Tyres, Glass and Fast Fit Solutions – flexible fleet maintenance

Is your organisation’s fleet in peak condition – fully maintained and using quality products and services?

Fleet managers need to operate a safe and efficient fleet, maintained in optimum condition, to keep vehicles on the road and delivering those vital public services.

To do this, there are policy and legislative targets to consider, supply chain constraints and there is always the need to deliver value for money.

Our new framework, Tyres, Glass and Fast Fit Solutions is here to help. It offers a one-stop shop for fleet maintenance, so you can be sure you’re getting quality products and services at the best possible price.

A new framework that offers more 

Our new framework includes our usual offer for tyres but with some important additions.

As a result of extensive stakeholder engagement and market research, carried out with a wide range of suppliers and customers across different sectors, the new agreement is designed to meet all of your fleet maintenance needs.

Products and services include:

  • new fast-fit products and services
  • new tyre management service; selection, inspection and policy plans
  • extra lot for vehicle glass
  • small items such as wipers, bulbs and oils
  • larger equipment such as batteries, brakes and exhausts
  • planned servicing and MOTs
  • diagnostics and repairs

Helping you meet social value obligations

It’s proven that better driving habits can reduce emissions. Smoother driving results in better air quality and prevents accidents, helping to relieve pressure on local emergency services and NHS.

It’s for this reason that all suppliers on our framework are required to be a member of the Driving for Better Business programme. This means you can be safe in the knowledge that your suppliers are demonstrating leadership in the management of work-related road risk while helping your organisation meet Carbon Net Zero by 2035.

Pick and mix from a flexible framework

Tyres, Glass and Fast Fit Solutions is a flexible one-stop shop for fleet operators. Maybe you maintain your vehicles in-house and just want to source tyres and glass. Or you may be looking for compliant and value-for-money, complementary vehicle consumables and services.

Whatever your needs – whether you want to source tyres, glass or vehicle consumables and services – you can pick and mix from the extensive range of products and services available. In doing so, you can be sure you’re getting the right products, at the right price and helping to keep your fleet safe and on the road.

Our fleet team is here to help

We are here to help select the most suitable products and services for your requirements, to keep your fleet on the road and in peak condition.

‘First of its kind’ solution to transform public sector tail spend

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has launched a ‘first of its kind’ new solution to help public and third sector customers get the best deal on the procurement of millions of low value products.

Our Tail Spend Solution will help the public sector to manage and aggregate ‘tail spend’ – low value, ad hoc purchases which are often made from lots of different suppliers. Estimated annual public sector tail spend on goods is currently more than £1 billion.

This is the first time a centralised tail spend solution has been made available to the whole of the UK public and third sectors.

The benefits

Tail Spend Solution will support public sector buyers to spend less time and money on invoicing, increase visibility and control of ‘hidden’ spend, and improve spend data.

Mercateo Unite and OT Group are launching CCS’s Tail Spend Solution framework on their online platforms on 26 January 2022 – opening up public sector procurement to a large supply chain of small and medium-sized suppliers, offering millions of products at market-leading prices.

Simon Tse, Chief Executive Officer of CCS says:

Tail Spend Solution is the first of its kind – a new agreement that supports the public sector to take control of its ad hoc purchases, aggregating the spending power of the UK public sector as we build back better.

There is wide agreement across the public sector that tail spend is an under-managed and often overlooked area of spend that is increasingly important for organisations to deal with.

Use of self-serve, modern technology and aggregation to create efficiencies and empower staff outside of commercial functions is critical for buyers who wish to improve their delivery of commercial benefits beyond just focusing on the largest contracts.

Our customers

Schools, charities, the NHS and other public sector and third sector organisations will be able to purchase IT peripherals, office and janitorial supplies, educational resources, musical instruments, camera equipment and other non-safety critical products through the online platforms.

Tail spend is often invisible until purchases appear in an organisation’s end of year accounts, and these can cause significant budget pressures if not controlled properly. CCS’s Tail Spend Solution will allow public and third sector customers to bring this spend under control.

The solution was developed after extensive engagement with CCS’s public and third sector customers and the supply market.

Find out more

Please visit our agreements page to find out more about the new Tail Spend Solution framework.

Our new ‘sustainable’ transport technology agreement launched

 

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has awarded a new agreement for transport management technology – with a dedicated lot for sustainable transport solutions and key improvements to service delivery.

The re-branded Transport Technology and Associated Services [RM6099] agreement builds and expands on the success of our Traffic Management Technology 2 framework, due to expire at the end of the month, to include capability not only for traffic but also aviation, rail and marine.

The new agreement will continue to deliver core services and products such as transport professional services, ANPR, pedestrian control solutions and signage and lighting, but there will be a much stronger focus on sustainable technology. Customers can now procure smart traffic management technologies to tackle air pollution, vehicle charging solutions as well as hydrogen and intelligent transportation systems (i.e autonomous vehicles), through a dedicated sustainable transport technologies lot. 

It is just one of a range of solutions from CCS designed to help our customers with decarbonisation across their procurement portfolio. 

For the first time, our customers will also be able to procure state of the art software for asset data capture, processing and exchange services and geographic information systems (GIS).  

Transport Technology and Associated Services will go live on 26 October 2021 and run for 4 years. Call-off contract durations can be from 2 to 7 years depending on which Lot is used.

Philip Orumwense, Commercial Director and Chief Technology Procurement Officer, Crown Commercial Service says of the new sustainable transport technology agreement: 

With many government initiatives focused on decarbonisation, carbon net zero, the shift to electric vehicles, improving air quality and tackling congestion, it is necessary for the transport sector to adjust and play their part in supporting these projects. This replacement framework truly reflects and represents their expectations and provides the platform for the country to build back greener.

It is yet another example of how CCS is working with customers to help them overcome their carbon net zero challenges.

Helping customers establish ‘Clean Air Zones’

Across the UK, smart traffic management technology is helping tackle many sources of air pollution by incentivising and regulating driver behaviour. It’s also being used to create Clean Air Zones (CAZ). 

The new framework will provide monitoring and enforcement solutions – enabling customers to procure high definition licence plate recognition ANPR cameras that record which vehicle has travelled through the CAZ so that charges can be issued as appropriate.

Innovations

  • The lots have been simplified and reduced down from 15 to 7. The new structure reduces the need for customers to separate their requirements across multiple lots.
  • All suppliers are automatically added to Lot 7 (catalogue), making it quicker and easier for them to upload products and for customers to purchase low value items.
  • The scope of the framework has been expanded to include aviation, marine and rail to appeal to a broader target audience and support cross industry innovation.
  • A move to public sector contracting terms and conditions to create an easier, more flexible route to market and tailored for the customer specific operational needs
  • A new dedicated Sustainable Transport Technologies (Lot 5) has been introduced. 
  • The new agreement aims to build on the progress made on making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to become suppliers. It includes 77 suppliers, 44% of which are SMEs. This is compared to 30% SME suppliers for Traffic Management Technology 2.

Lotting structure

The lots will comprise:

Lot 1 – Transport Professional Services

Lot 2 – Transport & Pedestrian Control

Lot 3 – Transport Signage & Lighting

Lot 4 – Transport Data Services

Lot 5 – Sustainable Transport Technologies

Lot 6 – Major Transport Solutions

Lot 7 – Catalogue

Find out more

To find out more about our new sustainable transport technology agreement watch our on demand webinar, visit the agreement webpage or contact the CCS Service Desk at info@crowncommercial.gov.uk or 0345 410 2222.

Don’t forget, you can find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.

Our recruitment framework helps the Government Property Agency secure quality candidates across 2 large-scale projects

Background

This case study outlines how the Government Property Agency (GPA) used the Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff framework for 2 large-scale recruitment projects across its Financial Business Partnering, Financial Analysis and Financial Accounting teams.

The Government Property Agency is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for ensuring efficient and effective use of government real estate. Acting as an asset manager, landlord, service provider and strategic property advisor, the agency uses its commercial property expertise in supplier negotiations to enhance value both for government and the taxpayer.

GPA needed to recruit for a total of 50 interim and permanent roles, at grades ranging from HEO to Grade 6. Using our RM6160 Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff recruitment services framework, recruitment consultancy firm Robertson Bell were appointed to carry out this project.

The framework can be used by all UK public sector bodies including NHS contracting authorities, local government, universities, charities and blue light services. The 6 lots give customers the ability to secure quality candidates regionally and nationally across the UK under a variety of specialisms. The framework is available to NHS organisations as part of the NHS Workforce Alliance portfolio of workforce solutions.

Solution

The team at Robertson Bell spent time with hiring managers from GPA to develop a deep understanding of role profiles, and to consult on and define the type of candidates who would be most effective. They then created a multi-channel recruitment campaign incorporating comprehensive in-house and third-party database searches, plus targeted advertising on specialist sites such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). 

The supplier also went the extra mile to engage hard-to-find candidates that are generally overlooked by traditional recruitment methodologies, by leveraging their consultants’ networks. 

Although faced with complex demands and challenging timelines, the consultants used project management tools to provide full campaign monitoring and transparency at all times.   

Adapting to challenges

As a recently established organisation, the GPA had not yet developed a strong employer brand. Robertson Bell created a compelling employer proposition that enabled them to compete effectively with high-profile organisations recruiting from the same talent pool. 

When the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented part-way through the campaign, the supplier switched quickly and efficiently to a virtual process via their In-Sight video platform. This remote selection process did not compromise the integrity of the experience for either client or candidates.

Outcome

Initial screening was performed by a panel of Robertson Bell consultants to relieve pressure on the GPA hiring managers and quickly identify the most attractive candidates. 

Consultants maintained close communications with candidates throughout the process, managing expectations and minimising the chance of drop-out. As a result, all vacancies were filled with high-quality individuals, in line with the GPA’s diversity targets. 

The supplier also handled the offer management process, providing two-way post interview feedback. 

The interim project team provided GPA hiring managers with a shortlist of candidates, and there was 100% interview attendance. Each role was successfully filled with the preferred candidate. Successful interim candidates were operational within 24-48 hours of appointment. 

Diversity and inclusion

Robertson Bell is well-equipped to help employers meet stringent inclusivity guidelines. For this campaign they reached out to a range of candidates via LinkedIn, engaging with diverse audiences through specialist diversity job boards. CVs were screened and graded by a panel of three diversity-trained consultants. All shortlists were supplied ‘blind’. 

You have the power to make better recruitment decisions

To find out how the CCS recruitment frameworks can help you with your vacancies visit the workforce web page.

For further advice and guidance please complete this short online form, email us or call us on 0345 410 2222.

You can also find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.

Managing fleet supply

Market conditions

Supply chain issues for semiconductors are impacting the global production and supply of vehicles. Public sector fleet is not immune, with the purchase and lease of new vehicles delayed in delivery, and vehicle rentals also affected.

The impact is likely to last until, at least the start of 2022, and we set out below an update and guidance on how fleet managers can manage vehicle supply.

What CCS is doing

CCS will continue to monitor the situation across manufacturing, lease, fleet management and rental sectors – liaising with suppliers and key trade bodies on the latest position. 

We are asking our rental suppliers to make more vehicles available for hire, where possible. We are also asking them to prioritise those vehicles needed for operational roles in the public sector and to provide you with regular updates.

Suggestions for fleet operators

Review your vehicle replacement strategy

Consider extending vehicle lease contracts and defer vehicle replacements. Suitable vehicles for extension are those with low mileage and low cost maintenance. 

Engagement with suppliers

If you need to order a new vehicle or to hire a vehicle, let your supplier know that the vehicle is needed as a priority. Be aware of lead times and order any new vehicles in good time.

Make the most of your fleet

Consider which journeys are essential and, where they are, try to make the most of the vehicles you have available. Options could be to meet virtually instead of travelling; to use public transport; or to ask staff to book from your pool of vehicles.

Advice on booking hire vehicles

Give clear guidance to colleagues who book your vehicles. Ask them to hire vehicles only when absolutely necessary and to book early as there is high demand. 

Using grey fleet

In the current situation, you might want to ask your staff to use their own vehicles for business. These vehicles will then become your grey fleet. And, on a temporary basis only, we would support a flexible approach to the usual mileage threshold recommended in our grey fleet policy.

But, when using grey fleet, you must make sure:

  • you have a clear policy on travel and subsistence costs, agreed by your fleet and HR teams
  • you manage safety and cost risks – making sure that grey fleet staff have the relevant vehicle insurances, driver licensing, vehicle maintenance and MOTs. 

Find out more

Sign up to our Fleet newsletter where our experts share the latest fleet news and insights.

If you need any further information on the above please feel free to contact our fleet experts.

Help us evaluate for our new public sector mobile voice and data services framework

Following customer engagement workshops, where we provided an overview of the project and its objectives, we would like to invite you to participate in the evaluation of tender responses from suppliers.

What does evaluation involve?

  • we offer each evaluator guidance and training, provided remotely 
  • you will have at least a month to evaluate responses – we will be using the award system for evaluation and will arrange a short training session (approx 20mins) before 31 March 2022
  • we will give as much notice as possible for both training (at least 3 weeks) and evaluation
  • you will need to attend consensus meetings remotely to discuss and agree on an overall score per response per supplier 
  • currently proposed timescales would mean evaluating selection questions between mid-April and the beginning of May, and evaluating award questions throughout February with consensus between mid May and the end of June
  • the responses you evaluate will depend on your experience and we will let you know:
    • which question you have been assigned to evaluate the responses for
    • how many tender responses there are for that question
    • roughly how much time evaluation should take (both per question and overall)

What are the benefits of evaluating?

  • evaluating enables you to ensure we have quality framework suppliers
  • reading through bidders’ responses gives an understanding of the market, what is possible, current trends and where the given industry is going
  • you will receive a letter from our Sourcing team confirming that you have evaluated responses and detailing the role you played in making the government framework a success – an experience you can add to your CV and use at your end of year performance review

Find out more

If you would like to volunteer or to find out more, email mobile@crowncommercial.gov.uk by 31 January 2022. If you have colleagues or new starters in mind who you think this would be a good experience for, please share this information. 

Workplace Services helps HMRC appoint security services partner

The requirement

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has an ambitious 10-year plan to modernise its estate through the Government Hubs Programme. The programme aims to create a modern, flexible estate for the Civil Service. Government hubs are designed to be shared spaces that encourage smarter ways of working through technology and workplace design. 

As part of the programme, HMRC needed a holistic national security services partner that would support their changing estate. They wanted to work with a supplier that would provide an improved customer experience. They also needed the supplier to have the versatility to add new properties to the contract, while maintaining high service standards.

The solution

HMRC chose to use the CCS Workplace Services framework to put in place a national contract for their security services. They chose the framework as it provides access to specialist security suppliers who offer both physical and technical security with the ability to provide service over complex estates.

Mitie was awarded a 5-year contract to become HMRC’s security services partner. They have developed a modern and fit-for-purpose security service that fulfils HMRC’s vision for the hubs, with customer experience at its core. Its flexibility means HMRC can work collaboratively with Mitie to respond to the needs of their changing estate, as well as emerging risks. 

The end-to-end solution includes best-in-class threat mitigation using a range of technology-led solutions and expert input from intelligence analysts. These enhanced security offerings range from dynamic threat assessment and incident management to horizon intelligence gathering. 

The results

Mitie’s security solution has ensured HMRC can meet the needs of the Government Estate Strategy, the Transforming Government Security Programme, and their own ‘Best Estates Function in Government’ objectives.

Mitie’s national delivery model is supported by strategic governance, challenging social value and sustainability objectives, and accountability for innovation and continuous improvement.

Under the terms of the contract, Mitie is committed to ensuring at least 10% of the contract workforce will be apprentices, aligning with the government’s target to increase the number of apprenticeships in the UK.

Add power to your procurement with CCS

To find out more about the security services available through our Workplace Services framework:

Visit the framework web page

Call us on 0345 410 2222

Email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Fill in our online form

You can also find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.

Changes to our agreements in December

Welcome to our monthly framework update to help you with your procurement planning. We will publish it online each month and also share it in our newsletters and on our social media channels.

The update provides a brief summary of what has been awarded, extended or expired during the previous month. It also outlines what is due to expire in the next 3 months.

You can also get an overview of all of our live frameworks in our interactive digital brochure.

Agreements awarded in December  

Agreements extended in December

Agreements that expired in December 

Agreements due to expire in the next 3 months

Further information

If you need further details about any of these agreements please get in touch.

You can also find out what new procurements we are working on by exploring our upcoming deals page.

If you don’t currently receive our monthly customer newsletter why not also subscribe to receive these updates and more directly to your inbox? Just fill in this short form.

How Payment Initiation Service Providers are changing the way citizens pay online

A Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) bypasses the requirement for payment through third party services, such as Visa or MasterCard. Instead, PISP enables users to pay from their bank account to the merchant with excellent security and transparency.

How it works: local authority case study

A consumer needs to pay for a service online such as a penalty charge notice. The consumer initiates the transaction by selecting the product/service required, which can be triggered in different ways, such as accessing a QR code or an online payment page.

When prompted, consumers are given the option to pay via their own bank account. PISPs will only initiate these account services if the consumer gives consent by selecting the ‘pay by bank method’. 

This payment process uses a banking Application Programming Interface (API) which enables an easy and secure way of exchanging data. The PISP uses the banking API to pay from the consumer’s bank account (i.e. it pushes the funds from the consumer’s account to the local authority’s account).

Top 5 FAQs

We recognise that this service is new to many customers. To help you understand how PISP can benefit your organisation, our customers have suggested some frequently asked questions which we have answered below:

What are the benefits from using PISPs?

There are many benefits. These include:

  • better user experience: customers can simply authenticate payments using their banking app, resulting in a shorter payment journey
  • increased transparency: customers can see their account balance before payment and choose which bank account to use
  • immediate withdrawal: customers no longer have to wait 2 to 3 days for payment withdrawal from their bank account

For CCS customers, additional benefits include:

  • significant savings: a fixed pence fee as opposed to  a variable % fee, by using account to account (A2A) payments
  • no additional costs such as chargeback fees
  • lower risk of fraud: no need to share financial data outside your own bank

How can the providers help with the integration of these services?

Firstly, all suppliers on lot 5 of our Payment Acceptance framework offer a sandbox environment. This allows for production-like testing such as integration, realistic end-to-end performance and capacity testing. You are then well prepared before launching a new service.

From onboarding to post-launch, all providers offer dedicated teams to support you throughout the journey. They even offer support or advice on marketing the service.

In addition, providers offer technical documentation, and service go-live can be achieved in as little as 2 to 3 weeks, depending on customer  requirements.

How does integration work with an existing payment acceptance strategy/model?

All providers offer integration with existing payment strategies through checkout pages and third party payment providers. They also support the customer’s existing payment notifications.

It provides an additional choice that is more secure and risk-free for the consumer, cheaper, and highly converting for the merchant as customers are more likely to complete the purchase.

In general, payment acceptance strategies should centre around user experience and user needs. There have been many payment innovations in recent years serving more varied user needs. PISP services combine the security and cost-effectiveness of manual bank transfers with the ease of card and mobile payments.

What is the pain and gain calculation for customers?

There are pains and gains with all new services and customers have to decide whether it is worth adopting those new services.

Because this payment method is fairly new, the merchant may need to provide information on their website checkout page to explain what is involved. To reap all the benefits, merchants need to provide information about PISP payment to reassure and advise customers.

Despite this, some providers have seen a 46% conversion in customers using this payment method. PISP payments are simple to use and completed in just a few quick clicks, with no account set-up needed. Customers also benefit from bank-grade security as no payment details are stored by any party.

Are there any examples of PISP payments?

The suppliers on lot 5 can provide examples of existing payment journeys. We recommend that you approach all providers in lot 5 for examples as they can provide these to you as part of their pre-market engagement.

Public sector bodies have already adopted this solution in their payment offerings, specifically in the education, government and charity sectors. But, despite this, some providers have seen a 46% conversion in customers using this payment method. PISP payments are simple to use and payments are completed in just a few quick clicks, with no account set up required. Customers also benefit from bank-grade security as no payment details are stored by any party.

We’re here to help 

If you want to learn more about our Payment Acceptance framework: 

How we work with logistics suppliers to mitigate the risk of modern slavery

Modern slavery isn’t just something that happens in countries far away, it happens in the UK too and is often hard to spot. At CCS, we want to do all we can to work with our suppliers to address and mitigate the risks of modern slavery.

As logistics and warehousing is classed as a high-risk sector, we have carried out a modern slavery assessment on the framework suppliers.

How the assessment was carried out

All suppliers were assessed using the government’s Modern Slavery Assessment Tool. The tool helps to identify risks, suggest improvements, and provide guidance on how to work on any improvements identified.

Once the assessment was issued, we followed up with suppliers to check on their progress.

The results of the assessment and next steps

Each assessment was given a percentage score and a colour status:

  • green, 70% to 100%
  • orange, 40% to 69%
  • yellow, 20% to 39%
  • red, 0% to 19%

The average score was 60% which puts the framework in the orange zone. Breaking down the scores by company size and lots helped us to identify the top 5 risks and improvements suggested, and seek advice from our policy team on how to tackle these areas.

This highlighted areas where continuous improvement could be achieved by the framework suppliers. We then worked with suppliers to understand what they were doing to mitigate their modern slavery risks, and how they would take on board the suggested improvements. 

Why use the Logistics and Warehousing framework?

We carry out the due diligence checks on suppliers for you. We don’t just review what they are doing to help mitigate the risks of modern slavery: we also review what they are doing on other key policy objectives, such as social value and carbon net zero.

Find out more

To find out more about the services and solutions offered, please visit our Logistics and Warehousing framework page. 

If you would like to speak to a category expert at CCS, please complete our short contact form and we will be in touch. You can also email us at info@crowncommercial.gov.uk or call us at 0345 410 2222.