Unleash your Buying Power with a Group Purchasing Organization

The power of a group purchasing organization is more evident than ever at Rivergate KW Residential. With properties in six states, the multifamily housing provider has made forming partnerships that efficiently drive sound operations its highest priority. Last year, the company received the 2018 Satisfacts Company Award for Resident Satisfaction, a stipend that suggests Rivergate KW Residential is successfully focusing on its residents. One way to put more effort into pleasing residents is streamlining and maximizing back-end processes that keep properties moving forward, something that Rivergate KW Residential has done through a new way of purchasing goods and services. About eight months ago, the company adopted eSupply GPO, RealPage’s group purchasing solution. The company has since realized significant savings buying everything from office supplies to in-apartment fixtures and amenities across 10,000 units. “Within our portfolio where we have had the eSupply GPO implemented in the last six to eight months, we have already saved over $120,000,” said Business Support Manager Christine Stone. Leveraging the industry’s buying power to achieve NOI Dana Castelvecchi, Vice President of RealPage’s vendor solutions platform and spend management, said group purchasing offers multifamily companies the ability to leverage the industry’s buying power to get the right price, from the right supplier, for the right property without a lot of shopping around and staffing. The strategy is getting legs at a time when multifamily’s recent normalizing, which has de-emphasized achieving NOI through primarily growing rent, has put more focus on spend management. “Management companies are paying attention to expenses more than ever before, trying to make good spending decisions including the vendors they partner with,” Castelvecchi said in a recent webcast. “Rents are no longer the way to increase NOI. Rents have bee...