Piggybacking

Piggybacking (contract adoption or cooperative purchasing) is when a public buyer skips running its own competition by "riding" an already-competed contract won by another public buyer or a cooperative purchasing group.

How it works

The original contract was tendered competitively — often with language allowing "other public agencies to piggyback at the same pricing." A second buyer then accesses the contract, sometimes negotiating a further discount, without a new tender. Large cooperatives (national buying groups, provincial shared-services bodies) exist largely to win these master agreements once and let hundreds of members order off them.

What it means for suppliers

Winning a piggybackable contract can multiply sales: every eligible public buyer becomes a customer without a new competition. Watch for the piggyback clause in tenders you bid — some sellers cite deals where member purchases exceed the original award. On the flip side, piggybacked sales rarely appear as public tenders, so monitoring only tender notices misses them; they surface through cooperative member lists and contract award databases.

Common questions

Is piggybacking legal in Canada?

It depends on the buyer's own procurement rules. Many Canadian jurisdictions treat it cautiously because trade agreements (CETA, CFTA) generally require open competition above thresholds; piggybacking is usually justified only when the original competition meets the applicable rules and the piggyback stays within scope, volume and pricing assumptions.

Does a piggybacked purchase appear on tender sites?

Usually not as a tender — but often as a contract award or sole-source-style notice afterward. Live opportunity tracking plus award monitoring is how suppliers catch the demand signal.

Related definitions

Standing offer · Pre-qualified supplier list · Contract award notice · RFQ vs RFP