FAQs
Why would I join a GPO?
To save you money. A Group Purchasing Organization, or GPO, is a membership organization that negotiates contract discounts for all their members. It is the purchasing power of the combined membership that is the incentive for manufacturers and vendors to provide specific discounts to the GPO members.
Do I have to commit to a contract?
No, to be an SCC member, there are no volume or purchasing requirements in order to qualify. Some select vendors do however, provide tiered pricing based on purchasing volumes.
Is there any cost to me?
No, There is no charge for membership.
How do I place orders after becoming a member?
After you are approved by SCC, the distributor will simply need to load the SCC contract pricing into your account by the manufacturer. Then, you may continue to place your orders as you always have, through your SCC distributor. In addition, most of the national distributors offer their customers online purchasing systems which you may also want to take advantage. Surgery Center Consultants will notify all participating manufacturers and vendors that you are a member of the SCC contract and qualify for contract pricing.
What are the lengths of your agreements?
Your membership agreement with SCC has no length or termination period. As long as you designate SCC as your GPO, you are entitled to purchase from all vendors that are a part of Surgery Center Consultants.
Do you have "rebate" agreements and if so, how are they handled?
Since we do not charge for our membership, we do not offer a membership rebate program however, high volume accounts may qualify for some promotional rebates. These are generally very specific to product lines and require high volume purchasing. We will be announcing these rebates when they become available. In the mean time, we put all rebates we have qualified for back into our contract pricing to benefit all members.
What are the benefits of becoming a "member"?
The products, the discounts and the services are all designed just for the surgery center customer and as the membership grows, so do the discounts.
Can I sign up for more than one type of contract?
There is no need for more than one contract since membership alone entitles you to all SCC vendors, manufacturers, and the distributor of your choice. We encourage our members to take advantage of all purchasing options available.
Is there any additional requirement if I am not currently using a distributor or using a distributor not on your list?
You will need to review and select one of our national distributors in order to obtain SCC contract pricing. We currently have five national distributors under contract covering all areas of the Country. The distributors were selected to represent SCC based on their surgical product lines, specialized surgery center sales reps, regional warehousing and service levels. We will provide you with a list of available distributors and have the distributor you select contact you.
What if I have product requirements that you do not currently handle? Can these be added?
Yes. We are always looking at new product lines, new manufacturers and new vendor contracting opportunities. Our specialty is responding to the surgery center industry, and providing alternate products and new technology to our members.
Are your vendors and manufactures screened or certified?
All our vendors and vendor products are reviewed and screened before we negotiate any contract agreements. Most of the vendors are nationally recognized suppliers in the industry, and have consistently provided quality products and services to the market. When we consider local suppliers, we assess the vendor or manufacturer for their ability to supply product to our national membership, provide quality service and respond to any contract or customer service issues that could arise.