Pooled Procurement Models: From Informed Buying to Central Contracting

This document is the second in a series to inform and assist policymakers, procurement officials, and others involved in or considering pooled procurement. Our previous article titled Key Considerations for Inter-country Pooled Procurement of Health Products described what pooled procurement is, its main characteristics, and the evolution of inter-country mechanisms over time. In this document, we take a closer look at the four progressive levels of collaboration and integration between buyers in pooled procurement: informed buying, coordinated informed buying, group contracting, and central contracting. The first two models (informed buying and coordinated informed buying) are regarded as modes of information sharing, while the latter two models (group contracting and central contracting) are perceived as modes of procurement.