Kim Cullen Prather from Beacon Bid joins PMPP to discuss the hidden barriers suppliers face when doing business with government entities. The conversation explores how supplier awareness, AI, cooperative purchasing, and small purchase opportunities can impact vendor participation, competition, and pricing in public procurement.

In this episode of the Purchasing Made Personal Podcast, Mariel Reed, Founder and CEO of Pavilion, explains how public procurement teams can move beyond the “Department of No” and become proactive, strategic partners to the departments they serve. Michael and Mariel discuss improving stakeholder relationships, simplifying compliant purchasing, using cooperative contracts more effectively, and creating procurement processes that help public agencies work faster without sacrificing compliance.

TIPS is built on relationships, and our Program Managers are at the heart of it. In this episode, we sit down with Program Manager Stacey McPherson to learn about his work with members and vendors across South Central US.

In this episode of the Purchasing Made Personal Podcast, Michael Tucker is joined by Tom Ferrentino from TIPS Construction to discuss Energy Savings Performance Contracts, or ESPCs. Tom explains how ESPCs can help schools, municipalities, and other public agencies evaluate facility costs, improve energy efficiency, and plan for long-term building performance through smarter public procurement and cooperative purchasing.

Sarah Reynolds, TIPS’ Legal Counsel/Contract Manager (CTCM), helps unravel the often-overlooked terms and conditions in cooperative contracts. In this episode, she explains what members and vendors need to know, highlights common pitfalls, and shares practical tips for ensuring compliance and protecting your organization.

In this episode, TIPS Construction’s Compliance team breaks down the TIPS JOC Contract Procurement Process, showing how it streamlines project delivery while ensuring compliance and cost transparency. Learn how TIPS members and awarded vendors can leverage JOC contracts for faster, more efficient, and defensible procurement.

TIPS is built on relationships, and our Program Managers are at the heart of it. In this episode, we sit down with Program Manager Rick Ogden to learn about his work with members and vendors in TIPS' home base: Northeast, Texas.

What happens behind the scenes of a purchase order? Victoria Walston and Karen Walton from the TIPS PO Department joins PMPP to walk through the TIPS PO process, highlight pricing compliance, and best practices for using cooperative contracts accurately and efficiently.