The simplicity of KPN membership explained with seven quick instructions
1. Start with the understanding that membership is free to a qualifying agency or institution with no strings attached.
Eligible agencies include all public government agencies, from school districts and charter schools, from cities and counties to special districts. In addition, non-public schools qualify for membership as do non-profit agencies.
2. Prepare yourself; get some information ready before you go to the registration page.
You’ll need addresses for your agency, a phone number, its website URL, and the names of people in key positions of leadership, for example, your superintendent, city manager or executive director, your buildings manager, and your IT director. If you are a school district, please also get ready with the name of your food services director and your athletic director.
3. Go to the membership page, and get ready to identify yourself as the Primary Contact for your agency. Choose a name and password for yourself; type in the contact information for other employees.
Set yourself up as the primary contact for your agency. We’ll need all your contact information.
Associate an email address with yourself and all other key contacts. All this information will be used by KPN staff to vet your application and allows our staff to contact you and others to ensure your agency is qualified for membership.
4. Accept the terms and conditions of membership.
Read this document. It establishes a relationship between your agency and the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit.
5. Wait a little while. Your agency must be vetted as a qualified, legitimate buying agency.
We’ll research your agency, compare it to our records, and verify the legitimacy of your application.
6. After you are approved, others from your agency can register on the website and then see privileged information on the KPN site for themselves.
The key contacts for your agency will be in our database. If any one of those people wants to see protected information on our website, they will need to register separately and choose a password for themselves.
7. Take advantage of your membership by browsing awarded products and services and buying immediately from bid-protected contracts.
You are now ready to use the contracts. You are on the way to a legal purchase. Contact awarded vendors for the solutions that will benefit your agency.
Sue McDermott is a accomplished staff member of the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit with 27 years’ experience, bringing her capabilities to the Cooperative Purchasing Program for the last two years. Sue processes co-op membership forms and communicates with new members. She also processes invoicing and collections for KPN, and contracts for legal advertising for KPN and PEPPM. She frequently represents cooperative purchasing programs at conferences and trade shows.
