5 tips to help with your commercial move

At Crown Commercial Service (CCS) we understand that relocating offices can be one of the most stressful things you have to do. We recognise that, at some point, estate managers will be asked to support or arrange a commercial move. Whether you are looking to move to an office, a clinical ward or warehouse, our subject experts have the knowledge and skills to help you make moving as stress-free as possible.You can access commercial removals and relocations through our Logistics and Warehousing (RM6074) framework.

We have used our knowledge and experience to put together 5 tips that we recommend you consider when managing a commercial relocation. 

Tip 1: communication is key

How you communicate the news that you’re moving can have a significant impact on the reaction of your stakeholders. 

Many people are impacted by a commercial move, including: 

  • employees: either positively or negatively moving can have an impact on personal arrangements such as the school-run, using public transport and travel expenses 
  • public relations: your clients/customers will need to know when and where you will be moving to. Not communicating this effectively can severely impact the response you get back from the public, suppliers and other external stakeholders – they will need to understand the details of the move and how it will affect the commercial relationship they have with you 

The news should be communicated as early as possible, in as much detail as possible. This will help prevent misinformation and assumption. To ensure all stakeholders are kept up to date we recommend:

  • a shared calendar detailing the dates and deadlines of the move for employees
  • a move newsletter or weekly email round-up for employees, customers and other stakeholders dedicated space on your employee intranet and external website for move related updates
  • regular all staff catch-ups 
  • a working group of move champions who can share details of the move and collect feedback from their teams

As part of the communication process, it’s also important that people understand why the move is happening and how it will positively affect them individually, as well as the business as a whole. 

Tip 2: plan early

Planning your relocation  should be the first step in your moving journey.  Clarify the move deadline and work backwards, establishing a clear timeline of activities and communications needed. 

Consider the services of a relocation company early in your planning to ensure you set realistic budgets and timelines. . We recommend contacting the removal specialist 6 months in advance of the move so that you can arrange a site visit to provide an accurate quote.

Tip 3: set a clear, detailed and realistic budget (and stick to it!)

There are many different considerations in a commercial move and these can impact the most carefully planned budgets. If you are considering sourcing the services of a relocation specialist, they can advise on items to consider and help you to set a realistic budget that you can stick to. Our suppliers recommend that you consider: 

  • insurance premiums
  • fire assessments
  • fit-out expenses
  • cabling and IT relocation charges
  • new furniture installation 
  • removal and disposal of unwanted fittings
  • handling of specialist or high-value items
  • hiring an experienced project manager

When setting your budget, consider the addition of a buffer to account for unforeseen complications. A 15% flexibility should cover any unexpected costs. Likewise, a similar approach should be taken when setting your timelines. 

When moving, your tenancy may place a responsibility on you for refurbishing the space you are vacating. It’s worth considering this at the planning stage and consulting the terms of your tenancy agreement to be sure of your obligations. 

Tip 4: moving office IT

IT relocation can be one of the most complicated parts of a commercial move. Every colleague in the business has their own specifications, which will need to be replicated in the new location. You will likely need to be moving services, workstations, telephone systems and any other ICT equipment that is housed in your current premises. If you are engaging the services of a professional relocation contractor, this will be one of the areas they can support you with. 

Also consider how you will protect your data during the move. Damage to hard drives or servers could potentially result in the loss of valuable data with financial or legal General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) implications. It’s therefore important to ensure that all data is carefully and securely backed up to prevent data loss. 

Tip 5: arrange site visits

Site visits can be very useful if you are planning to engage the services of a professional relocation contractor. Site visits allow the consultancy to better understand the context of the move, such as:

  • access to the building, road infrastructure, congestion, vehicle height and weight restrictions, parking, tolls and congestion charges
  • internal access such as the size, number and availability of goods lifts, fixtures and fittings that may act as obstacles

Other factors to consider

It’s also important to consider which internal stakeholders will need to attend a site visit. It’s a good idea to bring along heads of department that may be impacted by the move. There will inevitably be questions raised by the consultancy that your stakeholders may be better placed to answer. 

How we can support your commercial move

Lot 4 of our Logistics and Warehousing framework provides access to 6 suppliers that can provide a range of specialist relocation and removal services. 

How can we help?

If you would like to find out more, please fill in our contact form  and quote Logistics and Warehousing.  You can also join our customer forum.

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.

Sam Hunt | Category Manager | Logistics and Warehousing

Customer newsletters for November

Welcome to our monthly newsletters. You can read the latest news most relevant to the sector you work in by selecting the appropriate link below:

If you don’t currently receive our monthly customer newsletter, you can sign up by completing this short form. Each month, we’ll send you the newsletter most relevant to you, based on your organisation.

You will 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 November

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 November  

Agreements extended in November

Agreements that expired in November

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.

Closing the digital skills gap to support digital transformation

Digital transformation has gained enormous momentum over the past decade, and has accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The future delivery of public services will rely heavily on digital platforms and channels that broadly reach UK citizens efficiently. 

The demand for skilled people in the digital industry is higher than what the market can provide, which is challenging for public sector organisations. This has led to organisations investing significant effort in internal skill development initiatives, whilst recruiting from a decreasing external talent pool. Many organisations are in a continuous cycle of resource issue management, increased delivery timescales and rising costs. 

If a public sector organisation fails to develop and retain digital skills, their digital transformation journey will slow, increasing costs in the longer term. Having a digital skills workforce strategy needs to be a priority and we can help support that.

What are digital skills?

Our public services rely on information technology (IT) which requires digital skills to design, implement, operate and support. The UK government has encouraged a standard approach to defining these skills, based on the global framework standard, Skills For an Information Age (SFIA). This has been adapted into the Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework (DDaT). 

By defining the capability and competence of each of the digital skill and role types, it helps an organisation to easily assess their digital skill maturity and identify areas of weakness or lack of skills. They can then develop a response to minimise disruption to digital transformation. 

How does an organisation retain digital skills?

In a competitive market, where demand for digital skills is high and supply is limited, retaining existing skills is important for an organisation. The development of a workforce strategy is essential to provide individuals opportunities for:

  • career progression
  • challenging and interesting work
  • bringing new technology concepts and skills training
  • encouraging innovation, setting challenges for teams to solve together rather than individually. 

Additionally, IT leaders need to:

  • develop an IT neurodiversity talent strategy with human resources
  • look beyond typical IT functions, where business, functional, and service owners can become part of your digital skills workforce

Insourcing of digital skills

Insourcing of digital skills is an effective way to improve existing capability and provides greater flexibility in responding to varying business and service demands. You can achieve this through a variety of commercial engagements and approaches.

Contingent labour 

Individual or team insourcing of specific resources which integrate into existing teams. Whilst they may fill gaps, it tends to be at junior levels and more generic in capability. This approach has significant benefits in terms of flexing the existing workforce but it can lead to reliance on external labour. This can result in increased cost and ineffectiveness due to high staff turnover and the continuous onboarding of new staff. Our Public Sector Resourcing agreement can help you source suitable contingent workers.

Digital specialists

For specific digital skills and competence where more senior capability, specialists are needed. Working either individually or as a project team, digital specialists can be used to enhance or bridge a gap in digital skills fundamental to a successful project or service delivery. Our Digital Specialist and Programmes (DSP) agreement has a capability tested set of suppliers, capable of providing resources aligned to the DDaT framework. This gives you the ability to develop strategic partnership relationships with suppliers to improve services through longer term contracts. 

Digital outcomes

The use of a third party to achieve an outcome is often used where a business problem can be clearly identified. Outcome based contracts still need to be managed carefully in terms of scope, cost and change management. However, it has the advantage of transferring delivery responsibility to a third party. Our Digital Outcomes agreement provides access to a large market of suppliers, capable of delivering these services. 

Digital services for public health

Development and operations (devops) services are available for public health and other social care organisations, looking for ongoing minor improvements of live services using the Digital Capability for Health agreement. This also gives you data management services for performing data collection, data processing and analysis and management of data and services.

Off-the-shelf solutions

Similar to outcomes, but the skills gap can be dealt with by off-the-shelf solutions. These solutions are often provided as a service, meaning they can be scaled and bought in sufficient quantities and with enough flexibility to meet the requirement. These solutions will provide the digital capability to perform certain DDaT functions where you may not wish to invest further. Examples include finops, cloud monitoring and management and service management. Agreements such as G-Cloud, Cloud Compute, Crown Hosting and Technology Product and Associated Services can all be used to procure these types of solutions.

Artificial intelligence and automation

Supporting the UK’s National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy, we have commercial agreements that you can use to access AI and automation services that are compliant with industry standards and guidelines. There are component services and solutions which can reduce reliance on digital skills and increase business value and improve service quality. These include:

  • AI consultancy
  • research and support
  • augmented decision making
  • automation
  • natural language processing
  • imaging and computer vision

However, multiple skills are needed to develop, validate and deploy AI systems. The commercialisation and product journey can also be longer and expensive. A workforce strategy will also need to be in place to develop or augment these skills.

Let us help you with your digital skills requirements

Our dedicated commercial specialists have deep category knowledge and can help you to understand your organisation’s requirements. They can provide appropriate buyer guidance to support your digital workforce strategy. 

To find out more about how we can help you start or move forward on your journey to developing digital skills, get in touch:

Overcoming the fear of change – transitioning your legacy applications

Legacy applications are a growing issue

Digital transformation isn’t just a current ‘buzz phrase’ – it is a necessity as more and more public sector organisations realise their estate is becoming increasingly clogged due to legacy systems. As well as the mounting cost to operate and maintain these systems, usually they go hand in hand with problems such as the inability to access and use the data they hold, concerns regarding their security and vulnerability to cyber attacks. 

Despite the growing amount of guidance and policy, and the huge benefits that could be realised (including data access, integration, innovation and automation), fear of change as well as cost of change and resource availability remain blockers to transformation.

The good news is that there are options to help you overcome these challenges without a significant drain on resources and budget. Many of our customers have been through this process and, as a result, we can now share best practice and helpful contacts with other organisations that want to embrace the benefits of digital transformation.  

For local government specifically, there are options available for further resources and support, such as the Local Digital community, Socitm and the local CIO Council. In addition, there are various CCS groups and forums, such as the Software Buyers Group, Regional Communities of Practice, and the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Buyers’ Community of Practice, which is itself supported by an online group at Government Commercial Function’s (GCF) Knowledge Hub. Although it can still seem an overwhelming undertaking, these groups, along with our procurement support and guidance mean that the journey can start without a huge commitment of resources, and a clearer picture of timelines and resource required can be built far easier than in the past.

Steps to a successful transition

Often the key to a successful transition of legacy systems is understanding which systems can just be migrated, and which need to be replaced or retired. A combination of pre-market engagement with suppliers and engagement with these forums can take the sting out of the work required for this discovery phase. It is important to start by asking the following questions about your legacy estate: 

  • is the system part of your technology road map?
  • will it continue to be useful? 
  • are there advantages to moving it to the cloud? 
  • does it need to integrate with other systems? 
  • what are the training repercussions? 

Answering these questions will put you in a strong position to prioritise how you proceed and give a clear steer on your desired outcomes as you begin your transformation journey.

Assessing the system or application might not be as arduous as it first appears – several cloud hosting providers can provide migration tools and assessment toolkits free of charge. If you choose to migrate rather than replace, it’s important to avoid easy ‘lift and shift’ migration options that will leave you with higher operational costs and potentially unnecessary data charges. If moving to the cloud is the main focus of your transition, it’s worth checking out our recent news story on helping the public sector move to the cloud.

Replacing legacy systems can certainly be a daunting outcome , but you are not on your own. We also have a new series of articles to help you overcome common hurdles, understand key concepts, and make your life as a buyer of common goods and services easier. Take a look at our Procurement Essentials articles, particularly on pre-market engagement.

Avoiding lock-in

Supplier lock-in is regularly discussed, but it is not always easy to avoid. The golden rule is to discuss exit strategy early, and ensure the costs of exiting or changing supplier are clearly laid out in your procurement contract before finalising it. Tips on transitioning to cloud are relatively easy to find and include: 

  • make sure applications are portable
  • check that you will own your data
  • discuss withdrawal and avoiding excess data charges
  • explore multi-vendor strategies

It is more difficult to avoid lock-in for software when you need to navigate the tricky road of intellectual property, end-user training, security and integration with other systems. However, similar guidance to above is relevant and can help you avoid a lot of issues. It is vital that a new system is checked in advance to ensure that data added is accessible and portable.  

When considering different marketplace options, a joined up IT and procurement team can be incredibly effective. Taking this approach means that procurement evaluation can include detailed questions on the underlying software such as open source, ongoing maintenance, free added value service, and how much of the training and skills required to use and operate the software is transferable to other systems. A strong link between the 2 teams can also help build a clear technological roadmap. This enables the procurement team to evaluate for future development opportunities including integration with other systems that are being replaced or migrated, ability to run on multiple platforms or operating systems, and suitable user access using virtual desktops.

Find out more

To find out more about how we can support you with other areas of digital transformation, download our new guide. You can also visit our dedicated local government digital transformation web page. 

You can explore some of the funding available for organisations looking to digitally transform using specific vendors on our Technology Memorandum of Understanding webpage. We currently have opportunities across cloud, software, technology products and services and networks. If you would like to have a discussion with our team, please get in touch by completing our online form quoting ‘Technology MoU’ and we will get back to you.

Call for evaluators for Cloud Compute 2

We are looking for a group of evaluators to support the  Cloud Compute 2 (RM6292) invitation to tender (ITT) and framework development. 

Cloud Compute 2 will replace Cloud Compute (RM6111) ensuring public sector organisations can fulfil their public cloud computing needs directly from cloud service providers.

Evaluators are an important part of the procurement process and, in addition to playing an important role within CCS, becoming an evaluator counts towards your corporate contribution, and is encouraged in departments across the Civil Service.

We welcome evaluators from across the whole of the public sector. If you are interested in getting involved please register your interest by emailing info@crowncommercial.gov.uk  with FAO Jamie Horton, Category Manager, Cloud and Hosting Team: RM6111 evaluation in the subject line. Please let us know: 

  • your name
  • email
  • telephone
  • organisation
  • location
  • availability

The estimated timelines and requirements you need are:

  • January 2023: ITT release 
    • no requirement
  • early-mid March 2023: evaluator training provided by CCS
    • This one off training will take up no more than a few hours, with the opportunity to ask questions or for support throughout the process
  • w/c 6 March 2023:  selection stage evaluation
    • an estimated maximum of 35 hours – but likely closer to 10 hours – will be needed
  • w/c 27 March 2023: selection stage consensus 
    • allow 1-2 days
  • w/c 10 April to 2 May 2023: technical evaluation
    • during this time period it is estimated you will need a maximum of 35 hours (less in some cases or if fewer bids received)
  • w/c 15 May 2023: technical consensus 
    • an estimated 1-2 days per evaluator

Helping procurement colleagues come together

Eddie Gibson had only been with CCS for a fortnight when lockdown began, but in his role as a strategic business manager he was able to call on his previous extensive local government procurement experience to quickly find ways to offer additional support to local authorities across the eastern region.

He set up a weekly conference call so they could share their experiences and concerns. Heads of Procurement from local authorities across the region welcomed the idea and were soon onboard. 

Collaborating on common needs

Small groups were able to link up their common needs over issues as diverse as mothballing leisure centres, sourcing food parcels and supporting local charities.

Understanding CCS’s COVID-19 response activity and how it could help them was also welcomed. The food and household goods supply agreement with 3 large wholesalers, the rapid response service set up with Travis Perkins for urgent access to building materials and supplies and the supplier catalogue of offers are just a few examples.

Resolving issues

The calls are also helping identify issues that need to be addressed by other departments, such as MHCLG and Cabinet Office. This has included the need for specific guidance on paying supplier relief to construction contractors under PPN02/20 and clarity on the PPE supply process through Local Resilience Forums.

Clare Rose, Susan Latham and Eddie Gibson from the eastern region team have been praised for their efforts. Sean Missin, Procurement Officer at South Cambridgeshire District Council said:

I believe that this displays the very best of Crown Commercial Service, its personnel and its ability to bond the country together in a time of crisis. Just as importantly, this is a great reflection on you all personally and demonstrates the commitment and the passion that you put into what you do.

As we now move to the recovery phase the calls will continue and engagement from the local authorities remains high. 

How we can help you

This is just one example of the type of work we are doing with many customers across the UK. If you are not part of such a group and would like to discuss establishing or joining a group in your region to support local recovery, please get in touch with your regional lead:

Democratising data and analytics for the public sector

Embracing this potential requires fresh thinking, data democratisation and the right tools for the job. 

What is data democratisation?

Data democratisation is the process of making digital information accessible to both technical and non-technical users across an organisation. 

A key efficiency made possible from data and analytics is faster, more accurate and more relevant decisions in what can be very complex contexts. So it’s no surprise to see data being placed at the core of organisations with an emphasis on its democratisation to capitalise on that. 

How CCS can help

Our new Big Data and Analytics (RM6195) agreement supports the public sector in placing data in the driving seat. It will also help reduce the UK data literacy gap, which has occurred as a result of a dramatic rise in demand for data skills as organisations strive to embrace new technology and move towards data-rich environments. Read our blog by category experts to find out how we’re supporting the public sector to improve data use, drive efficiency and improve services.

The agreement’s launch is timely, firmly supporting the government’s need for efficiency and value for money. It also supports the direction set within the National Data Strategy to transform public services through better use of data.

This ‘first of its kind’ agreement offers customers a central route to market for all their data and analytics requirements. By offering a range of buying options and pricing mechanisms, buyers can make choices to suit their organisation’s specific needs. This means you and your procurement colleagues can reduce the time taken to run each procurement, ensuring value for money for the commercial outcome, as well as the procurement process itself.

Supporting growth of data and analytics capabilities and functions 

The agreement’s terms – coupled with a specialist supplier ecosystem – enables improved knowledge transfer between incumbent suppliers and buyers by setting these expectations up front. This combination is intended to support growth of data and analytics capabilities and functions across the UK public sector. By way of an example, a local council could access professional services through a blended team that allows consultants to work with and upskill internal staff. If required within the procurement’s specification, the supplier providing the requirement will also be responsible for ensuring a full briefing and handover of the changes made to the appropriate employee within the authority. By upskilling existing staff, the organisation is increasing its in-house data capabilities.

Want to find out more? Our data and analytics category experts are here to help

We’re here to help you select the most suitable products and services for your individual needs. 

Changes to our agreements in October

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 October  

Agreements extended in October

Agreements that expired in October

  • No frameworks expired in October

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.

Join our aggregated contract by 2 December 2022, for support distributing cost of living funding

Following on from our update in August, a procurement through our Payment Solutions framework has been completed, with a contract awarded to i-movo Limited to use their Paypoint solution for a funds disbursement service. It will offer a cost-effective way to issue cash or energy credits to citizens by email, letter or SMS. The barcoded vouchers can be redeemed at over 28,000 retailers across the UK.

To take advantage of this service all you need to do is complete a call-off order form with the supplier before 2 December 2022*.

The supplier is also able to offer additional optional services** such as payment direct to the citizen’s bank account. 

The call-off order forms

You can download the call-off order forms from our website in the documents section (view the customer guidance to help you decide which one(s) you will need for your requirement) or email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk to request a copy. Please reference Local Authority Fund Disbursement Aggregation in the subject title.

Customer webinar 

CCS and i-movo Limited will be running a customer webinar from 10.00 am to 11.00 am on Tuesday 15 November, where you can learn more about the benefits and the process. Register for the webinar.

Additional opportunities

We also wanted to let you know about 2 further solutions that will be available from 2 December 2022, to support the disbursement of funds to citizens:

Prepaid cards

Prepaid cards enable you to issue an individual with a prepaid debit card that is ready for 1 time instant use, or is reloadable. The card is pre-funded and can provide accessible payment options, such as ATM withdrawals and online purchases. 

Closed loop vouchers – grocery and non-grocery

An end-to-end retail voucher scheme with suppliers who can provide closed-loop vouchers, also known as gift cards, for multiple retailers. This means that the merchant (retailer) who issues the voucher redeems the voucher. 

You will have the option to directly award to a supplier for either of these options. 

For further information about them please email info info@crowncommercial.gov.uk, referencing RM6248 Cost of Living in the subject title.

* The call-off is available for immediate use and will expire on 2 December 2024. As the RM3828 Payment Solutions framework expires on 2 December 2022, you and i-movo Limited will need to have signed an order form by then, to ensure you have a compliant call-off in place to use over the next 24 months. You can specify the effective start date of your call-off contract but only local authorities who complete the order form with i-movo Limited by 2 December 2022, will be able to access the services. The order form will be removed from our website after this date.

** We have evaluated the core service as outlined above only. Additional optional services have not been evaluated and should be discussed with i-movo Limited.