COSTARS is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s cooperative purchasing program administered by the Department of General Services (DGS) Bureau of Procurement. The COSTARS program provides registered local public procurement units as well as state-affiliated entities (together “members”) and suppliers a tool to find and do business with each other through the use of a contract established by DGS.

Simply put, COSTARS is a vehicle for vendors to do business on the local government level.

The COSTARS program consists of multiple contracts, each for a different variety of products, that approved vendors & suppliers can sell their products/services through.

Some of the current industries COSTARS is soliciting bids from include: janitorial supplies, foods, graphic and printing services, toiletries, pest control services, municipal work vehicles, energy consulting services, and furniture and window treatments.

DGS requires eligible LPPUs and state-affiliated entities to register as COSTARS members, and only those organizations registered with DGS may purchase from COSTARS contracts. The participating buying organizations are collectively referred to as “Members”.

 Northwest Commission’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) is a free resource to businesses in our area that seek to do work in the government market, this includes providing guidance and assistance with the COSTARS program.

 Visit their website at www.northwestpa.org/government-contracting or contact nwpaptace@northwestpa.org, 814-677-4800 to speak with Robyn, Melissa or Kelly.

This article was published in the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce’s May 2019 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.