10 Benefits of a Group Purchasing Organization
- A GPO's value extends well beyond initial cost savings
- Una acts as an extension of your procurement team, not a replacement
- Members save 18–22% on average through pre-negotiated contracts
- Membership is always free with no minimums or no exclusivities
- Sourcing Advisors respond within 24 hours — faster than any large GPO competitor
- GPOs are effective for businesses of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies
Benefits of a GPO
A group purchasing organization leverages the collective purchasing power of thousands of businesses to secure lower prices for their members. GPOs already have relationships and contracts in place with vendors and suppliers, bringing balance to the negotiating equation that most individual organizations simply can't achieve on their own.
The real value of a GPO partnership, however, goes far beyond the initial cost savings. Una's goal is to become an extension of your procurement team — offering assistance on everything from supply chain management and category strategy to data analysis, consulting, and more. This guide breaks down all 10 benefits and explains exactly how each one works in practice.
AVERAGE MEMBER SAVINGS
saved annually through Una's pre-negotiated contracts
1. Cost Savings
Immediate, measurable savings through pre-negotiated contracts and volume discounts with no minimum spend requirements or participation fees. Members access Una's full portfolio of supplier contracts and use them as much or as little as they like.
HOW IT WORKS
When you pool buying power with other businesses through a GPO, you receive the benefit of upfront savings from higher volume and pre-negotiated discounts with pricing that no individual organization could secure independently regardless of size.
UNA'S APPROACH
Members save an average of 18–22% annually on items they're already purchasing. Use any contract as much or as little as your needs require with no minimum spend or obligation, ever.
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2. Supply Chain Management
GPOs standardize and streamline purchasing, drastically reducing the internal resources required to manage procurement, particularly for nonstrategic and tail spend categories that drain time without proportionate strategic value.
HOW IT WORKS
When a GPO manages procurement activities from start to finish in select categories, your team is freed to focus on core competencies rather than supplier administration, negotiation, and contract management overhead.
BEST FOR
Nonstrategic spend and tail spend categories where managing suppliers in-house consumes resources disproportionate to the spend value. Travel, office supplies, facilities, and logistics are common examples.
Be sure to browse through Una’s supplier portfolio and review our technology vendor list to find the best purchasing solutions for your business.
3. Partner in Procurement
A GPO should work as an extension of your internal procurement department, complementing your existing sourcing strategy rather than replacing it. Una comes alongside processes you've already established and adds capacity where you need it most.
HOW IT WORKS
Una acts as an additional resource for efficient sourcing, supplier and contract management, and procurement guidance that spans many different business types and spend categories.
WHAT TO EXPECT
A true GPO knows its place. Una complements your C-suite procurement priorities rather than competing with them, handling categories where you need support while your team focuses on strategic initiatives.
4. Cost Analysis
Understanding your company's current purchasing and procurement status can be challenging and time-consuming. GPOs can sort through the data and analyze your savings quickly and efficiently benchmarking what you pay today against what you could pay through contracted pricing.
HOW IT WORKS
Una's cost analysis benchmarks your current pricing and assesses the value of each supplier contract. Spend information goes directly to the supplier base for comparison surfacing specific savings opportunities before any commitment is made.
UNA'S APPROACH
A real sample cost analysis is available on Una's site showing actual data from a current member's shipping spend. The analysis is provided at no cost as part of the onboarding process.
Find it here!
5. Custom Member Programs
Sometimes purchasing needs go beyond out-of-the-box contract setups. The best GPOs build flexibility into their supplier contracts so programs can be tailored to meet specific organizational requirements.
HOW IT WORKS
Una's supplier partners can customize their programs to meet your company's unique purchasing needs. Una's experts work directly with you to identify goals, define what success looks like, and recommend suppliers that match your specific requirements.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
When evaluating GPOs, confirm that supplier contracts offer genuine flexibility, not just a choice between pre-set tiers. Custom pricing structures, volume adjustments, and service modifications are all legitimate asks.
6. Data & Analytics
GPOs provide access to advanced analytical tools and software that many organizations can't afford to implement independently helping eliminate product duplications, analyze savings potential, and benchmark purchasing behavior against the market.
HOW IT WORKS
Through innovative technology and advanced analytical tools, Una helps members eliminate product and service duplications, analyze potential savings across categories, and evaluate competitive purchasing behavior to find optimization opportunities.
THE ADVANTAGE
Access to enterprise-grade procurement analytics without the enterprise-level investment. Smaller and mid-sized organizations gain data visibility that was previously only available to large procurement teams with dedicated technology budgets.
7. Category Management
A GPO effectively brings in additional category managers for nonstrategic and tail spend categories that would otherwise be ignored saving money and freeing the procurement team to focus on higher-value strategic work.
HOW IT WORKS
Engaging a GPO for indirect spend categories like travel, office supplies, facilities maintenance, and logistics not only reduces cost in those areas, it removes the management burden from procurement, creating capacity for strategic priorities.
THE RISK OF IGNORING IT
Unmanaged categories are almost always overspend categories. If certain spend areas aren't actively managed, there's a strong likelihood of missed savings, maverick purchasing, and uncontrolled cost drift over time.
8. Personalized Consulting
If you don't know where to begin, Una's Sourcing Advisors help identify blind spots in your spend visibility, reviewing how purchasing is structured and pinpointing the specific categories where savings are available.
HOW IT WORKS
Una's team reviews your current spending setup and advises on whether it's optimized or can be improved. Experience across thousands of organizations in different industries and spend profiles gives advisors the pattern recognition to identify savings quickly.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT
Unlike transactional GPO relationships, Una's advisory approach is ongoing. Sourcing Advisors stay engaged after onboarding, identifying new savings opportunities as business needs evolve rather than handing over a contract and stepping away.
9. Speed to Savings
GPOs facilitate a faster path to savings through pre-negotiated contracts that are already in place. Skip the process of vetting suppliers and negotiating from scratch - the GPO has done it for you. All you have to do is choose the contracts that fit and start saving.
HOW IT WORKS
Una's "keep it moving" mentality means the team delivers at a pace that sets it apart from larger, slower GPOs. Tools are in place to remove bottlenecks so members can connect to savings quickly rather than waiting months for contracts to activate.
UNA'S COMMITMENT
Unlike larger GPOs where requests can go unanswered for days, Una's Sourcing Advisors respond personally within 24 hours of any inquiry ensuring the process never stalls waiting on the GPO's side.
10. Free Membership
Not all GPOs are free to join. Some charge membership fees, participation fees, or require minimum purchase commitments. When evaluating GPO options, free membership is one of the most important criteria to verify upfront.
HOW UNA'S MODEL WORKS
Una's membership is always free to join and free to use. Una does not require members to purchase from specific suppliers or commit to a specified purchase volume. Members pick and choose the contracts that best suit their needs and remain in full control at all times.
HOW UNA MAKES MONEY
Una earns an administrative fee from suppliers after a member makes a purchase meaning the GPO's incentives are aligned with members actually saving money and using contracts. There is no conflict of interest from membership fees.
Una's Approach: What to Expect
Discovery Call
A two-way interview to explore spend categories, identify savings opportunities, and determine whether there's a good fit with no obligation to proceed.
Cost Analysis
Una compares your current pricing directly to the supplier base, identifying specific savings opportunities. Members save 18–22% on average.
Connect & Save
Your Sourcing Advisor recommends the right suppliers, facilitates the relationship, and answers any contract questions. You can then start saving immediately.
Ready to Put These Benefits to Work?
Una is free to join with no minimums, no contracts, and no purchasing obligations. Get started today and start saving more money, time, and effort.