Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC) has published a guide for co-ops wishing to intentionally direct their purchasing power to other co-ops.
To achieve this goal – which supports the movement’s principle 6, co-operation among co-ops – CMC advises co-ops to develop “a clear and encouraging purchasing policy”, featuring directives and guidance about their goals; identifying who can purchase what; outlining weighting criteria, and defining financial thresholds.
The policy can be simple for smaller co-ops, says CMC, and more complex as the business grows. Co-ops can also develop guidelines to help them balance priorities of quality, price and social value, using a concentric circle model to decide who to purchase from and putting co-ops in the centre as the highest priority.
Read the rest at Co-operative News
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