As CoreTrust approaches its 14th year as the premier GPO for business, I reflect on the solid foundation we’ve built and what the next several years will look like. With more than $4 billion in aggregated spend in commercial and private equity markets, we now offer a portfolio of 50+ categories and serve members in the US, Canada and the EU. Having proven our model, we are poised for even greater achievements ahead.
When asked about the key factors that have contributed to our success, I emphasize our foundational strengths and how we have built up from there. CoreTrust’s starting point was HealthTrust, our hospital GPO with 1600 aligned members. While our contracts have been tweaked to meet the needs of commercial buyers, our calling card has always been aggressive pricing along with terms and conditions superior to what members could get on their own. Secondly, we were presented early on with opportunities to work with leading private equity firms, which positioned us to become a true PE solution. And, while PE interests continue to be the engine for organic growth, we are attracting many large companies—unaffiliated with PE—that also are finding value with our model. These relationships, which now span several contracting cycles, allow us to work in tandem with members to find innovative ways to provide value.
The way we do that is through Advisory Boards, which navigate our path forward. Members govern our PE, Travel, HR, Procurement and Manufacturing Advisory Boards and set the agenda, lead our sourcing and evangelizing efforts, and decide with whom we should collaborate. This formula resonates with suppliers as increased market share equates to lower prices. Everyone wins with aligned purchasing, albeit some members must convert to optimize value for the group.
As we look to expand in the EU and other parts of the world, add categories, and identify complimentary partners, we remain grounded in our fundamentals. Foremost, it is the premise of “value in aggregation” that will continue to drive the model and advantage our members in their respective industries.
Group Purchasing Organizations have established their role in the commercial procurement value chain, however the breadth of services a GPO can provide still remains largely obscure. As a leader in the commercial GPO space, we intend to demonstrate our potential impact through articles we will write in the coming months – which will showcase our subject matter expertise, vertical solutions and best practices to harness the power of a GPO.
