Columbia Association Selects PlanetBids to Enhance Transparency, Efficiency, and Vendor Participation

The collaboration supports CA's commitment to equity, transparency, and operational efficiency.

COLUMBIA, MD, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Columbia Association (CA), a non-profit community services organization serving Columbia, Maryland, has announced a new contract with PlanetBids to transform procurement operations for the community. This collaboration supports CA’s commitment to equity, transparency, and operational efficiency across the diverse and vibrant community it serves.

With goals of increasing Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) participation and modernizing outdated processes, CA selected PlanetBids’ end-to-end digital procurement platform to streamline procurement, improve vendor outreach, and ensure compliance with board directives.

This partnership with PlanetBids will help CA reach key goals:

- Advance Minority Participation Goals: The CA board aims to meet a 20% MBE participation goal for 2025 and 23% by 2026. PlanetBids’ Vendor Management helps CA track vendor certifications and participation, helping monitor progress toward diversity and inclusion targets.
- Expand and Streamline Vendor Outreach: By replacing manual and email-driven processes, CA will make registration easier for new vendors, helping to expand reach in local and regional minority business communities.
- Improve Compliance and Audit Readiness: With all bids and submissions now centralized in a secure vendor platform, CA will eliminate the reliance on email, enabling full audit trails, improving communications, and reducing risk of non-compliance and bid protests.
- Simplify Certification and Insurance Management: PlanetBids' platform will replace spreadsheets and manual tracking systems with automated certification and insurance documentation workflows, saving time and reducing errors.
- Enhance Bid Evaluation and Contract Management: Procurement teams will gain tools to streamline evaluation criteria and manage contracts in a centralized digital environment.
- Increase Operational Efficiency: By digitizing and automating key procurement functions, CA staff will be empowered to shift from administrative tasks to more strategic initiatives.

“As a non-profit here to invest in our residents’ quality of life, CA is committed to fostering resource resilience and modernization in our systems,” Shon McCollum, Senior Vice President/CEO said. “Our team is confident tapping into the PlanetBids platform will not only enhance our ability to engage diverse vendors but also support our strategic goals of being as efficient and cost-effective as possible throughout that process. We know our community relies on us to serve with the utmost of fiscal responsibility and integrity, and we welcome the opportunity to work with PlanetBids to make that happen in all stages of the purchasing process.”

Vendors interested in working with CA can register for free and access bid opportunities at their vendor portal.

About Columbia Association

Columbia Association (CA) is and has always been here to enhance the quality of life in Columbia. We are committed to the founding goals of this unique and diverse community: stewardship, wellness and inclusion. To achieve this, CA owns and manages a wide array of spaces, facilities and programs that foster authentic connection for more than 100,000 residents and all of those who work and play here. We hope everyone can find their own way to engage with us and work toward an even brighter future. Visit ColumbiaAssociation.org for more information. Together, #WeAreColumbia.

About PlanetBids

PlanetBids’ lifecycle procurement platform helps procurement professionals in the public, private, education, and non-profit sectors streamline their purchasing operations and improve vendor and supplier relationships for better budget and resource management. With tools for bid and vendor management, business certification and insurance tracking, contract and document management, and reporting, PlanetBids is purpose built by procurement industry experts for agencies of all sizes and budgets. To learn more, visit planetbids.com.

Kath Fields
PlanetBids
+1 818-992-1771
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Facebook

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.