E&I Members: How likely are you to recommend E&I Cooperative Services to a peer?
Through the Patterson Dental cooperative agreement at E&I Cooperative Services, dental schools can access competitively solicited pricing on dental supplies, equipment, technology, and related services. This cooperative contract simplifies the procurement process and lowers costs by tapping into volume discounts from aggregating demand across other institutions. Instead of buying on your own, you can join other dental schools to get bulk pricing even when you’re buying individual items.
The Patterson Dental cooperative agreement through E&I lets you buy direct, but without having to conduct your own full RFP process. This can significantly reduce your sourcing timeline and administrative burden while still supporting compliance. All contracts through E&I meet public procurement compliance regulations and are competitively solicited.
The contract includes access to more than 25,000 specially priced items across Patterson’s catalog, including:
When you opt into the Patterson contract, you also get access to the company’s nationwide service infrastructure and support resources.
Once you decide to participate in the cooperative agreement, you will complete the Alignment Authorization Form. Once enrolled, any purchases you make will use E&I pricing. This means that dental schools that had previously purchased from Patterson Dental will automatically get the volume discount going forward.
You will also need to identify anyone who has the authority to manage your account, such as:
The Patterson Dental Login process is fairly straightforward. Once enrollment is complete, institutions create Patterson Dental user accounts for the individuals responsible for procurement and clinic operations. Role-based access control limits what users can see and do, helping you control purchasing authority and approval workflows.
Users can then access the Patterson Dental portal using their assigned credentials. The portal supports a range of procurement and account management functions, including:
For dental schools operating multiple clinics, centralized portal access can simplify day-to-day procurement management while improving visibility into purchasing activity.
Fuse is the company’s cloud practice management software and integrated workflow tool. A Fuse by Patterson login grants you access to:
As more dental schools modernize clinical technology environments, cloud-connected systems are becoming increasingly important for managing equipment, software, and operational continuity.
Many higher education institutions integrate Patterson procurement processes into broader campus purchasing systems. Depending on how your institution operates, this might mean punchout catalogs in your ordering system or eProcurement platforms.
Dental schools often operate across multiple clinical environments, including student clinics, faculty practices, specialty labs, and satellite facilities. For example, the NYU College of Dentistry and Penn Dental use a group practice/primary care unit model where the clinic is divided into smaller practices, mimicking a private practice environment.
A Fuse by Patterson login helps manage operations across clinics. The Patterson Dental portal allows you to centralize purchasing. By handling your procurement digitally, it’s easier to standardize:
This can simplify budgets and make sure you’re buying the products approved for use in your clinics.
If you work in procurement, you know the pressure to do more with increasingly tighter budgets. Centralized purchasing and cooperative contracts can help relieve the pressure, reducing manual sourcing work and improving ordering speed. Utilizing cooperative agreements with E&I Cooperative Services, colleges and universities can access competitively solicited suppliers like Patterson Dental and achieve volume pricing they likely could not get on their own.
E&I Cooperative Services is the only member-owned, nonprofit sourcing cooperative that exclusively serves the education sector. With more than 6,500 institutional members nationwide, E&I offers more than 260 cooperative contracts that comply with public procurement rules and are negotiated with terms and conditions that align with the unique demands of education.
View the Patterson Dental agreement or become an E&I member to take advantage of other cooperative agreements to save you time and money.