King County Directors Association

What King County Directors Association does

King County Directors Association (KCDA) is a member-owned purchasing cooperative that centralizes procurement of educational supplies and equipment for public school districts, private K-12 schools, and other public agencies. Its primary geographic footprint is Washington state with extension into Oregon, Idaho, and additional US states through vendor direct contracts (Alaska excluded). Members include Washington, Oregon, and Idaho public school districts as primary customers, with private K-12 schools and other public agencies as secondary segments; parent-teacher organizations can access pricing through their school districts.

KCDA operates a web-based e-commerce platform (kcda.org) supported by a Washington-state warehouse that stocks and ships general school supplies to WA/OR/ID members with 1-2 day delivery. The cooperative also routes vendor direct contracts (covering categories such as copiers, facilities software, LED lighting, plumbing supplies, and technology) that ship directly from manufacturer to member. The catalog spans more than fifteen product categories including art, science, writing instruments, early childhood, office/classroom, first aid, furniture, paper, physical education, library, custodial, audio visual, music, lunchroom, and printing supplies. Programs include scheduled delivery for high-usage items and a school start-up delivery program for summer bulk ordering.

Revenue is generated through service fees embedded in member pricing on warehouse-shipped items, while vendor direct contracts carry no service fee but are billed once items ship and vendor invoices are received. Copy paper pricing is reset quarterly based on market conditions, and tax is charged only on the KCDA cost line rather than the service fee. KCDA is a founding member of AEPA, a cooperative of 28 state agencies providing nationally bid, locally awarded contracts designed to meet state bid law requirements. Revenue figures, headcount, and ownership details are not publicly disclosed.

Name

King County Directors Association

Legal name

King County Directors Association

Website

https://kcda.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Short description

King County Directors Association (KCDA) is a member-owned purchasing cooperative that centralizes procurement of school supplies, equipment, and educational materials for public school districts, private K-12 schools, and public agencies across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and additional US states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Procurement Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Procurement Platforms, Catalogs & Contract Purchasing (Co-ops, GPOs, eProcurement) (EDAEAIAO)

Keywords

• Purchasing cooperative
• School procurement services
• Educational supplies distribution
• Cooperative purchasing contracts
• K-12 supply chain

Headquarters

HQ city

Kent

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cooperative Member Pricing: KCDA generates revenue through service fees included in member pricing for warehouse items. Shipping costs are prepaid and added to invoices for members outside Washington, Oregon, and Idaho (except Alaska). KCDA does not charge service fees on vendor direct contracts.
2. Vendor Direct Billing: For vendor direct contracts, KCDA invoices members once items have shipped and the cooperative receives an invoice from the vendor/manufacturer. No service fees are charged on these contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

KCDA is a member-owned purchasing cooperative that provides centralized procurement of school, office, custodial, and specialty supplies for K-12 public and private schools, public agencies, and higher education institutions. Members order through an E-Commerce Platform and receive goods either from KCDA's warehouse in Kent, WA, or via Vendor Direct shipments from contracted suppliers. The cooperative also leverages its AEPA membership to extend access to nationally bid contracts.

Product overview

King County Directors Association (KCDA) is a purchasing cooperative for Washington state schools that operates a comprehensive e-commerce platform for centralized school supply procurement. The platform offers a unified ordering system with multiple product categories including Art Supplies, Science Supplies, Writing Instruments, Early Childhood materials, Office/Classroom Supplies, First Aid, Furniture, Paper, Physical Education, Library Supplies, Custodial, Audio Visual, Music, Lunchroom, and Ink/Toner supplies. Members can place regular orders, school start-up orders, and scheduled delivery orders through the platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KCDA E-Commerce Platform Online ordering platform that allows KCDA member schools and agencies to browse the cooperative's catalog of supplies and place orders against their member accounts.
• Student Supply Program Cooperative supply program that delivers classroom student supplies to member schools for distribution to students.
• School Start-Up Delivery Pre-school-year bulk delivery service that ships classroom and operational supplies to member schools ahead of the academic year.
• Scheduled Delivery Orders Recurring scheduled delivery service from KCDA's Kent, WA warehouse that replenishes routine supplies for member schools and agencies on a set cadence.
• Vendor Direct Contracts Contracted direct-ship program in which approved manufacturers and suppliers ship items to members, with KCDA administering the contract and consolidated billing.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AEPA (American Education Purchasing Alliance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKCDA is a founding member of AEPA, a cooperative of 28 state agencies working together to provide nationally bid contracts designed to meet state bid law requirements. AEPA contracts are 'nationally bid and locally awarded,' providing cost-effective procurement options for member organizations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• School Specialty: Established national distributor of K-12 educational supplies, furniture, and instructional materials. Operates broadly across the same product categories KCDA procures, but as a for-profit supplier rather than a member cooperative.

Direct peers

• U.S. Communities (OMNIA Partners program): Cooperative purchasing program (now under OMNIA Partners) providing nationally bid contracts to K-12 districts and public agencies — overlapping directly with KCDA's vendor-direct/AEPA offerings.
• BuyBoard: Texas-based cooperative purchasing platform serving school districts and other public entities with competitively bid contracts; closely mirrors KCDA's member-driven procurement cooperative model.
• OMNIA Partners: Large national cooperative purchasing organization serving public agencies including K-12 districts and higher ed; competes with KCDA/AEPA for vendor-direct contract awards and member district relationships.
• Sourcewell (formerly NJPA): Cooperative purchasing organization that competitively bids national contracts for government, education, and nonprofit members — directly comparable to KCDA's AEPA-affiliated national bidding model.
• E&I Cooperative Services: Education-sector purchasing cooperative that aggregates demand from member colleges, K-12 districts, and other institutions to negotiate contracts — directly comparable to KCDA's cooperative purchasing model for educational institutions.
• Pace (Purchasing Association of Cooperative Entities): Cooperative purchasing alliance serving school districts and municipalities with competitively solicited contracts; structurally similar to KCDA's regional procurement cooperative model.
• National Cooperative Purchasing Partners (NCPP): Cooperative purchasing organization offering contracted pricing to member agencies including schools; competes for the same district membership and vendor-direct contract relationships as KCDA.
• TIPS (The Interlocal Purchasing System): Cooperative purchasing program offering awarded contracts to schools, higher education, and public agencies; competes with KCDA for vendor-direct contracts and district memberships.

Regional players

• Education Service Districts (ESDs) / Regional Service Agencies: Regional intermediate agencies (e.g., NWESD in the Pacific Northwest) that aggregate procurement for member school districts, providing overlapping cooperative purchasing services in specific geographic territories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KCDAPurchasingCoop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/king-county-directors-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 King County Directors Association