Is it time to review your organisation’s printing needs?

For many organisations, this is highlighting the need to understand their current Multifunctional Devices (MFD) estate as they look to move to a more digital hybrid way of working.

If it is time for your organisation to review its printing needs, lot 4 of our Multifunctional Devices agreement (RM6174), developed in partnership with YPO and ESPO, offers print consultancy services.

Reviewing and understanding your estate

For our customers, making the changes you need to ensure you have a fit for purpose estate can include:

  • auditing your current MFD estate
  • assessing print volumes pre- and post-Covid-19
  • reviewing your existing printing policy to make efficiencies

All of these activities can be time consuming for customers and not all organisations have the in-house expertise to do this effectively.

How can the agreement help?

Lot 4 for print consultancy services has been designed to help organisations that do not have the time and/or expertise to assess their current printing position and redesign a new strategy in line with more mobile ways of working.

Lot 4 has a number of independent vendor neutral suppliers who can provide print consultancy services to support you. The suppliers will use their knowledge and market expertise to help you through various steps from:

  • reviewing business strategies and printing policies
  • understanding your current MFD position, up to and including number and location of each device across your estate and historic and future printing volumes
  • reviewing printing policies
  • identifying process efficiencies and new digital solutions
  • technical specification drafting
  • evaluating tender responses

Find out more

To find out more about our printing services and how we can support you:

You can also download our digital brochure for full details of all our agreements.

Discover how we can support secure collections and asset recovery for the police and emergency services

At Crown Commercial Service (CCS) we understand that our police and emergency services customers need much more from a courier than delivering a package. That’s why we developed our Courier and Specialist Movements (RM6171) agreement. It enables customers not just to move packages from A to B, but also:

  • move valuable and high risk items in a secure and compliant way
  • generate value by reselling high value assets such as cars

Secure services

Lot 5 of the agreement offers a managed service for explosive substances (Class 1), firearms and weapons. This gives you access to suppliers that can arrange the secure collection, delivery and disposal of items such as:

  • firearms (sections 1,2 and 5)
  • explosives (UN Class 1)
  • weapons
  • controlled and illegal drugs

By using our agreement you can be confident that suppliers have the right certifications, licences and security in place. For example:

  • explosive certificates
  • section 5 firearm licences (issued by the Home Office)
  • vehicles fitted with Global Positioning Systems (GPS), immobilisers and alarms
  • lockable steel cages
  • temperature controlled vehicles
  • secure gun crates which are sealed to form an evidence chain
  • maintenance of the chain of custody

Asset recovery

Lot 6 offers a managed service for asset recovery to help customers generate money from assets that are no longer required, or have been confiscated or seized by law enforcement and need to be disposed of.

What is an asset?

An asset can be anything you own or have confiscated, from a mobile phone or electrical device to equipment and machinery. It can even be high capital value such as property, vehicles and land.

How can suppliers help?

Our suppliers can offer an end-to-end managed service for the removal of unwanted and seized assets of all sizes and weights. In addition, they can provide asset assessment, expert advice and alternative solutions for disposing of unwanted property.

They can manage the moving, recycling, reselling, donating or securely disposing of assets.

You can donate and recycle unwanted assets, helping to meet social value targets. Or, you can resell assets with secure transportation and storage, receiving part of the monetary value. A full audit trail is provided if the asset has to be destroyed.

Find out more

To find out more about our managed services for explosive substances and asset recovery, visit the Courier and Specialist Movements (RM6171) webpage or fill in our contact form.

If you would be interested in future webinars about the agreement fill in our contact form stating ‘RM6171 Courier and Specialist Movements webinar’ in the comments box.

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.

Bal Love | Assistant Category Manager – Courier & Logistics

Multifunctional Device agreement enables Xerox to support social value and create jobs

Updated: September 2023

Xerox is one of the suppliers on our Multifunctional Devices (MFDs), Print and Digital Workflow Software Services and Managed Print Service Provision (RM6174) agreement.

They are keen to participate in social value initiatives that support government corporate social responsibility policy. For example, through the Kickstart Scheme (now closed), which aimed to provide equal opportunity and help tackle economic inequality, they welcomed 20 individuals to their organisation. The scheme provided participants with the opportunity to gain invaluable experience within a leading multinational tech company. It has also enabled Xerox to fast-track the establishment of a new digital sales team by retaining rising talent from the programme and offering several individuals full-time positions.

The aim of the team is to support small to medium sized public bodies and make sure they get maximum benefit from the services available to them through the CCS framework.

Maryan, a digital sales executive who joined Xerox through Kickstart in November 2021, said:

The Xerox Kickstart team provided incredible support and guidance which I have massively benefited from. I joined the programme straight out of university and spent 6 months working as a sales enabler, which built a strong foundation and helped me learn a lot about the business. After completing the programme, I was glad to receive an offer for a full-time position as a digital sales executive. I am excited to continue furthering my professional development and supporting public sector organisations.

Zoe works for YPO who partnered with CCS to develop this agreement. She saw an immediate impact from having the Xerox team support public sector customers, and commented:

I have received calls from customers who have been contacted by the Xerox team wanting to discuss the framework. It is great to see that the team is supporting our customers so proactively.

You have the power to boost social value

To learn more about the services available through the agreement and how it can help your organisation achieve its social value objectives:

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 brochure.

Our new first of its kind agreement, specifically for big data and analytics services and software, goes live

 

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has launched a new agreement for big data and analytics services and software, which aims to support the public sector to improve data use, drive efficiency and improve services.

Big data and data-driven capabilities, such as artificial intelligence, is an evolving field which has come into sharp focus across the public sector following the pandemic. 

The new Big Data and Analytics [RM6195] agreement is the first CCS agreement to be solely dedicated to the procurement of data and analytics services and software. It will offer all public sector customers a central route to market, across a range of specialist suppliers. It has been developed in accordance with the National Data Strategy.

The framework’s scope will support a variety of customer needs – from niche reporting and analytics projects to complete data service transformations – to enable them to use data more efficiently. It’s just one of a number of agreements from CCS designed to help public sector customers tackle the issues and challenges involved in procuring technology solutions. 

50 suppliers have been awarded a place on the framework, 46% of which are SMEs. Big Data and Analytics will run for 2 years with the possibility of extending by a further 2 years. Call-off contract durations can be up to 5 years. 

Philip Orumwense, Commercial Director and Chief Technology Procurement Officer, Crown Commercial Service says: 

Data has the potential to transform our public services through enhanced productivity, helping to grow the economy.

This new framework will support the requirements of the government and the wider public sector as they continue to use data to innovate. It is yet another example of how CCS is helping the public sector to continue on its digital transformation journey.

Innovations

  • a simple 2 lot structure, encompassing a wide range of data and analytics capabilities in a single, consolidated framework
  • an evaluated pool of suppliers allowing customers to drive cost reductions and increase value for money through healthy competition
  • an optional capability ‘down-select’ mechanism to enable mini-further competitions under Lot 1, assisting with agile call-offs 
  • the new agreement aims to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to become suppliers, by enabling tier 1 suppliers to sub-contract, and therefore include SMEs in their supply chain
  • specific provisions to enable supplier knowledge transfer and help grow customers’ in-house capabilities 
  • public sector contracting terms and conditions create an easier, more flexible route to market, tailorable to customers’ specific operational needs

Lotting structure

The lots will comprise: 

Lot 1 – ‘Design, build and run’ professional services:

  • advanced analytics and cognitive
  • data management & acquisition 
  • data risking 
  • platforms services
  • reporting and dashboards 
  • search and discovery services

Lot 2 – Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software:

  • big data management
  • machine learning & artificial intelligence
  • reporting & analytics
  • data mining, risking & science
  • search and data discovery

Find out more

To find out more about Big Data & Analytics 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.

Changes to our agreements in August

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 August  

Agreements extended in August

Agreements that expired in August

  • No agreements expired in August

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.

New carbon monoxide legislation

New legislation is coming into force on 1 October 2022. 

  • both social and private landlords will be required to provide carbon monoxide alarms in any room of their properties used wholly or partly as living accommodation where a fixed combustion appliance is present (excluding gas cookers)
  • there will be a new obligation on all landlords to repair or replace any alarm which is found to be faulty during the period of a tenancy
  • landlords will be required to repair or replace alarms as soon as reasonably practicable
  • any landlord found to be in breach of these regulations could be fined up to £5,000 for each breach

How we can help

Our Building Materials and Equipment framework (RM6157) contains 6 of the UK’s leading electrical distributors including City Electrical Factors, Edmundson Electrical, Huws Gray, Rexel, RS Components and Yesss Electrical.

The framework uses a priced core list, meaning you can buy monoxide and smoke alarms at prices that will be held until July 2023.

You can direct award based on the most commercially advantageous solution or, depending on your requirement, you may prefer to run a further competition. We can assist with either through an Expression of Interest (EOI) or a Request for Quotation (RFQ) on your behalf. 

A further competition for larger quantities is always recommended as you will benefit from discounts based on region and volumes that are generally not contained within pricing lists for single items.

Find out more

Visit the agreement page or ask a question through our online form.

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.

Period of National Mourning: a message for CCS customers and suppliers

It is with deep sadness that we learn of the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

Crown Commercial Service is currently following the mourning guidance and the responsibilities of government departments. 

From today, Friday 9 September, until the day after the funeral, we will be in a period of National Mourning. During this time there will be some important changes to our commercial activity within CCS. 

Firstly, all public-facing activities such as customer and supplier events will be postponed until after the period of National Mourning ends. 

Our Customer Service Centre will remain open to support customers and suppliers. We have also paused all communications on commercial activity (for example, framework awards, publication of PINs) except that which is most urgent, for the period of National Mourning. Business-as-usual contact with CCS which does not take place in a public forum will continue.

If you have any other concerns or queries that you would like guidance on, please contact the customer service centre on 0345 410 2222 or email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk  

 

Simon Tse

Chief Executive Officer, Crown Commercial Service

 

Tips for smoother travel during disruption

Travel was one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic with widespread job losses.  Booking suppliers are now facing recruitment challenges and as a result, many suppliers have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Many customers have reported facing difficulty when trying to contact their booking supplier by telephone and waiting considerable lengths of time to get through to speak to someone. We want to make you aware of some of the challenges and pressures that the industry is facing and share our top tips to make your travel plans easier during this time.

Cancellations and staff shortages

Prior to the pandemic, many customers were using self-booking tools for the majority of their booking activity. Currently, customers are nowhere near those levels. The increase in telephone bookings and enquiries adds to the difficulty of speaking to booking suppliers.

In recent weeks, large-scale disruptions caused by airline flight cancellations, staff shortages at airports and strikes on the UK rail network have placed considerable strain on travel booking suppliers.

Hotel payments

There have also been occasional reports of challenges around payment for hotel stays where customers use Billback, or prepayment set up by the booking supplier. There are cases of hoteliers facing recruitment challenges following the pandemic and there are many new staff in place. Despite the conscientious efforts of booking suppliers to ensure that Billback and prepayment have been set up, there are still too many travellers arriving at properties only to be told they have to pay. This can be very distressing for those involved, but in many cases, it is not the fault of the booking supplier. CCS is continuing to work with travel suppliers to resolve these glitches in the process.

Top tips to follow

Where travel is essential, to help you and your fellow travellers have the smoothest possible booking experience please note the following top tips: 

  • Where possible, do not use the telephone to make new bookings. Instead, use the online booking tool provided. Only the most complicated multi- air routings and rail itineraries should need to be booked over the phone
  • If you are unsure of how to use the online tool, take advantage of any training provided by the booking supplier. If there are no current sessions available, each supplier provides intuitive guides to using the online tools that are easy to follow.   
  • If your flight is not imminent (i.e.within the next 4 weeks) please do not contact your agent to check if your flight has been cancelled. Situations are changing frequently and your agent will proactively contact you if there is any change to your booking
  • If you are booked on a train in the future when no strike date has been announced, please do not call your agent to ask if the train is running. Until a strike date is announced and the train operating company publishes whatever timetable may be operating, the booking supplier will not know
  • If you have booked accommodation using either prepayment or Billback, ensure you have all proof of payment documentation with you. If your booking supplier recommends using a Mobile APP for payment confirmation such as Conferma, ensure you have it downloaded to either your work or personal mobile, as this will enable you to present proof of payment

If you should experience any issues with your booking service that are beyond reasonable in the context of the information given above, it is vital that these are addressed with your travel booking supplier.  This can be done directly or via the relevant contract manager in your department or organisation.   

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 commercial agreements brochure.

Finance and funding options

Customers have two options with electric vehicle (EV) Charging implementation: 

  • Supplier Funded
    • advantages: majority or fully supplier funded (installation and chargepoint). The supplier is responsible for all aspects including uptime, payment handling and maintenance.
    • disadvantages: lengthy sole-supplier agreements (15 Years), limited or no control over the tariff, no access to usage data, limited or no share in profit
  • Buyer Funded
    • advantages: full control over tariff and ability to adjust, back-end payment handling and maintenance can be subcontracted as managed service, full retention of profit.  This route opens up shorter duration contracts to manage the authority owned asset, providing greater flexibility in a rapidly evolving sector
    • disadvantages: buyer must fund the project, and support procurement of supporting services.

Grant funding is available through a number of avenues; however, where this is not an option or has been fully utilised, the CCS Asset Finance Solution should be considered.

The solution provides the public sector with the ability to seek private sector financing – not private sector investment. The asset and operation remain fully with the public sector customer. Through sourcing third-party financing from the diverse set of financial institutions on the Leasing and Loan Finance DPS via a further competition, customers can be certain they are getting the best deal possible.

Where the resource or knowledge to run a further competition on the finance for EV charging isn’t available, customers can use a specialist leasing advisor on the Leasing Advisory Services Framework to outsource an Options Appraisal and the running of a further competition on the Leasing and Loan Finance DPS. 

Take a look at our agreements to find the full range of possibilities: 

Let us bring power to your procurement

To learn more about how we can help you reach net zero across your organisation, visit our Carbon net zero web page. If you have any questions, we are here to help – contact the team.

Supply constraints in the fleet industry

Market conditions

Automotive industry

The automotive industry is continuing to experience challenging conditions which are affecting the availability and supply of vehicles. In a recent poll Fleet News suggests 94.4% of responders have experienced delays in ordering new cars and vans.

The initial causes were shortage of semiconductors and other materials used in vehicle production and the disruption to supply chains caused by COVID-19. In 2020, global vehicle production shrank by nearly 16% compared to 2019. 2021 saw a year on year growth of 3% (around 80 million vehicles), signalling some recovery.

However, since 2021 problems have been exacerbated by increases in energy prices and further reduction of the automotive parts market due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.  

Semiconductor supply 

The semiconductor supply issue is set to continue throughout 2022, with the automotive industry being severely affected. Two years of low production rates has led to an unprecedented backlog of demand for new cars and lengthy and dramatic increases in delivery timescales. 

General predictions from the market are that semiconductor supply into the automotive industry may not stabilise until 2024.

The effect of market conditions 

The market conditions are affecting all fleet acquisition options, with vehicle hire suppliers being disproportionately and severely affected by the general vehicle shortage. During the first year of the pandemic, suppliers reduced their fleet levels to match much lower demand. 

How this is effecting vehicles rental companies

Now that demand has risen to pre-pandemic levels, suppliers do not have enough vehicles to fulfil all orders. Rental companies are the least profitable market for vehicle manufacturers, well behind retail and fleet purchasing or leasing. As such, they will be the last to recover in terms of the supply of new vehicles within their fleets. It is estimated that companies are currently paying 30-40% more for vehicles now than they were in 2019. 

Where a single manufacturer may have supplied 20,000 vehicles into the rental market, nowadays it’s more like 200. This is directly affecting the vehicles rental companies have to offer, running at a turndown rate of 25-30% across the industry. Rental companies are taking strategic decisions to divert available vehicles to retail, rather than fleet. 

Optimum utilisation rates are around 88-90%, leaving room for some further vehicles to be out of use due to maintenance and turnaround of vehicles. More recently, the industry has seen utilisation around 92% and an unusually high number of vehicles being off road for maintenance, at around 8%, due to their increasing age of operation. This average of 100% total utilisation is resulting in the high level of vehicle turndowns. 

What can public sector fleets do to manage the constrained supply?  

Work with suppliers

Work closely with any appointed fleet management or lease providers to help you get a wider understanding of fleet operators. Have regular discussion with your fleet suppliers to better understand the pressures they are facing. In addition, keep them up to date on your priorities. By doing this your needs and their solutions are likely to be better matched.

Be pragmatic

Ask yourself if your contract and expectations for service levels and credits are realistic. Understand what your suppliers are doing to ensure they meet your requirements, and if they fall short, understand why that is. 

You may want to consider additional, contingency style contracts, but bear in mind that this is a whole market situation. If you agree to a temporary easing of these service levels, be sure to agree to a future date at which you will seek to reinstate them, testing whether the market is ready. 

Be flexible

When planning new vehicle purchases, leases or hires, allow as much time as possible to work with the suppliers and inform them of your needs. When hiring vehicles in particular, you may need to be more flexible on delivery or collection, or the category of vehicle you can accept. 

Be mindful of market changes

For purchases and leases of new vehicles specifically, be aware that due to extended lead times currently being experienced (often around 12 months) manufacturer’s retail prices may change before vehicle delivery. This may be due to changes in manufacturing costs and/or currency fluctuations. This does not necessarily mean an increase to your purchase/lease costs, but it will cause a cost pressure through the supply chain. Our advice is to work closely with your suppliers to understand the position for your vehicles.   

Review your travel policy

Take a holistic view of your transport options, using appointed or in-house teams to help inform this. Your travel policy will advise when is best to use public transport, pooled vehicles, hired vehicles or grey fleet, for example. 

Reach out to your network

Use your fleet network to share experiences and support one another. 

How can we help?

As commercial experts we can offer advice on ways to improve the fleet supply and service situation across the public sector. 

To find out how we can help get in touch or visit our Fleet Portal for more support and solutions:

Fill in our online form

Call 0345 410 2222

Email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Explore our web pages

You can also download our digital brochure for full details of all our agreements.