Purchasing Cooperations: Why Companies are Teaming up to Buy Smarter

Strategic Sourcing Through Purchasing Cooperations

As procurement grows more complex, the cost of going it alone is becoming harder to ignore. Between inflationary pressures, global supply chain disruptions and mounting competition, companies are increasingly recognising the value of joining forces. In this blog, we’ll explore what purchasing cooperations are, what they aim to achieve and how they can support a more strategic approach to sourcing – along with some key considerations to ensure your collaboration stays both compliant and effective.

Why purchasing cooperations are gaining ground

Global supply chains are under increasing strain, facing pressure from multiple directions. Geopolitical instability, raw material shortages, and inflation are driving up input costs, while evolving sustainability regulations are challenging even the most established suppliers. At the same time, rapid technological advancement and shifting customer expectations are demanding not only competitive pricing, but also sustainable sourcing, tailored offerings, and fast, reliable delivery. In this environment, even large suppliers are struggling to go it alone.

Purchasing cooperations bring together multiple companies to consolidate their purchasing power. This bundled volume generally leads to stronger negotiating levers and therefore is likely to result in optimised costs. In addition, these cooperations offer a smart way to pool resources, reduce supply risks in complex and uncertain modern markets.

Further benefits of purchasing cooperations include:

• Process optimisation: Streamlining procurement through joint tenders and standardised processes reduces administrative effort and improves speed.
• Reduced risk exposure: Diversifying supplier networks and enlarging the potential supplier portfolio helps to mitigate supply chain risk.
• Improved market access: Doors can open to new regions and technologies through the sharing of market insights, logistics networks and local knowledge.
• Knowledge exchange: Procurement best practices, supplier intelligence, and category expertise can be shared across partner organisations.

Purchasing cooperations are a lifeline for SMEs, enabling them to punch above their weight in supplier negotiations. But even large companies see the value in joining forces, particularly for standardised goods or strategic procurement initiatives. For big players, cooperation can go beyond cost savings. It can be a way to drive innovation, extend market influence, and help shape supplier practices or industry standards to the benefit of the broader ecosystem.

Not every product category is a natural fit for joint procurement – but many are. Purchasing cooperations are typically used for routine, repeat, and ready-to-bundle items like office supplies, packaging, maintenance materials and merchandise. IT hardware is one of the most common categories. But these setups aren’t limited to recurring needs; they can also work well for one-time purchases. Raw materials like steel and plastics often make the list too, especially when volume can drive better deals.

Making purchasing cooperations work

A purchasing cooperation isn’t just a handshake agreement. It is a structured, strategic and carefully coordinated undertaking. For it to succeed, several key elements need to be in place:

• Clear governance: It should be clear who makes which decisions and how those decisions are made. Defined roles and responsibilities help avoid confusion and ensure the cooperation runs smoothly.
• Shared objectives: All partners need to agree on the purpose of the cooperation. Whether the goal is to cut costs, reduce risk, enter new markets or improve sustainability, alignment is essential.
• Data sharing: Data sharing should follow the need-to-know principle. Sensitive data – e.g., current prices – must not be shared. Even information such as volumes needs to be anonymised by a 3rd party, before shared within the purchasing cooperation.
• Mutual trust and cultural fit: A successful cooperation depends on more than just processes. Trust, respect and a compatible working culture can help to resolve conflicts and keep everyone focused on shared goals.

Critically, compliance must be built in from the start. At the European level, Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits agreements that restrict competition. However, when purchasing alliances follow clear rules, do not operate from a market-defining position, and do not exclude smaller suppliers, the European Commission is generally supportive.
 

Purchasing cooperations in action

Across industries, leading organisations are turning to purchasing cooperations to strengthen their position in the market and improve supply resilience. Here are a few standout examples of collaboration in action:

• The Co-op-erative edge in the UK

  In the UK, the Co-op shows how well-structured cooperation can create a real market advantage. Its central buying group, Federal Retail and Trading Services (FRTS), brings together the £8.5 billion purchasing power of 18 member societies, supporting over 4,000 food stores. The outcome is strong supplier leverage and greater resilience in the highly competitive supermarket sector, where margins are tight and stakes are high.

• Germany’s retail muscle
  Major German retailers are adopting similar approaches. Edeka’s Epic Partners alliance, which includes Biedronka and Migros, was formed to negotiate better terms on a global scale. Meanwhile, REWE has partnered with France’s E.Leclerc through Eurelec Trading. With Ahold Delhaize joining in 2023, this collaborative momentum is growing rapidly across Europe.
• Healthcare Industry
  Sana and Prospitalia are purchasing service providers that support hospitals and other healthcare facilities in purchasing and logistics. By bundling purchasing volumes via multiple clients, they can negotiate better prices and terms with suppliers, thereby improving the cost-effectiveness of the facilities.

Ready to rethink how you buy?

In today’s economy, no company can afford to buy inefficiently. The smartest players aren’t just streamlining costs, they’re building procurement ecosystems that are faster, leaner and more resilient.

This is where H&Z can support you. We help our clients:

• Navigate legal frameworks – advising that cooperation structures comply fully with competition law and relevant industry regulations.
• Establish a digital foundation – selecting procurement platforms, contract management tools and ERP integrations that work together.
• Identify the right partners – using market intelligence, benchmarking and tendering expertise to assess existing collaboration networks and potential strategic fits.
• Coordinate negotiation efforts – developing joint negotiation approaches that maximise collective purchasing power while maintaining flexibility and strong supplier relationships.