Aggregations and eAuctions: how to take advantage of the public sector’s national buying power

NB: This article was originally published on 25 April 2022. All information was correct at the time of writing, but may not be fully applicable following the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023.

How can collective buying help public sector buyers get the best deal on goods and services? What is aggregation? What are eAuctions?

What are aggregations?

Aggregation really just means ‘collective buying’. It usually involves bringing together more than one organisation with similar needs to buy common goods and services from suppliers. It helps you achieve savings that would not be possible through individual buying.

Aggregation usually works best when there is no urgent procurement need and timescales are flexible, as it can take some time to get enough customers together to maximise collective buying power.

How does it work?

Suppliers on a suitable framework are given the opportunity to take part in the aggregation, offering their best price for goods and services collectively identified by the group of customers. Any organisation that is eligible to buy through CCS can join an aggregation.

Customers can also request that CCS organises aggregations for many additional goods and services, including common technology solutions such as software licences, mobile voice and data connections, and IT hardware. 

What kinds of goods and services can be bought through aggregations?

Aggregations work best with common goods or services that will attract more than one customer and supplier. 

When customers with similar needs aggregate their buying power, it encourages a wide range of suppliers to take part, reducing the cost of goods and services that do not require complex, bespoke solutions. There are also time and cost savings for buyers as the aggregation is managed by CCS. 

For example, we run quarterly aggregations for water and wastewater services. They are open to all public sector, non-residential premises in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Hundreds of customers take part, and have benefited from savings of up to 10% on their water bills.

We also run regular aggregations for technology goods and services. For example, last year 8 customers achieved an average of 81% savings (about £1.4 million) by joining a quarterly mobile voice and data services aggregation. A further 28 customers saved on average 36% (more than £7 million in total) on IT hardware in a local authority hardware aggregation.

More complex requirements, such as a contract for architectural services, may not be suitable for aggregation, since each customer will have distinct needs that are unlikely to be the same as other customers. 

In that situation, it makes more sense for customers to set out their individual needs to a range of suppliers on a framework.

What are eAuctions?

An electronic auction (eAuction) is an online procurement tool that allows potential suppliers to compete against each other to win contracts to supply goods and services. Suppliers bid against each other, in real time using web-based software, to offer the best price. 

eAuctions bring together similar needs from lots of public bodies and encourage suppliers to offer the most competitive pricing to win higher volumes of business. For instance, several schools could sign up to buy laptops through the same eAuction, through a CCS framework. Suppliers have multiple opportunities to bid, whereas a traditional tender only provides one opportunity.

Suppliers compete on price alone during an eAuction. Other criteria, such as quality and services levels, are agreed during earlier stages of the procurement. In some eAuctions a supplier’s quality and technical scores are combined with their bid price to determine the overall result.

During the auction suppliers know their ranking but not who they are bidding against. The eAuction typically lasts between 1 and 3 hours, but can last longer. Constantly updated screens show supplier rankings which are automatically recalculated as bids come in. Once the auction closes a contract is then signed with the winning supplier.

CCS manages eAuctions from start to finish, with a dedicated and experienced team on hand to guide you through the process. 

Our aggregation programme

We run dozens of aggregations every year, and it is free to take part. You can find out about upcoming aggregations on our website, as well as reading about the experiences of other customers who have taken part. For more information on taking part in aggregation opportunities contact our customer services team on 0345 410 2222 / info@crowncommercial.gov.uk. 

Find out more

Download our latest digital brochure for the latest information on our agreements and how we can help you add power to your procurement.

More: You can now find all of our Procurement Essentials articles in one place on our website. 

How our latest IT hardware aggregation saved customers up to 23% on tech products

The increase in working from home has caused a rise in demand for IT hardware for organisations across the public sector.

The pandemic has meant that budgets have been stretched like never before, that’s why it’s important for us to help our customers make the most of every penny they spend. Our aggregation team’s regular bulk buying opportunities allow us to provide you with the technology you need at the best price possible.

We benefit from competitive prices, discounts and favourable terms from suppliers. After taking the aggregated requirements to market, we can provide customers with contracts following a fully compliant tender exercise.

Contracts are delivered through further competitions using lot 2 of the Technology Products and Associated Services Framework.

This autumn’s IT hardware aggregation required the bulk buying of many different technologies such as: laptops and desktops; mice and keyboards, and tablets and iPads. In addition, services such as asset tagging were included.

The solution

Before the aggregation, we reached out to the public sector to understand the level of interest in the upcoming opportunity. From this, we were able to identify the minimum savings and ceiling prices that our customers could expect. Customers were then able to confirm how many items they wanted to buy, along with any required services, and state whether the items were necessary or optional by signing a call-off order form and letter of intent. We then ran the aggregation, identified the supplier who offered the best quality and price, and presented each customer with a standalone contract.

It normally takes around 6 weeks from customer confirmation to award.

The results

The total customer saving for this aggregation was more than £200,000, with an average saving of 15%. Despite the average, one customer benefitted from savings of over 23% on their equipment.

By bringing together a range of customers with similar needs, our aggregations help organisations harness bulk buying power to unlock greater savings.

Add power to your procurement with CCS

Taking part in an aggregation means we handle many of the usual procurement steps, saving you precious time and resources. We will draft all documentation, build the specification and run the procurement.

This is a fully managed service, provided and funded by us. It is a tried and tested approach that has delivered significant savings to the public sector.

Our next IT hardware aggregation (NFC148) is now open for expressions of interest from customers. You have until mid-June 2022 to submit your requirements, with a formal contract award set to take place in July 2022.

If you would like to take part, please complete our enquiry form quoting ‘NFC148 IT Hardware Aggregation’ in the comment box and a member of our team will be in touch.

Learn more about the framework on our Technology and Associated Services framework web page.

To find out more about aggregation with CCS, visit our aggregation web page or watch our Microsoft Licensing Aggregation webinar.

New partnership construction framework awarded with NHS

Construction Works and Associated Services 2 / ProCure23, recognises the importance of public sector construction as a key driver of economic recovery, providing health bodies in England with a new route to market for construction works and associated services, helping the UK to build back better. 

It adopts the principles of the Construction Playbook, rationalising frameworks in an innovative and collaborative approach between ourselves at CCS and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Lots 1-3 are specifically for healthcare projects in England, while lots 4 and 5 are available to all public sector bodies in the UK. The agreement will run alongside our existing Construction Works and Associated Services agreement which helps deliver a wide range of major and minor building and civil engineering projects of all values for the public sector,  helping our customers build everything from new schools and hospitals to prisons and houses.

This agreement will also support government policy of using construction of infrastructure and building to drive the market recovery following COVID-19.

John Welch, Deputy Director for Construction at CCS said:

The principles of this agreement continue on the same path as our existing ‘gold standard’ approach, increasing supply chain collaboration, boosting innovation, supporting the Government’s Carbon Net Zero target, and focusing even more strongly on building safety. I’m pleased that we’ve been able to collaborate successfully with our partners at the NHS, to help support Trusts in delivering their capital programmes as we build back better.

Simon Corben, Director of Estates and Facilities and Head of Profession at NHS England and NHS Improvement, said:

ProCure23 builds on almost two decades of success of ProCure as a route to market for NHS capital projects. The framework has been split into 3 lots to enable greater reach into all aspects of the NHS’s capital requirements, such as increasing our estate’s capacity through new builds, addressing backlog maintenance, or reconfiguring spaces to better meet the health and care needs of our local communities.

Let us bring power to your procurement

To find out more about our Construction Works and Associated Services 2 / P23 framework, please visit our the framework page. Or to speak to a member of our expert team, please complete our online form or call us on: 0345 410 2222.

You can also visit our construction webpage to learn more about our complete construction offering and check out our handy resources; from webinars, podcasts, to interactive guides – we’ve got you covered. 

8 customers save £1.4 million on mobile voice and data services

The requirement

Buying mobile voice and data services is often a routine purchase for many public sector customers. Varied contract end dates can often create a barrier to switching suppliers. 

Through our regular bulk buying opportunities, our aggregation team helps customers to achieve savings by combining their mobile voice and data requirements with other organisations. 

The contracts are delivered through further competitions run via lot 6 of Network Services 2 framework. 

The solution

In November 2021, 8 customers took part in our mobile voice and data aggregation, which are run 3 to 4 times per year. 

For each aggregation, we engage with the market to gauge interest in upcoming mobile voice and data aggregations. Based on approximate volumes, we identify minimum indicative savings and ceiling prices. These are guaranteed minimum savings that customers can expect to receive.

Our aggregation team runs the aggregation, identifies the supplier who is able to offer the best quality and price for the requirements, and presents each customer with a standalone contract.

The results

8 customers saved £1.4 million through joining the mobile voice and data aggregation – an average saving of 81%. 

5 of these customers had joined a previous aggregation, and despite the large savings achieved through their first aggregation, were still able to save a further 77%. 

Add power to your procurement with CCS

Taking part in an aggregation means many of the usual further competition procurement steps are handled by CCS, saving you time and resources. We draft all documentation, build the specification and run the procurement. 

This fully managed service is provided and funded by CCS and is a tried and tested approach which continues to achieve significant savings for the public sector. 

Our next mobile voice and data services aggregation (NFC145) is now open for expressions of interest from customers. You have until 3 May 2022 to submit your requirements, with a formal contract award set to take place in June 2022. 

Visit our aggregation web page to find out more and view our customer webinar. 

If you would like to take part, please complete our online form quoting ‘NFC145 mobile voice and data aggregation’ in the comment box and a member of our team will be in touch. 

Learn more about Network Services 2 via the web page.

Customer newsletters for April

Welcome to our monthly newsletters. You can read the latest news most relevant to the sector your 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 March

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 March  

Agreements extended in March

  • No agreements were extended in March

Agreements that expired in March 

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.

Changes to our frameworks 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.

Frameworks awarded in August

  • No frameworks were awarded in August

Frameworks extended in August 

Please note: the expiry dates on the framework pages will be updated shortly

Frameworks that expired in August 

  • No frameworks expired in August

Frameworks due to expire in the next 3 months

Further information

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

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.

Outsourcing transactional print and mail services led to a £1.6 million saving for the Student Loans Company

The requirement

In 2013 Student Loans Company (SLC) started a strategic programme of transformation. SLC started with an evaluation of the in-house facility providing transactional print and mail services, in order to explore outsourcing this function. SLC had never embarked on a business outsourcing on such a scale.

SLC print around 51 million images and produce and mail around 13.5 million packs per year with volumes that rise and fall with the academic intake. There are over 1,000 letter variants with data coming from 10 different systems. The letters are enclosed with one of 90 different envelope variants and 150 different inserts.

The long-term strategy of the project was to realise savings in the cost of staffing, technology and real estate while starting on a second phase transformation programme to simplify and rationalise complex processes.

Solution

SLC made the decision to use Lot 2 of our RM3785 Managed Print and Digital Solutions framework. The framework covers managed print products and services, including pre-production services, such as photo-retouching, secure printing, scanning, direct mail, storage and distribution.

Through the framework, Williams Lea proposed a solution delivered from a key operation centre in Livingston, West Lothian, which meant they could offer those getting made redundant the option to be considered for transfer to Williams Lea.

Williams Lea has championed continuous full-colour white paper Jetstream inkjet production for much of the transactional production, this method is very cost-effective and efficient while offering a fit for purpose quality of output.

The commercial proposal was formed to offer a scale of fees depending on the volume transacted through Williams Lea. This allows SLC to manage their future budgeting as they consider moving some communication to digital channels and with the introduction of any new products.

Williams Lea also arranged the sourcing of all raw materials including paper and envelopes. 

 They were able to offer a wide range of associated services available as part of a core print requirement providing a total print solution including Hybrid Mail and digital options.

Williams Lea manages the operational delivery of print requirements including supply chain sourcing and management through a designated Account Management Team based on supplier premises.  

Outcome

The services successfully went live in November 2014 following three phases of implementation. A flexible unit rate model gives SLC surety of pricing as well as protection if volumes increase or decrease.

The average pack price fell by 19.6% , which led to an estimated total of £1.3million in savings in the first year versus 2013/2014 budgeted total cost of ownership. The associated cost savings came through standardisation, rationalisation and aggregation of demand through Mailmark, Supply Chain Management and File Consolidation.

SLC benefited from this by bringing greater efficiency to the end-to-end process, including:

  • improved forecasting and reporting
  • adopting the most cost efficient method for automatic mail sortation
  • support to rebuild problematic letter templates
  • continual investment in production and infrastructure technologies
  • introduction of MailMark to benefit from reduced downstream mailing charges

This supported the SLC long-term strategy of the project in helping to realise savings in the cost of staffing, technology and real estate.

Let us bring power to your procurement

Our Print Management services framework offers the public sector an alternative to in-house services.

To find out how we can help you:

Discover how to use fire-resistant materials safely in your construction projects

There has never been a greater focus on the use of fire-resistant materials in the UK construction market. Since the wake of Grenfell, much legislation has been enacted and, of immediate importance to the building materials industry, was the establishment of a Construction Products Regulator (CPR). 

At CCS, we have taken account of this and included this legislation and anything future related into the fabric of our construction agreements. Whilst the CPR is still very much in its infancy, its establishment will transform the supply and certification of building materials over the coming years. The first real change will be the passing of the Building Safety Bill which is expected at some point this year. 

Whilst we are waiting for that bill to pass, we should consider other fire risks highlighted in inspections post-Grenfell, outlined in the article Post-Grenfell Inspections. Many risks with fire resistant materials involve cladding but the problems go beyond that with incorrect compartmentation, incorrectly fitted cavity barriers, lack of fire alarms and inadequate fire protection in the building frames.

It should be remembered that residential fires remain the number one cause of fire related deaths in the UK. In light of this the UK government introduced the Fire Safety Act 2021.

What safety measures should you take when using fire-resistant materials? 

Passive fire protection

This includes fire-resistant glass, fire doors, insulated walls and drywall. Whilst many see the primary purpose of fire doors as a means of escape, they are a crucial part of any building’s compartmentation strategy. When reinforcing them with either intumescent strips or a cold smoke seal, valuable minutes are added to fire resistance. The range of doors typically provides additional fire-resistant time of between 30 minutes to 1 hour although longer is possible.

Insulated walls can provide excellent fire suppression and this should be investigated thoroughly before deciding on your solution. This insulation can be battens, a blanket of mineral wool, fibreglass or stone wool insulation to achieve greater passive fire protection. Many of these solutions must be included at the initial build stage.

Whilst cavity walls are widely used to control moisture and to provide insulation they also pose a fire risk if due consideration is not given to cavity barriers or insulation.

A revision of the Fire Safety: Approved Document B outlines recommendations for buildings which states a cavity within a wall is acceptable so long as the wall is closed at the top and around any openings. Consideration must be given to the fire rating of any insulation boards and fire rated cavity closers.

Spray applied fireproofing, also known as sprayed fire-resistive material (SFRM), can be used as part of a building’s passive fireproofing strategy and can delay or prevent failure of steel and concrete structures exposed to high temperatures during a fire. Applied fireproofing is available as a wet or dry spray formula and can be troweled on. Modern formulas are asbestos-free.

Intumescent paints can be applied similarly and they provide between 30 to 120 minutes of fire protection depending on the specification and thickness of coatings. A large range of these paints are available via lot 4 of our Building Materials and Equipment framework, where we have leading paint suppliers in the UK. 

Flooring should be considered and consideration is given to BS 6853 and BS EN 13501-1 regarding flame retardants. Vinyl flooring is good for preventing the spread of fires and reducing hazards. Our flooring suppliers can provide fire-resistant flooring for most uses including commercial, residential or even industrial.

Active fire protection

Many active fire protection measures stray into the realms of construction activities, at which point you could use either our Construction Works and Associated Services (CWAS) framework or our Facilities Management framework. Measures could be fitting sprinkler systems or other methods of suppression and ventilation.

Looking specifically at building materials, the Greater Manchester High-Rise Task Force has recently imposed interim safety measures. These measures include additional fire alarms in high-rise buildings. You may want to consider this or even install combined fire/carbon monoxide alarms.

Through lot 1 of the Construction Works and Associated Services (CWAS) framework or our Facilities Management framework, you can procure fire extinguishers and associated fire fighting equipment. 

What support can our Building Materials and Equipment framework offer?

Through the 9 nine lots on our Building Materials and Equipment framework, there are many items that can be supplied, such as on lot 1, the one-stop-shop for the construction market, you can purchase the likes of spray fireproofing, fire resistant insulation, concrete, gypsum, stucco and bricks. You can also buy fire alarms and carbon dioxide monitors via lots 1 or via lot  3 – electrical products, where our specialist suppliers can sometimes add extra value. 

Similarly, as mentioned above, paint can be bought via lot 1 but lot 4 gives access to the UK market leaders in paint, offering in-depth specialist knowledge.

Let us bring power to procurement 

We understand that procurement can often be a complex process, particularly when finding the safety materials for your construction projects, that’s why our team of experts are on hand to guide you along your construction journey. 

All UK public sector bodies including NHS contracting authorities, local government, universities, charities and blue light services can use our construction frameworks.

 If you would like more information, please visit our website or get in touch to discuss your requirements:

A solution for the distribution of the Household Support Fund

The Voucher Schemes framework (RM6255) is available to help you quickly and efficiently set up voucher schemes to support citizens – particularly in times of need. It is very well suited to the distribution of the Household Support Fund, a central government fund to be used to support households in the most need with their food, energy and water bills. Advice from the Department for Work and Pensions states that local authorities “have the ability to deliver the scheme through a variety of routes including providing vouchers to households”.

The framework offers a fully managed service that includes the design, implementation and management of voucher schemes tailored to your specific needs – whether that is grocery or other retail vouchers for people in need or something simpler such as rewards for survey completions. Suppliers will work with you to put a scheme in place that meets the particular needs of you and your recipients. Local authorities are already using the framework to dispense vouchers for free school meals and fuel payments.

Why choose the framework?

Putting a voucher scheme in place through the framework has many advantages, including:

  • a fast and compliant route to market with a direct award option – a simple scheme can be set up in 2 to 3 weeks
  • discounts on the face value of the voucher based on the size and value of your scheme
  • no minimum scheme value required to use the framework
  • fast, secure voucher distribution 
  • vouchers are valid for a time period specified by you
  • unused or lost vouchers will be replaced or refunded
  • free helpline available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year

If you would like to offer vouchers for employee benefit, reward or recognition please take a look at our Employee Benefits framework (RM6133).

Let us bring power to your procurement

For more information on the framework and how to get started, visit the framework page on our website.

For further help, please get in touch:

  • call 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.