First Choice Cooperative

Name

First Choice Cooperative

Legal name

First Choice Cooperative

Website

https://www.fccoop.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

First Choice Cooperative is a purchasing organization that offers governmental functions and services for the health and education sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Group Purchasing Organization Services

akta.pro primary industry

Hospital Shared Services, GPOs & System Support Organizations (HLAFAAAO)

Keywords

• Group purchasing organization
• Cooperative purchasing services
• Healthcare supply contracts
• Patronage dividend program
• Municipal procurement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tyler

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Group Purchasing Administration/Membership Fees: FCC charges no membership fees or monthly dues. The cooperative generates revenue through the purchasing volume aggregated from member purchases, distributing savings and patronage dividends back to members.
2. Patronage Dividends: FCC delivers cost savings and cash dividends to all members on an equal basis regardless of facility size. The cooperative differentiates itself by delivering the highest collection rate and therefore highest cash returns through patronage dividends on gross dollars collected.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

First Choice Cooperative is a member-owned, non-profit group purchasing organization (GPO) that aggregates purchasing volume across healthcare providers, municipalities, school districts, and universities to access 600+ supply and equipment contracts. The cooperative generates revenue through the purchasing volume it aggregates and distributes cost savings and patronage dividends back to members on an equal basis regardless of facility size, with no membership fees or volume-tiered pricing.

Product overview

First Choice Cooperative operates as a member-owned group purchasing organization (GPO) that provides a unified cooperative purchasing platform for healthcare providers, municipalities, school districts, and universities. The core offering is the Cooperative Purchasing Services combined with a Patronage Dividends Program that distributes earnings based on gross dollars collected. The platform includes a Web-Enabled Contract Database for managing agreements, a Member Web Portal for accessing contracts and compliance tools, and a Business Partner Web Portal for vendor communication. The organization leverages over 600 supply and equipment agreements to deliver cost savings and patronage dividends to members across all 50 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cooperative Purchasing Services Group purchasing organization (GPO) services providing cooperative purchasing for hospitals, healthcare facilities, MSO clinics, rural clinics, home health agencies, reference labs, emergency medical services, municipalities, school districts, and universities, enabling cost reduction through collective buying power across 600+ supply and equipment agreements.
• Patronage Dividends Program Revenue-sharing program that distributes cash dividends to members based on gross dollars collected, delivering cash returns to healthcare providers, municipalities, and educational institutions on an equal basis regardless of facility size, calculated based on the highest collection rate of earned dividends in the industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Highest collection rate of earned dividends in the industry
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Virginia Rural Health AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012Signed exclusive endorsement of FirstChoice Cooperative as its preferred partner for group purchasing services.
• South Carolina Office of Rural HealthcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2010FCC became the preferred partner for group purchasing services for the South Carolina Office of Rural Health.
• Mississippi Rural Health AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2010Signed exclusive endorsement of FirstChoice Cooperative as its preferred partner for group purchasing services.
• Indiana Rural Health AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2009FCC became 'Provider of Choice' in a marketing agreement bringing additional cost savings and value to their network members.
• NRHA (National Rural Health Association)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2008Endorsement expanding FCC's membership into all states. NRHA provides access to rural hospitals nationwide.
• TORCH (Texas Organization for Rural and Community Hospitals)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 1999Exclusive endorsement agreement since July 1999 including a membership of over 150 hospitals in the state of Texas. TORCH is a management services organization.
• FirstChoice Management ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 1998Formed in November 1998 to manage the daily activities of the Cooperative. Administers and handles all daily activities based on members' requests and recommendations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vizient: Vizient is the largest U.S. healthcare performance improvement company and group purchasing organization, serving hospitals and health systems with contract aggregation, analytics, and supply chain services — directly comparable to FCC's hospital-focused GPO offering.
• Premier: Premier is a leading healthcare GPO and performance improvement alliance serving hospitals, health systems, and other providers — a directly comparable peer in group purchasing services, supply chain analytics, and member-governed contracting.
• HealthTrust Performance Group: HealthTrust is a healthcare GPO serving hospitals, health systems, ambulatory centers, and physician practices with aggregated purchasing contracts — directly comparable to FCC in the healthcare GPO category.
• Intalere: Intalere is a healthcare GPO serving hospitals, clinics, and non-acute providers with contract portfolios and member services — closely comparable to FCC in GPO function and member base, though generally with broader for-profit ownership.
• Capstone Health Alliance: Capstone Health Alliance is a regional hospital-focused group purchasing organization serving community, rural, and mid-sized hospitals — directly comparable to FCC's rural/community hospital focus and member-governed model.
• Yankee Alliance: Yankee Alliance is a healthcare GPO serving hospitals and healthcare organizations, including a meaningful community hospital member base — directly comparable in GPO function and provider focus to FCC.
• Provista: Provista is a healthcare and non-healthcare GPO (now part of Vizient) serving healthcare providers, schools, municipalities, and non-profits — directly comparable to FCC's cross-vertical (healthcare + government/education) purchasing model.

Emerging players

• Texas Organization for Rural & Community Hospitals (TORCH): TORCH is FCC's exclusive endorsement partner and a rural-hospital management services organization. While not a direct GPO competitor, it functions as a regional convening body for rural hospitals and is highly relevant as FCC's largest member-acquisition channel.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FirstChoiceCooperative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firstchoice-cooperative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Choice Cooperative