Dive Brief:

• The Iowa Board of Regents approved a combined purchasing plan on Wednesday, generated by New York's Deloitte Consulting, that could save $16 million to $40 million.
• The measure is focused on how the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa buy basic supplies, furniture, food, and temporary labor, the Des Moines Register reported.
• The gist of Deloitte’s idea: Instead of buying these supplies and services separately, the three universities should team up to make purchases through master contracts.

Dive Insight:

Deloitte has been paid $1.62 million for this advice, and more cost-saving ideas are to come — the total payout to the consultant is predicted to top $3.3 million. So far, the firm has come up with nearly 20 ideas for savings. The combined procurement idea was the first one for the regents to consider, and they approved it on a unanimous vote. The savings will depend on the vendors and how committed each university is to collaboration, according to Deloitte. Documents at the meeting predicted $22.2 million in Year 3 of combined procurement, or 2% to 4% of the current spending on the targeted items.