How to Become a PEPPM Vendor

Welcome! We are thrilled that you are interested in becoming a vendor with our cooperative purchasing program.


If you are new to PEPPM and want to find out more about our program, click here to be taken to our About Us page.


Register as a Vendor to Receive Notifications

To receive bid notification announcements, we recommend that new vendors register on the PEPPM website. Please note that registering as a vendor on our website does not automatically award you a PEPPM contract.

• If your company is new to PEPPM, please click here to register as a new vendor.

• If your company has registered on the PEPPM website before, click here to register as an employee of an existing registered vendor and select your company's name from the dropdown menu.

Two ways to get on a PEPPM Contract

There are two methods for becoming a vendor on a PEPPM contract –

  1. 1) Win a contract through a competitive bid process by being the lowest, responsive, responsible bidder
  2. 2) Become an authorized reseller under an existing awarded vendor on their PEPPM contract

1) Become an Awarded Vendor by winning a bidding opportunity

PEPPM issues Requests for Bids (RFBs) once or twice a year. These solicitations are for branded lines of technology products or specific catalogs. Each bid submission undergoes an evaluation process and a contract is awarded to a single bidder who is determined to be the lowest, responsive, responsible bidder.

You can view any current bidding opportunities by clicking on the Bid Info link at the top of the website. If there are no current bidding opportunities, make sure you register to be notified of the next opportunity using one of the links above.

If the brand of products you sell has not previously been included in PEPPM's bid solicitations, we will require additional information about your products. This information allows us to verify your products are needed to our eligible entities, such as school districts, cities, counties, or other local governments, and have a technology focus. After your products are reviewed and deemed appropriate for PEPPM buyers, we will include your products on our next bid solicitation.

For us to consider your products, please send the following information to info@peppm.org for our review:

  •     • The manufacturer brand name
  •     • A brief, general description (20 words or less) of the brand's product(s) -  See description examples on our Contracts webpage
  •     • Marketing materials
  •     • Published price list
  •     • Annual public-sector revenue
  •     • Do these product fall into any of the following categories? If yes, please identify the categories that apply:      
    • E-rate Category 2: Cybersecurity Pilot Program Categories:
         · Antenna, Connectors, Related Component
         · Cabling
         · Caching    
         · (basic) Firewall  
         · Racks
         · Routers
         · Switches
         · UPS
         · WAPs
         · Wireless Controllers
         · Advanced/Next Generation Firewalls
         · Endpoint Protection
         · Identity Protection and Authentication
         · Monitoring, Detection, and Response

2) Become an Authorized Reseller on a currently awarded contract

The awarded vendor on a PEPPM contract has the authority to authorize resellers to sell under the terms and conditions of their contract. Many times if a manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler wins the PEPPM contract, they may decide to utilize a reseller network to sell under their contract.

If you are interested in becoming an authorized reseller, review the list of current PEPPM contracts on the Contracts webpage. You can then see who is awarded the contract for any products you may sell and then decide if you want to reach out to the awarded vendor to see if they will add you as a reseller.

Please note that PEPPM staff do not determine who is an authorized reseller under a contract.

It is up to the discretion of an Awarded Vendor to nominate another company to become an Authorized Reseller (you must be compliant with contract terms and conditions).

If the awarded vendor agrees to add you as an authorized reseller to one or more of their PEPPM contracts, the awarded vendor will need to notify PEPPM of the addition by updating their Vendor Contact and Ordering Instructions document and you will need to fill out a Reseller Account Profile form for each contract. The Awarded vendor can reach out to peppmdocuments@peppm.org, if they have questions about the process of adding a reseller.


What happens after becoming an awarded vendor or authorized reseller?

Once you are awarded a contract or become an authorized reseller, you can promote your contract to potential buyers. This means eligible buyers, such as school districts, cities, counties, or other local governments, can purchase your products through a competitively bid contract without having to go to bid themselves.

As an awarded vendor or reseller, you are held to the terms and conditions of the contract, as well as the pricing structure from your bid submission. If you are an authorized reseller, communicate with the contract's awarded vendor for terms and pricing requirements.

Resources on the PEPPM Website

You can direct potential buyers to the PEPPM website for contract documentation, contact information, and contract pricing. When a user is logged into the PEPPM website, on the Contracts webpage you can find the following information by clicking on the Contract Number in the right-column:

  • Overview Tab - contract information including the term dates
    • - Click on "Shop These Line Items" for pricing and product details
  • Ordering Instructions Tab - vendor contact information
    • - Click on "Vendor Contacts and Ordering Instructions" for a list of vendor contact and all authorized resellers
  • Documentation Tab - Bid documents including the Terms & Conditions and proof of advertising, as well as the signed contract

PEPPM Order Process

When a buyer is ready to place an order, you should provide them with a PEPPM pricing quote.

The buyer will then email their PO and PEPPM pricing quote to the PEPPM Clearinghouse at orders@peppm.org. The order is reviewed for accuracy, archived for audit, and sent electronically to the designated vendor or reseller through the Epylon eCommerce system. If PEPPM staff find errors, prices above the bid price, or discrepancies on the order, we will work with the buyer and vendor for possible corrections. We strive to send vendors orders that are free of the most common errors made on paper purchase orders.

Orders must be submitted to PEPPM in order to ensure bid-protection on the purchase.


If you have any questions about PEPPM, please reach out to us at info@peppm.org.

 

 

 


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