<![CDATA[Kinetic GPO

<![CDATA[Kinetic GPO - Blog]]>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:08:01 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[member benefits: energy consulting]]>Mon, 21 Nov 2022 13:53:54 GMThttps://www.kineticgpo.ca/blog/member-benefitsEverything You Should Know When Negotiating Energy Supply Agreements

Posted by Tradition Energy

Several aspects of energy agreements can easily trip up even the most seasoned procurement professionals. Unless you are aware of some key terms and slight verbiage adjustments that can drastically affect the price you pay on your bill, you could walk away thinking you secured a good deal – when the agreement tilts in the supplier's favor.
The same focus applies when negotiating an energy supply agreement, such as electricity or natural gas. Everything seems to come down to price. After all the talk and all the negotiation, ultimately, the decision comes down to one question: "What am I paying?"

It's Business, Not Personal
Like almost any industry where the customer pays for some service regularly, energy suppliers often treat penalties and fees as a source of revenue. The first thing to be aware of is that energy suppliers may try to capture revenue through additional fees resulting from agreement terms more favorable to them than the purchaser. This process isn't to suggest that suppliers are sneaky or underhanded. It's just business.
The five elements below can result in additional fees depending on how you negotiated your agreement. While many terms comprise an energy supply agreement, a handful directly affects what you pay monthly.

1. Payment Terms
While the most familiar, this aspect of your agreement can also be the trickiest and potentially costly. To achieve a lower cost, agreeing to a shorter payment window, for example, may earn you better rates but can also result in hefty late fees.

2. Termination Fees
Among suppliers, termination fees are typically the least flexible of the points we address here. Termination fees are assessed if you terminate an agreement before it expires. The rationale for the payment is that when you sign an energy supply agreement, the supplier buys that specific amount of energy for you. If you terminate early – without using/paying for all the energy, they secured for you – the supplier will need to sell that unused energy back into the market.
Termination fees can range. On the low end, some suppliers charge the cost of selling that unused power back into the market. On the high end, other suppliers include exorbitant penalties for terminating on top of any losses incurred from selling the energy back into the market.

3. Adds/Deletes
Buyers for large entities must deal with expansion and adding (or deleting) meters to (or from) their energy agreements. Energy expansion is typical for customers with multiple meters spread over various locations, groups that frequently open new locations or build new sites, or enterprises that establish (or remove) lots of infrastructures need to pay close attention to these clauses.
Most suppliers do not include an add/delete clause option. It is an administrative hassle, and market uncertainty makes it a risky proposition for the supplier. Working closely with your energy advisor to structure agreement language is key to your agreement's success. Failure to do so can add penalty fees when not correctly negotiated.

4. Usage Bandwidths
Many agreements are restrictive regarding energy use that falls outside (above or below) the pre-estimated monthly volumes. Bandwidth limits can make for a costly bill if you buy energy outside your agreement terms while the market is much higher than when you first secured your agreement rate.
Suppliers are across the board regarding their standard agreement language about usage bandwidth. Some suppliers offer unlimited bandwidth initially, while others may offer it as a negotiation tactic. Natural gas agreements, for example, typically do not allow bandwidth changes. In contrast, electricity agreements, on the other hand, often have a guaranteed rate regardless of the actual amount of electricity you use.

5. Material Changes
Regardless of anything else in your agreement, if your usage changes "materially" and negatively impacts the supplier, the supplier has the right to impose high penalties, unilaterally reprice your rates, or even terminate your agreement.
As you negotiate one of these in your favor, the supplier will enact countermeasures in the other two to swing the agreement back into their favor. If you arrange a clear and limited definition, the supplier may counter that by lowering the add/delete percentage or reducing your usage bandwidth.

Key Takeaways
When negotiating energy agreements, it's not just the sticker price that impacts your overall spending. The terms and conditions play a massive part in the amount you pay. Do you want to control your energy spending without dealing with legal agreements and roadblocks, as mentioned above?

Tradition Energy and Kinetic GPO deliver cost-saving solutions, so you don't have to lift a finger. Participants of OMNIA Partners can utilize Tradition Energy's energy consulting and management services as an extension of your procurement team, thanks to their competitively solicited and publicly awarded group purchasing contract. Tradition Energy advisors will work to minimize your energy spending and operate as a neutral intermediary safeguarding the best interests of participants of Kinetic GPO.

]]><![CDATA[member benefits: online marketplace]]>Sun, 16 Oct 2022 14:31:08 GMThttps://www.kineticgpo.ca/blog/tap-into-savings-with-a-compliant-canadian-contract-while-eliminating-rogue-spendingTAP INTO SAVINGS, WITH A COMPLIANT CANADIAN CONTRACT, WHILE ELIMINATING ROGUE SPENDING

Identifying cost saving opportunities and enhancing business productivity is more important than ever. Municipalities, public school system, hospitals, non-profits, and university procurement teams are working toward those goals while faced with the challenge of doing more with less. On top of that, you probably have several team members or colleagues submitting purchase orders that keep piling up on your desk. Strategic sourcing does not have to be this stressful.

Amazon Business Canada provides public entities with a cost-saving solution that can simplify your procurement process while driving compliance with purchasing policies. By utilizing this group purchasing contract, you gain access to hundreds of millions of products from hundreds of thousands of suppliers across multiple categories helping you reshape your buying process with convenience and value.

Ensure Purchasing Consolidation
Juggling tenders and RFx’s for multiple end users and putting in purchase orders can be really time consuming. You might be asking yourself right now, “how can I consolidate the RFx process?” By partnering with a competitively awarded group purchasing contract, and through the groundbreaking Amazon Business Canada Kinetic GPO contract, you can purchase everything your stakeholders need all in one place and do so immediately.
Amazon Business Canada offers over 12 million products, and you can use single sign on (SSO) or have a centralized punchout marketplace for multiple members of your agency. The Amazon Business Canada Kinetic GPO contract is free to join and includes a unique set of features, and tools that Public Sector and non-profit customers that can save you time and money to help run your business efficiently.

Achieve Spend Management
Procurement leaders are tasked with managing massive amounts of spend. When you have multiple team members participating in procuring products and solutions across several departments, rogue spend can be a recurring problem for the high frequency, low-cost items. Managing maverick or rogue spend is key to keeping your team within budget.
Procurement teams can drive efficiency in their supply chain and reduce rogue spend by monitoring spending occurring off contract and off radar. Through a group purchasing contract, entities can access the Amazon Business Canada store allowing them to set budget and supplier constraints as well as product restrictions. This helps avoid lost cost savings by ensuring minor leakage from negotiated contracts doesn’t grow into a larger problem of uncontrolled spending.

Access Transparent, Compliant Contracts
Leveraging a group purchasing portfolio is one way to ensure compliance because collaborative contracts are already competitively solicited and publicly awarded. Kinetic GPO’s sourcing process is compliant with the CETA, CFTA, the Ontario Broader Public Sector (BPS) Procurement Directive, the New West Partnership Agreement (NWPTA), the Atlantic Trade and Procurement Partnership (ATPP), and other relevant trade legislation.
All of Kinetic GPO’s sourcing processes including planning, RFX development, posting, evaluation, award, and agreement management are done in Canada, exclusively for Canadians. Our policies, processes, and procedures are fair, open, and transparent.
Using Amazon Business, your entity can have filtering and restrictions in place to ensure all your employees are purchasing preferred products and solutions, in a compliant manner.

Simplify Your Purchasing Process with a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO)
Your purchasing team has immediate access to cost-saving solutions that simplify procurement and help drive compliance with purchasing requirements. By leveraging the Kinetic GPO Amazon Business contract, you can reduce the need for multiple quotes and eliminate a lengthy RFP process. Features of the contract, include, but are not limited to:
Quantity Discounts: Save up to 10% with Quantity Discounts on over 12 million products starting at just two units of the same item.
Simplified business buying: The familiar Amazon experience enhanced for business, save time with comparison shopping relevant items for all your business needs.
Manage your account. Configure your account to fit your organization. Establish purchasing guidelines for your account and use out-of-the box features to manager users and track spend.
Convenient tax invoices: Filter suppliers by GST/HST/QST invoice availability. Download tax invoices to simplify accounting claims for input tax credits.
Analytics: Turn insights into action to help move your entity forward. Create spend reports, configure visual dashboards, and track progress to your spending goals.
Shipping & Delivery: Get FREE shipping on eligible orders over $35. Manage your delivery preferences to receive your orders when it’s most convenient. Consolidate items and receive fewer deliveries.
Payment options: Pay the way you want – and let others in your organization use these payment methods for easier tracking and reconciling.
Integrations: Connect your systems to simplify purchasing. Integrate purchasing systems using punchout. Enable single sign-on (SSO). Simplify reconciliation with detailed transaction data.
Collaborative procurement gives you all the tools you need to be successful, so you can spend more time on other strategic areas of business. Amazon Business Canada is dedicated to empowering you to successfully streamline your purchasing process and bring value to your organization.

]]><![CDATA[member benefits: outdoor equipment]]>Wed, 31 Aug 2022 11:29:17 GMThttps://www.kineticgpo.ca/blog/the-priceless-return-on-prioritizing-outdoor-fitnessThe priceless return on prioritizing outdoor fitness

University students are now moving and playing less at school (and in their communities) than before the pandemic, which has had immediate collateral consequences on their development, including their mental health.
But even before the pandemic, Canada’s young adults were not faring well relative to other economically advanced countries in terms of mental health and happiness). For example, based off a 2020 UNICEF study, Canada ranked 31st out of 38 high-income countries on measures of well-being (defined as feeling positive and being in good mental health). Canada’s ranking on physical health was also dismal—30th. In this blog post, discover how Kinetic GPO members can utilize GameTime's engaging outdoor fitness equipment to provide relief from these and other issues facing university students on a day-to-day basis.

Health Vulnerabilities of University Freedom
For many, going to university is said to be the best time of a young adult’s life – More freedom, less parental supervision, and greater opportunity for exploration and adventure. However, the reality for many is that there is insufficient preparation for what it takes to care for one’s own physical and mental health while juggling a new array of responsibilities. An unfortunate truth within the university setting is that a lot of time is spent sitting, whether it's while studying in the library, eating in the dining hall with friends, or watching a hockey game, sedentary behavior is an alarming common denominator.
Based on a recent Campus Rec article, studies show that:

70% of students gain weight during university.
50% of students report their mental health to be below average.
64% of students stopped pursuing higher education due to poor mental health.

To remedy this issue, many universities invest in indoor fitness equipment. Unfortunately, these indoor gyms do not always meet the desired needs of students.

Gravitating to Outdoor Fitness Opportunity
When researching the realities of fitness, it is proven that people are more likely to exercise longer and burn more calories when it is done in an outdoor setting. According to psychologist Marc G. Berman, this is due to a positive physiological reaction that the body has when engaging inactivity while outdoors.
As a bonus, outdoor spaces allow for vitamin D exposure from the sun, which can improve and help tackle mental health hurdles like anxiety and depression. Many students tend to spend an overwhelming majority of their days indoors due to class and other obligations, so outdoor activity is especially a benefit to children and even university students.
According to the CDC, students should get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise and participate in muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week. If you commonly hear university students say they don’t have enough time for this kind of workout regimen – don’t worry.
Here are some ways your campus can help incorporate more physical activity into an established daily routine:
Designate walking and biking paths throughout the campus to encourage more activity. Some colleges post signs with the distance between points or the number of steps between locations.
Set up an early riser walk or run group. Students who have early classes may be willing to get an earlier start to socialize with friends before their days gets started. Early morning exercises cause a release of endorphins which contributes to improved mood throughout the day.
Host a workshop, or class, on how to use study breaks as an exercise break. Evidence suggests some students have higher brain function when their body is in motion.

Make Healthy Habits Last
Forming consistent, healthy habits in a young adult's college years is often a difficult routine to set for oneself. That’s why GameTime is working to make purposefully-designed outdoor fitness spaces based on best practice research with exercise in mind. This answers the common question of how to get more adults and students to be active outdoors, and it can increase the overall usage of outdoor recreation areas.
GameTime offers a complete outdoor fitness solution.
Eligible projects qualify for usage analysis to help college campuses determine the effectiveness of their space with real data. By using GameTime's cooperative contract, campuses now have access to a comprehensive portfolio of outdoor fitness products to improve the lives and health of its students and community alike.

Interested in seeing what outdoor gym equipment your campus can qualify for through a cooperative contract with GameTime and Kinetic GPO? Inquire with GameTime at: mark.chittock@gametime.com

ABOUT GAMETIME AND KINETIC GPO
Agencies who are registered through Kinetic GPO can use GameTime’s contract to access a breadth of products from play systems to park amenities. The contract includes top-notch playground equipment, outdoor fitness equipment, splash parks, water fountains, surfacing, bike racks, bleachers, site amenities and even installation. There is no limit and no minimum when it comes to utilizing GameTime's competitively solicited and publicly awarded contract available through Kinetic GPO

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