Non Partisan Association

The NPA supports centralized procurement and distribution infrastructure to reduce administrative duplication and capture economies of scale across Alberta's public sector. A Red Deer-based facility would serve all major public institutions through integrated purchasing and logistics operations.

Participating Institutions

Sector	Participating Entities
Post-Secondary	All Alberta universities and colleges
K-12 Education	Provincial school boards and divisions
Provincial Government	All ministries and departments
Healthcare	Alberta Health Services facilities
Municipal Government	Cities, towns, counties, and municipal districts

Centralized Purchasing Benefits

Aggregating procurement across all public institutions generates multiple efficiency gains:

• Volume Leverage: Combined purchasing creates negotiating power unavailable to individual institutions
• Administrative Consolidation: Single procurement operation eliminates duplicated overhead
• Specification Standardization: Common products simplify inventory management and staff training
• Accountability: Centralized operations improve spending transparency and audit capability

University Tuition Reduction

Procurement savings realized by post-secondary institutions would flow directly to a dedicated tuition reduction fund. This mechanism ensures efficiency gains benefit students rather than being absorbed into institutional budgets.

Hub-and-Spoke Distribution

A centralized distribution warehouse complements the purchasing centre:

• Central Hub: Red Deer facility receives bulk shipments and maintains provincial inventory
• Spoke Routes: Scheduled delivery circuits serve institutions across Alberta
• Route Optimization: Consolidated deliveries maximize logistics efficiency
• Geographic Advantage: Central location minimizes average transportation distances

Distribution Efficiency Gains

• Transportation Costs: Bulk receiving and optimized routing reduce per-unit delivery costs
• Inventory Visibility: Centralized tracking prevents shortages and reduces over-ordering
• Waste Reduction: Coordinated management minimizes expiration and obsolescence losses
• Service Reliability: Scheduled delivery ensures predictable supply to all institutions

Red Deer's central location between Edmonton and Calgary provides optimal highway access to all regions of Alberta, positioning the facility to efficiently serve both northern and southern communities.