Purchasing Division receives Excellence award for 12th year

The City of Redlands Purchasing Division was recently awarded the 2026 Annual Achievement of Excellence in Procurement from the National Procurement Institute, Inc. The AEP Award recognizes organizational excellence in public procurement through a rigorous evaluation of innovation, professionalism, productivity, leadership, and e-procurement practices. This is the 12th consecutive year the City of Redlands has received the award.

This year’s program reached historic milestones with a record-breaking 269 applications, representing 28 U.S. states and Canada, and an unprecedented 93% success rate.

Among the 251 successful applicants, a record-breaking 42 are first-time recipients, highlighting the continued expansion of best-in-class procurement practices.

The City of Redlands Procurement Division is a proud leader of best practices implementations, such as a fully automated warehouse and an E-Procurement system, which transformed the manual procurement process into an electronic one, allowing the City to gain greater oversight of its purchases, greater visibility into every stage of the procurement process and increased savings and efficiency due to competition. Those systems make the procurement process transparent and reduce opportunity for fraud and corruption due to automated procedures.

“The 2026 AEP Award reflects the extraordinary commitment of procurement professionals who are driving performance, accountability, and strategic value for their agencies,” said Carrie Mathes, FNIGP, CFCM, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, C.P.M., CPPB, APP, FCCM, AEP Officer for NPI. “This year’s record participation and new milestones are a testament to the growing recognition of procurement as a critical function in public service.”

Established in 1995, the AEP Award is open to all public and nonprofit organizations.  The program’s comprehensive criteria promote continuous improvement and elevate procurement as a vital contributor to good governance.

To view the full list of 2026 recipients visit https://www.npi-aep.org/award-recipients  and to learn more about the AEP Award, visit https://www.npi-aep.org/aep-award.­­­