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Anheuser-Busch and PepsiCo, two of the world’s biggest beverage companies, have agreed to jointly purchase certain goods and services in the U.S, such as information technology hardware, office supplies, travel and facilities services, transportation, and maintenance and repair supplies.

Note to suppliers of paper clips, computers and conference rooms: Prepare to meet a BIG customer with a lot of power. Both drinks titans are trying to wring out costs and increase their profits, and they are now casting their eyes on you. From the press release:

The agreement allows both companies to purchase goods and services more efficiently at competitive prices - effectively managing costs that can be reinvested back into areas that will grow their businesses. A team consisting of procurement experts for each company will focus on common areas of spending and negotiate purchases on behalf of both companies.

In the United States, there are many similar goods and services that each company purchases, making the agreement a good fit for the specific needs of both companies for their U.S. purchasing.

At first glance, this strikes us as an ingenious way to cut costs, although the companies did not give a dollar figure for the expected savings. In any case, it’s an unusual deal.

There have been “purchasing cooperatives” for decades, such as those comprised of grocery stores, Supply Chain Digest pointed out. Those groups “have generally served to generate some buying power for smaller businesses by grouping their spend and negotiating prices for the association,” said the trade publication.

But joint purchasing agreements involving large companies on the scale of Anheuser-Busch InBev and PepsiCo are rare.

“This is the first time you’ve seen two giants do something like this,” James Ellis, dean of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, told Reuters. “They’re in businesses that are not necessarily competing, but they’re looking for similar types of goods. It’s a great way to leverage their buying power.”

The deal continues Anheuser-Busch InBev’s history of working closely with PepsiCo. Anheuser-Busch InBev runs a large soft drinks business, consisting of its own production and agreements with PepsiCo related to bottling and distribution. Pepsi, 7UP and Gatorade are distributed through these agreements.

Brazil-based AmBev, one of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s biggest subsidiaries, is one of PepsiCo’s largest
bottlers. AmBev has long-term agreements with PepsiCo whereby AmBev has the exclusive right to bottle, sell and distribute certain Pepsi brands in Brazil.

Will we see more cooperation in the future between the drinks giants?

“Both companies emphasize that the agreement contemplates no additional forms of cooperation,” Stifel Nicolaus analyst Mark Swartzberg wrote. “Nonetheless, the move validates speculation that the companies have reason to cooperate beyond their existing relationship in Brazil.”

Swartzberg said it is “reasonable” to imagine additional cooperation between the companies, such as in joint purchasing of key commodities like aluminum and sharing of distribution.

“It’s like getting the benefits of a merger without the merger,” wrote Harry Schuhmacher, editor of Beer Business Daily. “It will be interesting to see how these two companies, who have a long history together on the InBev side, will work together. And whether this is the first baby step toward an eventual full-on merger?”