SSC and E&I Cooperative Purchasing Announce New Competitively Bid Contract for Facilities Maintenance, Custodial, and Landscaping Services

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SSC, a member of Compass Group USA and operator of campus facilities services nationwide, announces a new competitively awarded contract with E&I Cooperative Purchasing, the not-for-profit member-owned buying cooperative serving higher education. As a result, E&I members now have a direct route for contracting for facilities maintenance, custodial, and landscaping services.

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"We welcome this new alliance with E&I Cooperative Purchasing, which will enable us to serve our higher education clients more effectively and efficiently," said Don Williams, president of SSC.  "Texas A&M played a huge role in discovering the synergies between our two organizations, and bringing us together."

SSC was chosen unanimously by a 30-member panel comprised of Texas A&M University System faculty, staff, and students.  E&I adopted this agreement, providing members nationwide access to SSC's services.

According to John Sharp, Chancellor for the Texas A&M University System, "It was of paramount importance to Texas A&M that we provide a strong career path for our existing staff, while assuring that services would improve over time. SSC was chosen for their strength in handling these types of transitions, and to date, the partnership has been a huge success. SSC is delivering on their promises."

Sharp explained that as a former state comptroller, best-value procurement efforts are always top-of-mind: "The E&I adoption of our best-value procurement efforts paves the way for other campuses to enjoy a strong partnership with a vetted supplier."

SSC is the only turnkey facilities contract provider within E&I's portfolio.  "We typically look for supply partners that can consistently provide our members with competitive pricing and high-quality services," said Tom Fitzgerald, CEO of E&I Cooperative.  "In this particular area of services, flexibility was also very important, given the unique needs of each campus community. SSC has certainly demonstrated all of these merits, and we are confident that our members will find considerable value in this contract."

About SSC 
SSC has been providing contracted facilities services to higher-education clients since 1969. SSC provides full-service contracts for custodial, landscaping, and maintenance services at 42 campuses nationwide and 62 K-12 schools.  Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, SSC employs over 6,500 staff nationwide. SSC is a member of Compass Group USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Compass PLC, the largest dining and support service company world wide with over 400,000 employees and worldwide revenues of over $26 billion.

About E&I 
Established in 1934 by members of the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP), Educational & Institutional Cooperative Purchasing (E&I) is a buying cooperative that serves colleges and universities. E&I uses the combined purchasing power of nearly 3,000 member institutions to lower costs on a wide range of products and services. The organization provides members with access to a diverse portfolio of high quality national and regional contracts from best-in-class suppliers. E&I's member-driven competitive solicitation process has been validated by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP). For more information, please go to: www.eandi.org. 

SOURCE SSC Services for Education; E&I Cooperative Purchasing