Grainger KeepStock and Vending Machine Programs: Inventory Management for School Facilities
Even small colleges may have to stock thousands of maintenance items in inventory. For large universities or academic institutions with multiple campuses, that number can be substantially higher. While you don’t want to overstock (and overspend), you do have to maintain an inventory of the items you need. Unfortunately, many schools and universities still rely […]
Grainger Safety Shoes, PPE, and Footwear Programs for K-12 and Campus Facilities Teams
Educational campuses operate more like small cities than businesses. Facilities departments include electricians, HVAC technicians, custodians, grounds crews, warehouse personnel, and operations staff who work in vastly different conditions every day. From slippery cafeteria floors and chemical storage areas to construction projects and outdoor maintenance work, each role faces unique safety risks. Managing those risks […]
Companies Like Grainger: How Uline, Zoro, McMaster-Carr, and Fastenal Compare for Education Procurement
The American Society of Civil Engineers rated infrastructure at U.S. K-12 school with a D+ grade. The situation isn’t any better at many colleges and universities. Inside Higher Ed’s 2025 study showed that 63% of campuses reported they could only fund about a quarter of their current infrastructure needs. Deferred maintenance has become a serious […]
Grainger for Schools and Universities: How to Buy MRO and Safety Supplies Through a Cooperative Contract
A study in the Economics and Business Journal (ECBIS) reported that 68% of U.S. school districts lose nearly a fifth of their non-payroll budgets directly to procurement inefficiencies, fragmented purchasing, and compliance gaps. That may not be a surprise to you, but here’s the big insight they uncovered: By consolidating platforms and using structured procurement […]
Spend Analysis Consultants vs. a Cooperative Assessment: What Education Buyers Actually Need
Does it seem like you’re working harder these days? It’s not your imagination. 58% of procurement teams report significantly increased workloads, yet only 13% have seen any increases in staffing in 2026. For procurement leaders in higher education, those numbers probably feel familiar. Institutions are facing ongoing budget pressures, rising expectations from campus stakeholders, and […]
Tail Spend and Maverick Spend: Where Education Procurement Budgets Quietly Leak
There’s only so much time in the day and a long list of things to get done. Procurement teams spend their time on the areas that have the biggest return: major contracts, strategic sourcing initiatives, and high-spend categories. The challenge is this often results in a significant amount of spending from thousands of smaller purchases […]
From Messy to Meaningful: How to Organize and Categorize Institutional Spend Data
Most colleges and universities are not suffering from a lack of procurement data. In fact, the opposite is often true. Every purchase order, supplier invoice, P-card transaction, and contract generates valuable information. The challenge is turning that information into something useful. 54% of procurement leaders cite insufficient data quality and cross-system integration as their single […]
What a Procurement Spend Assessment Uncovers and Why It Finds Hidden Savings
Fitch Ratings, S&P Global, and Moody’s Ratings all forecast that 2026 was going to be a tough year for higher education finances. Moody’s calls it an “increasingly difficult and shifting operating environment for colleges and universities.” It’s even more challenging for many private universities. Forbes College Financial Grades for 2026 rated the financial status of […]
Spend Visibility for Higher Education: How to Find and Control the Spend You Can’t See
Chaos. Inconsistencies. Shift and changes. Considerable threats. These are some of the phrases that Chief Business Officers and procurement professionals used to describe the current landscape in the latest National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) State of Higher Education survey. Managing unreliable funding sources and meeting higher operational costs continue to be […]
Grainger Net 30 Accounts vs. Cooperative Contract Pricing: What Education Buyers Should Know
Grainger is a staple for many colleges and universities for a wide range of MRO tools and supplies. However, how you buy from Grainger can make a big difference in your bottom-line spending. Many campuses are buying direct and paying retail pricing, and that can cost you. By contrast, opting into a cooperative agreement through […]