The Veterinary Cooperative
A member-owned cooperative and group purchasing organization for independent U.S. veterinary hospitals, providing collective vendor rebates, shareholder profit dividends, continuing education, and peer community to help nearly 4,000 independent practices compete against corporate consolidation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersEvanston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Veterinary Cooperative does
The Veterinary Cooperative (TVC), founded in 2012 and headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, is a member-owned cooperative and group purchasing organization (GPO) serving independently owned veterinary hospitals across the United States. It has grown to nearly 4,000 shareholder member-owners and positions itself as an alternative to corporate consolidation in the veterinary sector, giving small and mid-sized independent practices collective buying power, education, and peer community while preserving their clinical and business autonomy. Members join as shareholders, hold voting rights, and participate in governance through surveys, votes, Think Tanks, and committees.
The cooperative's offerings center on financial benefits rather than a proprietary software platform. Its core products are a Rebates and Discounts program negotiated with 65+ manufacturer, distributor, and supplier partners (projected member savings of $10,000–$30,000 per year), and the Shareholder Profit Dividend (SPD), through which profits are returned annually to qualifying members based on participation and purchasing activity. Supporting programs include education and community brands: TVC University (monthly webinars and on-demand CE), RISEvet virtual conferences (Business and Medical Bootcamp tracks), and the VetVision annual in-person conference and shareholder meeting. Technology is limited to a member portal, webinar/event platforms, and a member registration workflow; a notable AI capability, the Otto AI Scribe, is provided free to members via a third-party partnership rather than being built in-house.
TVC's business model is distinctive: it charges a one-time $200 lifetime membership fee (occasionally discounted to as low as $1 via promotions) with no recurring dues, and generates operating revenue from vendor rebates and incentives collected throughout the year. After covering operating costs and reserves, remaining profits are distributed back to members as SPD—making TVC, per its own positioning, the only GPO that returns profits to members. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on peer referrals, vendor-ally promotion, and conferences/webinars to acquire and engage members. The cooperative reports having surpassed $75 million in cumulative rebates and profit returned to members.
The Veterinary Cooperative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Veterinary Cooperative
- Legal name
- The Veterinary Cooperative
- Website
- https://theveterinarycooperative.coop
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- A member-owned cooperative and group purchasing organization for independent U.S. veterinary hospitals, providing collective vendor rebates, shareholder profit dividends, continuing education, and peer community to help nearly 4,000 independent practices compete against corporate consolidation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Veterinary Cooperative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Veterinary Group Purchasing Services
- NAICS
- Veterinary Services (541940)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Companion Animal Veterinary Clinics & Hospitals (AFAEANAA)
Keywords
Where The Veterinary Cooperative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Evanston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Veterinary Cooperative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: TVC charges a one-time $200 lifetime membership fee for independent veterinary hospitals to join as shareholders. There are no ongoing membership dues or recurring fees. Occasional promotional discount codes reduce the joining fee to as low as $1.
- Vendor Rebates and Incentives: TVC collects rebates and vendor incentives throughout the year from manufacturer, distributor, and supplier partnerships. After covering operating costs and reserves, profits are distributed back to shareholder members through Shareholder Profit Dividends (SPD). SPD distributions occur annually, typically in May.
- Shareholder Profit Dividends: TVC returns profits back to members based on their participation and purchasing activity. Members who meet shareholder requirements and engage with TVC and vendor allies can qualify for up to two shares of TVC's profit distributed annually.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Lifetime Membership - $200 one-time fee |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Savings by participation level - $10,500 to $32,500 annual savings |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
The Veterinary Cooperative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Veterinary Cooperative operates as a member-owned Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) for independent veterinary hospitals, charging a one-time $200 lifetime membership fee and delivering value through negotiated rebates and discounts from 65+ vendor partners plus an annual Shareholder Profit Dividend that returns cooperative profits to qualifying members. Supporting the core financial benefits are continuing education (TVC University, RISEvet, VetVision) and community programs (Think Tanks, committees, networking events) that enable independent practices to access collective buying power and peer support.
Product overview
The Veterinary Cooperative (TVC) operates as a member-owned group purchasing organization (GPO) for independent veterinary hospitals, not a traditional software product company. The cooperative's core offerings center on financial benefits—Rebates and Discounts negotiated with 65+ vendor partners, and the Shareholder Profit Dividend that uniquely returns cooperative profits to members. Supporting these core benefits are education and community programs: TVC University (on-demand webinar platform with quarterly learning series), RISEvet Virtual Conference (Business and Medical Bootcamp tracks), and VetVision Conference (annual in-person CE and governance meeting). A notable AI partnership provides Otto AI Scribe for clinical documentation. There is no unified software platform—shareholders access member-only resources through a login portal while vendor programs and educational content are available on the public site.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TVC University: Online education hub offering monthly live webinars and on-demand CE covering clinical medicine and business of practice management.
- RISEvet
- VetVision
Products and services
- Rebates and Discounts Program Exclusive savings and rebates negotiated with 65+ manufacturer, distributor, and supplier partners for member veterinary practices. Covers in-house consumables, pharmaceuticals, pet food, telecommunications, credit card processing, and office supplies, with average member savings of $10,000-$30,000 per year (projected $10,500-$32,500 by FTE count).
- Shareholder Profit Dividend (SPD) Annual profit distribution to qualifying shareholder members based on participation and purchasing activity. Distributes cooperative profits back to members after operating costs and reserves; unique among GPOs.
- TVC University On-demand education hub offering monthly live webinars organized into quarterly learning series covering clinical, business, and wellness topics; RACE-approved CE credits available; sessions recorded and available on-demand for member veterinary teams.
- RISEvet Virtual Conference High-energy one-day virtual conferences with Business Bootcamp and Medical Bootcamp tracks, including virtual vendor booths, live chat, gamification, and prizes. Built for veterinary owners, managers, doctors, and technicians.
- VetVision Conference Premier in-person education, networking, and Annual Shareholder Meeting combining multi-track CE sessions, interactive workshops, vendor trade show, shareholder social, and cooperative governance meeting, held in Columbus, OH.
- TVC Community & Think Tanks Networking and collaboration offering connecting independent veterinary professionals through small-group Think Tanks, committees, networking events, and conferences to share ideas, surface solutions, and guide TVC decision-making including vendor partner relationships.
- Otto AI Scribe AI-powered clinical documentation service that processes audio input from veterinary staff during consultations to generate clinical notes. Offered free to TVC member practice staff via partnership with Hill's Pet Nutrition.
Quantifiable outcome
- $75 million+ returned to member-owners in rebates and profit
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Veterinary Cooperative
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
The Veterinary Cooperative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
The Veterinary Cooperative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- OttocoreOtto has partnered with Hill's Pet Nutrition and The Veterinary Cooperative to provide free access to an AI Scribe service for TVC member staff. The collaboration aims to enhance service offerings at veterinary practices through artificial intelligence documentation tools.
- Hill's Pet NutritioncoreHill's Pet Nutrition partnered with Otto and TVC to provide free AI Scribe access to member practices. Hill's is a major pet nutrition brand providing vendor rebate programs through TVC's 65+ vendor partner network.
- TVC Vendor Partners (65+)coreTVC partners with over 65 manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers to negotiate exclusive pricing and rebates for member hospitals. Partners include pet food brands, pharmaceutical companies, compounding pharmacies, PEO providers, telecommunications companies, and more. Partners benefit from collective purchasing volume of nearly 4,000 member practices.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Veterinary Cooperative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Patterson Companies: Patterson is one of the largest US veterinary distributors with broad product portfolios and direct sales relationships with both independent and corporate practices. It is simultaneously a TVC vendor partner and a competing channel that practices can use without TVC.
- Mars Veterinary Health (incl. NVA, BluePearl): Mars Veterinary Health is one of the largest global veterinary care consolidators and a major acquirer of independent practices. Its aggressive M&A activity competes with TVC for the long-term loyalty of independent practices TVC serves.
- VetCor: VetCor is a corporate veterinary consolidator that acquires independent practices — the exact member demographic TVC is built to defend. VetCor's continued M&A activity directly shrinks TVC's addressable member pool.
- Covetrus / Vetsource: Covetrus (now largely integrated with Vetsource) is a major distributor and technology provider to veterinary practices with proprietary ordering platforms and service offerings. It competes for vendor mind-share and member practice spend against TVC's rebate-channel model.
- MWI Animal Health (AmerisourceBergen): MWI is a large veterinary and livestock health product distributor within AmerisourceBergen. It competes for independent practice procurement spend and can offer direct pricing that may rival cooperative rebate economics.
Direct peers
- Vetcove: Vetcove operates an online veterinary supply comparison and ordering platform used by independent vet practices. It directly competes with TVC's rebate-driven procurement value proposition by giving practices a different way to capture savings on the same vendor purchases.
- Veterinary Management Groups (VMG): VMG is a member-owned peer group/cooperative for independent veterinary practice owners that bundles benchmarking, group purchasing, and practice management support. It is the closest structural analog to TVC — a member-driven organization serving the same indie vet demographic with overlapping GPO-style benefits.
Emerging players
- Veterinary Practice Partners: VPP partners with independent veterinary practices for ownership transition and operational support rather than acquisition. It competes with TVC for the relationship with independent practice owners seeking alternatives to outright corporate consolidation.
- Veterinary Study Groups (VSG): VSG is a member-driven study group network for independently owned veterinary hospitals focused on peer learning, benchmarking, and practice performance. It is a closer cousin to TVC's community/cooperative model than to a traditional GPO.
Regional players
- Animal Health International: Animal Health International is a large animal health product distributor serving livestock and veterinary segments, primarily across the US with select international exposure. It overlaps with TVC's vendor ecosystem and competes for share of practice procurement budgets.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Veterinary Cooperative social profiles
Digital presenceThe Veterinary Cooperative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Veterinary Cooperative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
The Veterinary Cooperative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Veterinary Cooperative M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Veterinary Cooperative
What does The Veterinary Cooperative do?
The Veterinary Cooperative operates as a member-owned Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) for independent veterinary hospitals, charging a one-time $200 lifetime membership fee and delivering value through negotiated rebates and discounts from 65+ vendor partners plus an annual Shareholder Profit Dividend that returns cooperative profits to qualifying members. Supporting the core financial benefits are continuing education (TVC University, RISEvet, VetVision) and community programs (Think Tanks, committees, networking events) that enable independent practices to access collective buying power and peer support.
Is The Veterinary Cooperative a public or private company?
The Veterinary Cooperative is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Veterinary Cooperative founded?
The Veterinary Cooperative was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Veterinary Cooperative based?
The Veterinary Cooperative is headquartered in Evanston, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Veterinary Cooperative make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are vendor Rebates and Incentives and shareholder Profit Dividends.
Who are The Veterinary Cooperative's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Patterson Companies, Mars Veterinary Health (incl. NVA, BluePearl), VetCor, Covetrus / Vetsource and MWI Animal Health (AmerisourceBergen). Direct peers are Vetcove and Veterinary Management Groups (VMG). Emerging players are Veterinary Practice Partners and Veterinary Study Groups (VSG). Animal Health International is listed as a regional player.
Does The Veterinary Cooperative have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Veterinary Cooperative.
What industry is The Veterinary Cooperative in?
The Veterinary Cooperative's product category is Veterinary Group Purchasing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAEANAA, Companion Animal Veterinary Clinics & Hospitals. Its NAICS code is 541940 and its SIC code is 8600.