own meals or if you utilize a local caterer or a foodservice management firm. Savings have been found for every type of program through Common Goods.
Why should you participate?
MOW programs will realize savings on both food and non-food items through the national contract pricing. In addition, you will save staff time and resources because Common Goods has been redesigned to be easy to use and more efficient from an ordering and accounting standpoint. Taking advantage of these savings offered through Common Goods will enable your program to have more funds available to feed more seniors.
How do you know you’ll save money?
There are two primary ways to see how you will save money. First, you can talk to MOW programs which are currently using Common Goods. These programs, which are probably buying products very similar to those you buy, are saving an average of 10%. Some are saving more. A second way is to allow Common Goods to compare what you are actually buying and paying today with what is available through MedAssets. Think of this comparison as a free check-up. The worst thing that can happen is that you end up assured that you are buying better than you could through Common Goods and MedAssets’ $15 billion network ($300 million in food alone). But, the more likely outcome is that MedAssets, as it has found in every cost study it has done so far, will find meaningful opportunities for your program to reduce costs and save money which will then enable you to feed more seniors and deliver more nutrition services to your community.
How Do You Sign Up for Common Goods?
There are two or three documents that you will need to sign in order for your program to join Common Goods and enable you to access MedAssets’ contract pricing for purchases through eSYSCO:
- the MedAssets Participation Agreement
- Distributor Commitment and Member Participation Form
- the SYSCO Credit Application (unless you are already a current SYSCO customer)
This seems like a lot of paperwork and can be intimidating. However, please be advised that the General Counsel of MOWAA has worked closely with MedAssets and SYSCO to develop the agreement and the attached documents to reflect the national consensus among the parties while considering the interests of local providers. Feel free to have your own attorney review the documents to make certain that they meet your needs and that you understand your obligations under those agreements.
All three documents are attached along with a list of Frequently Asked Questions which explains Common Goods in more detail.
Throughout the next several months, we will be hosting regional “Imagine ... There’s No Hunger” meetings to explain the Common Goods initiative and how it will work for your program. You will be able to ask questions and learn more about this important savings program.
In addition, a MedAssets representative will be contacting you to discuss Common Goods further. If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact Amanda Craft, Resource Group Manager at 800-950-4722.
Through its collaborative services initiative, MOWAA is working to find ways to benefit its members. Common Goods is a group purchasing initiative sponsored by MOWAA which makes sense, is easy to use, and will save your program money so that you can feed more seniors and others in need of good nutrition. We are asking that you “look under the hood” and “kick the tires” and try it out for a time to see if it works for you. We believe it will but you have to give us the chance to prove it.
Thanks for your consideration of Common Goods.
