Korea Federation of SMEs Holds Briefing Session on Cooperative Recommendation Purchasing System

Promoting the Activation of the Cooperative Recommendation Private Contract System and Priority Purchase System for Joint Business Products

The Korea Federation of SMEs held a briefing session on the "Cooperative Recommendation Purchasing System" at its headquarters in Yeouido on March 11.

This session was organized to help cooperatives understand the "Cooperative Recommendation Private Contract System" and the "Priority Purchase System for Joint Business Products of Small Enterprises," both based on the Sales Support Act, and to promote the activation of these systems.

More than 50 executives and staff members from 36 cooperatives, either currently utilizing or wishing to utilize the system, attended the session.

The Cooperative Recommendation Private Contract System allows ministries or public institutions to purchase competitive products among SMEs by receiving recommendations for small businesses and micro-enterprises from SME cooperatives and making purchases based solely on price quotations (price competition).

The Priority Purchase System for Joint Business Products of Small Enterprises enables a demand institution to purchase products through designated or restricted competition among suppliers recommended by the cooperative, when a SME cooperative has jointly conducted a project with three or more small businesses or micro-enterprises.

When public institutions use these two systems for product procurement, they can source quality-verified products through SME cooperatives and streamline the competitive bidding process. This is regarded as a representative public procurement system that benefits both public institutions and SMEs by expanding market entry opportunities for SMEs.

During the session, the main content and practical usage methods of the two systems were introduced, along with exemplary cases from cooperatives actively utilizing the systems. Best practices and know-how for building trust with demand institutions through quality improvement and faithful contract fulfillment were also shared.

The Korea Scientific Instruments Cooperative has operated its own shopping mall to promote member companies' products and improve search convenience for public procurement officers, thereby increasing the use of the contract system.

The Korea Exhibition Culture Industry Cooperative has been checking and managing the delivery quality of its member companies through demand institution satisfaction surveys and has steadily expanded the number and scale of contracts since launching joint business efforts in 2020.

Kim Kimoon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, stated, "The Cooperative Recommendation Purchasing System is based on the Sales Support Act and supports the growth of small businesses and micro-enterprises through competition. By utilizing the system, appropriate companies can be selected and product quality guaranteed through cooperative recommendations, which reduces the cost of searching for suppliers and administrative burdens. We expect active use by the central and local governments and public institutions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.