.:: NEO|SO ::.

WHATS NEW

NEO|SO Bulk Salt program was a Success
The 2007-2008 NEO|SO Bulk Salt Program was a success and the salt advisory committee has recommended we begin preparing for the 2008-2009 season. The unanimous decision to move forward with next year's program was based upon the superior customer service received and the perfect record of salt availability. That availability proved extremely valuable after the predictable last-minute blizzard that Northeast Ohio often receives arrived in early March and forced participants in other salt consortia to scramble to locate salt reserves. NEO|SO participants were able to rest easy knowing that they had a stockpile of salt ready and waiting for when they needed it. Stockpiling will continue to be a unique feature in the NEO|SO Bulk Salt Program during the 2008-2009 season, in addition to guaranteed delivery windows and early-pay discounts. Dan Marling, Transportation and Facilities Supervisor for Nordonia Hills City Schools, said: "It has been a great experience not only with NEO|SO but also the salt vendor. I look forward to becoming more involved with the organization in the future." NEO|SO's staff sent letters to the participants in the 2007- 2008 program outlining the steps that NEO|SO is taking to ensure another successful program for the upcoming season. We will then be communicating the availability of the program to the entire Northeast Ohio region. Please do not hesitate to contact our office at 216.581.6200 (ask for Jani) if you would like to learn more about the program or to sign your entity up.

The OFIC and NEO|SO partner up
The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) and NEO|SO have partnered to deliver group purchasing opportunities to the 35 OFIC Members across the State of Ohio. OFIC, an association of private Colleges and Universities in Ohio, is taking a leadership role within the higher education landscape in demonstrating that cooperation is vital to the success of any organization in today's challenging economic environment. NEO|SO recently presented at the OFIC annual meeting to "launch" this partnership, and provided information regarding the NEO|SO programs that are immediately available for use by OFIC Members. Additionally, NEO|SO will create custom programs geared towards the unique needs of higher education and OFIC specifically as the partnership grows. Several OFIC Members have already begun exploring NEO|SO Programs and early reports are demonstrating a strong opportunity to save on everyday items such as, janitorial supplies, hand tools, and bulk salt. This new partnership marks a turning point for NEO|SO as existing associations have contacted us with the purpose of delivering NEO|SO programs to their membership. We are exploring numerous relationships similar to OFIC and look forward to making a few additional announcements in 2008. These partnerships provide direct benefit to NEO|SO's existing members by significantly increasing NEO|SO's combined buying power and leverage with supplies.

NEO|SO developing an office products program
NEO|SO is exploring the development of an office products program for launch in the third quarter of 2008. Why is NEO|SO pursuing office products? Because of our Member's overwhelming demand. We are now reaching out to our current and prospective Members to seek additional input in the creation of this offering. In this program, participating NEO|SO Members will commit to make their office products purchases through the NEO|SO contract in much the same way that communities commit to a salt contract. The program currently has approximately 750K in committed annual office product spend and we would like to include your organization into that figure. To provide input into this program or to discuss committing your office products spend, please contact us at 216.581.6200 (ask for Jani).

NEO|SO dashboard recieves positive comments
The current NEO|SO Member Dashboard has been distributed and continues to provide a snapshot into an individual NEO|SO Members utilization of NEO|SO Programs. We have received many positive comments on the addition of the Member Dashboard and are working to continually improve the ways in which we communicate with our Members.

NEO|SO welcomes newest members
NEO|SO extends its sincerest welcome to its newest Members: Hiram College, Ravenna City Schools, Amherst Township, Mount Union College, and Walsh University. Several of these new Members have already begun researching NEO|SO programs and how they can add value to their operations. Additionally, as NEO|SO grows so does the "diversity" in entity type. More and more entities, outside of municipalities, are learning about the value of NEO|SO and want to bring that value to their organization. To learn more about NEO|SO, please contact us at 216.581.6200 (ask for Jani).