The latest technology aggregation opportunities to help you buy smarter

Are you looking to buy IT hardware such as laptops, desktops or mobile phones, or do you need to renew your Adobe software license? By simply telling us about the technology you need to buy, we can help you achieve savings through technology aggregation that would not be possible through buying alone. 

We do this by collating your requirements with the requirements of other public sector bodies, which increases our buying power. 

Best of all, it’s a complimentary service that we offer to help you focus on other, more important tasks. 

Take a look at our upcoming opportunities and discover how you can get involved.

IT hardware aggregation

What you buy from our IT hardware aggregation:

  • laptops, desktops, tablets, hybrid devices
  • monitors, screens
  • docking stations, USB hubs and device components
  • covers, cases, keyboards, mice and other peripherals
  • mobile handset devices and other mobile devices
  • end user support, asset tagging, leasing
  • infrastructure hardware, system installation

Customers saved an average of 21% in our  latest IT hardware aggregation against market prices. With one customer making savings of 31%. Read our case study to find out more. 

Programme of events

Autumn 2021 IT hardware aggregation:

customer requirement deadline 30 September 2021
tender published mid October 2021
tender period mid to late October 2021
award date  3 November 2021
goods delivered 8 November 2021 to 8 November 2022

Adobe Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) 

The Adobe ETLA is a long-standing arrangement that provides heavily discounted enterprise level Adobe pricing. 

Products available include both online and offline versions of their cloud product set, including the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite.

There are quarterly opportunities for you to access the associated discounts. For the upcoming intake, orders need to be submitted via the catalogue by 10 September 2021, and will have a contract start date of 24 September 2021. 

Customers can access the pricing and generate quotes and orders using our Technology Online Purchasing Content catalogue. The catalogue entry description will reference the ‘Adobe ETLA’.

Let us add power to your procurement 

If you would like to learn more about these opportunities, please complete our online form quoting ‘IT hardware aggregation’ or ‘Adobe software ETLA,’ and a member of our team will be in touch.

Alternatively, you can call us on 0345 410 2222.

The Northern Skills Academy becomes national

The Northern Skills Academy was piloted as a virtual platform to share knowledge at the start of the first coronavirus lockdown, in March 2020.

With many of our customers facing issues driven by coronavirus, the sessions initially provided clarity on how to compliantly extend contracts to get through the lockdown period and ensure continuity of service. Since then, we have delivered sessions on topics including good record keeping, contract management and cyber security.

While the name reflected the role of our northern customer community in building the scheme, over the past 18 months, we have been delighted to welcome registrations from customers spanning the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. 

We now feel it’s time to formally recognise this is now a truly nationwide offering and, from November, change the name to the Skills Academy.

 What you can expect  

As a regular attendee of the Skills Academy, you should simply see a branding change. The look, feel and quality of the sessions will remain unchanged.

For those new to Skills Academy events, here’s what you can expect:

  • a session each month, lasting no longer than an hour, that brings together delegates and subject matter experts from across the country 
  • our content and themes to be completely driven by our customers – so we talk about the issues that truly matter to you
  • the sessions to be designed to make sure they contribute to your learning journey and they can be logged against your Continuous Development Plan 

Join our upcoming events:

Get involved

If you’re interested in attending a Skills Academy event please contact Phillip Hodgson at phillip.hodgson@crowncommercial.gov.uk for more information.

We are committed to continuing to develop our Skills Academy events. If you have any feedback, topics you’d like to see covered, or any other thoughts on how we can make the sessions as useful as possible, please contact Phillip. 

Choosing the right route to market in procurement

NB: This article was originally published on 19 October 2021. All information was correct at the time of writing, but may not be fully applicable following the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023.

How do you go from identifying a need for a product or service within your organisation to choosing the right route to market?

Knowing the options open to you – and the rules you need to follow – when choosing how to go about procuring goods or services is crucial. 

UK procurement policy defines the overriding requirement for buyers as obtaining value for money – or ‘getting the best mix of quality and effectiveness for the least outlay over the period of use of the goods or services bought’. 

Choosing the right route to market starts with understanding what the likely value of your procurement will be, and whether that puts you over or under certain legal thresholds.

Step 1: Contract value – know the rules

Thresholds – the limit above which you must follow procurement rules differ between different parts of the public sector, the devolved administrations, and on the type of goods or services you want to buy. 

Choose the right route to market using our updated digital brochure

Central government departments and their arm’s length bodies have different thresholds to our customers in the wider public sector, including local councils, schools and NHS Trusts. It’s important that you identify what thresholds apply in your sector.

A typical high value threshold for goods and services procured by central government bodies is £122,000. Above this limit, you will need to follow the full procurement regime set out in the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR), and advertise your tender opportunity on the Find a Tender service. This is to ensure all suppliers have a fair and equal chance to bid for the contract.  

Note: Cabinet Office have published details of new thresholds for 2022

All contracts above that threshold, as well as those worth more than £10,000 (for central government) or £25,000 (for the wider public sector) should be advertised on Contracts Finder. You can still advertise on Contracts Finder even if the value of your requirement is below these thresholds, and this may attract a wider base of potential suppliers.

Your organisation may also have its own procurement processes. You may be able to seek 1 or 3 written quotes or, alternatively, put out an Invitation to Tender.

Public sector procurement is subject to a legal framework which encourages free and open competition between suppliers and value for money. This legal framework comes from the UK’s internationally and nationally-agreed obligations and regulations. The government also aligns procurement policies with lots of other wider policy objectives.

Step 2: follow the right process – open or restricted routes

For high value procurements you must follow the PCR, which includes specific processes to ensure all suppliers are treated equally when they bid for the contract. 

You can choose from 5 procurement procedures – some of which can only be used under special circumstances: open procedure, restricted, competitive dialogue, competitive with negotiation and innovation partnership. The most common procedures are open and restricted.

The open procedure is recommended by the Cabinet Office as the default procurement route and works best when you’re procuring common goods and services. It is a one-stage process which means suppliers can receive all the procurement documentation at once. 

The restricted procedure is a two-stage process. A pre-qualification stage reduces the number of suppliers, who then receive the next part of the contract information. The restricted procedure is useful where you might need to reduce the bidding suppliers to a manageable number for the award stage, or where you need bidders to sign an NDA before sharing confidential information regarding the contract. 

‘Competitive dialogue’, ‘competitive with negotiation’ and ‘innovation partnership’ are the most complex procedures – so speak to an experienced procurement professional if you take this approach.

Step 3: choosing the right route to market – using procurement frameworks

If you don’t want to put things out to tender yourself, procurement tools such as CCS framework agreements can help you identify a list of suitable suppliers. Frameworks also have the advantage of including pre-agreed terms and conditions, saving you time on negotiations, as well as having built-in, robust legal protections. 

CCS’s procurement frameworks have already been advertised on Find a Tender and suppliers have been assessed using one of the procurement procedures. This means all you need to do is follow the award process in the contract or in the customer guidance that CCS provides for all its frameworks, knowing that all suppliers who are able to bid have been assessed for their ability to deliver to the agreed standard on the goods and services you need.

You can also use the Digital Marketplace to find technology services and specialists for digital projects.

Find out more

More information and guidance for public and third sector buyers, as well as full details of all of our commercial agreements, can be found in the latest CCS digital brochure.

Also: Read our top tips on how to write the most important document within the tender process – the specification

How we are supporting the Greener NHS programme

The Greener NHS programme

The Greener NHS programme aims to build on the great work being done by trusts across the country, sharing ideas on how to reduce the impact on public health and the environment, save money and reach carbon net zero. 

On 1 October 2020 the NHS published their Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service report, The report sets a clear ambition and target for the NHS, and lays out the direction, scale and pace of change needed to achieve these goals.

Here’s how CCS can help trusts reach carbon net zero.

Transforming your fleet

As the NHS transitions to greener methods of transport and reduces the need for travel, it has become clear that we can take a big step towards carbon net zero by adapting transport strategies. However, knowing where to start can be a challenge. 

Did you know NHS buyers and fleet managers can use our Fleet Portal to purchase a wide range of zero and ultra low emissions vehicles? 

Visit our fleet page to find out more, or speak to one of our experts by completing our contact form.

Kim Harrison – Associate Commercial Specialist

Green salary sacrifice

Employee-owned vehicles are often overlooked when considering alternatively fuelled vehicles, but they too can have a big impact on your carbon net zero targets.

More than one billion miles are driven each year by the public sector in employee-owned vehicles. This is also known as grey fleet. The average grey fleet vehicle is estimated to be 8 years old. As older cars emit more harmful pollutants, it is reasonable to conclude that reducing the use of grey fleet is one way to help reach carbon net zero.

A vehicle salary sacrifice scheme is a tried and tested way to tackle the grey fleet dilemma. You can specify which vehicles are available in your scheme. So, by choosing to make only Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles (ULEV) available you can take another towards your carbon net zero goals.

To learn more about salary sacrifice, take a look at our short salary sacrifice scheme benefits guide. 

Kim Harrison – Associate Commercial Specialist

Sustainable construction methods

How new buildings are constructed and old buildings are maintained can play a significant role in creating – or reducing – carbon emissions. 

Whilst the Construction Playbook makes it clear we all need to incorporate carbon net zero into our procurements, ensuring your project is built as sustainably as possible is not always so simple. From embodied carbon to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and offsetting, it can sometimes seem too complicated to comprehend. Join our construction alliance carbon net zero focus group, where we will be bringing suppliers and customers together to share best practice and support mutual improvement that helps the UK reach carbon net zero by 2050.

If you would like to join the group please email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk and quote ‘CWAS Alliance’.

Jasmine Evans – Commercial Agreement Manager

Greener energy

We are committed to providing the NHS with routes to buy energy that support their strategy for reaching carbon net zero. The energy solutions available through CCS include: 

  • 100% renewable power that is Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) backed through UK or European sources 
  • clean energy from wind, solar and/or hydro – you can even choose energy that is generated from a specific location or singular type of generation 
  • green gas 
  • a variety of cleaner fuels for your heating or automotive needs

We are working with our suppliers on alternative solutions such as power purchase agreements, onsite generation and efficiency improvements. If you are interested in providing customer insight and feedback into our future solutions please email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk and quote ‘renewable energy’.

Kate Beckingham – Head of Category

IT lifecycle

As the NHS moves towards a more digital future this will likely mean the need for quicker and better processing power, and the need to refresh equipment more regularly.

The old linear approach of ‘take, make, dispose’ is being replaced as the circular economy is gathering momentum. The circular economy is a model of production and consumption that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. 

Alongside the standard service and cost-related questions, other questions that should be considered in your technology procurements are ones that help you evaluate the impact of the whole equipment lifecycle. For example:

  • what is the disposal option? 
    • this is for both the equipment it is replacing and for the new equipment when it becomes end of life. It is becoming more popular for old equipment to be refurbished or recycled in a number of ways including donations to charity. This is often a preferred option as it can help you build social value into the project. 
  • does it need to be new or can the operation that it will be used for be covered by a refurbished system? 
    • more and more systems are being refurbished and they can cost 70% less than new equipment. 

Asking questions like these will help support the circular economy, and develop a mindset where the first question asked is ‘how are we going to dispose of this equipment?’. 

Our technology agreements can help with the supply of both new and refurbished equipment, along with the removal of all the old equipment for recycling.  

Andrew Smith – Commercial Lead

Find out more

For more information on reaching Carbon Net Zero visit our webpage or contact us on info@crowncommercial.gov.uk

The security of sustainability

In the run up to COP26, the world is focused on how we can work to reach net zero targets.There are many considerations when starting your carbon reduction journey. This article highlights the need for data in this journey, and how to make sure it is kept secure.

Collecting your data

The announcement of the new Procurement Policy Note (PPN06/21) on Carbon Reduction Plans has highlighted an often missed area of sustainability.

Carbon reduction is part of sustainability, the 2 have an entwined relationship. Sustainability will not be possible if we don’t get carbon emissions down. 

Organisations sometimes ask us what they need to do to take the first step on their carbon reduction journey. The simple answer is they need to understand their current situation. How this is achieved relies on gathering data, and can include the following:

  • sensors which feed environmental information into a main data storage area
  • network communications to enable this data to travel
  • artificial intelligence (AI) to help sort through all of this information
  • clear and concise reports to enable effective forward planning

The need to keep all of this data secure and safe from any sort of cyber-related threat is one aspect that is often overlooked

We are able to supply all of the technology mentioned above – the sensors, the network, the big data, the AI and the software tools. And by using the Cyber Security Service 3 agreement, we can make sure that everything is safe.

Keeping public and private data secure

Freya Evans, Commercial Agreement Specialist for the Cyber Security Services 3 Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) commented:

“Cyber security is a hot topic at the moment. It’s equally important whether you are a large organisation looking to protect great volumes of valuable and sensitive data, or your company has moved to working from home and you need to secure your employees’ work and personal information. This is why we want to support the implementation of sustainable technology across the UK. We understand not only the significance of what is needed to progress in this space, but what efforts need to be made to ensure that public and private data is secure.”

“To give an example, digital transport will play a key part in enabling the country to move further towards lowering carbon emissions. Between mobility as a service (MaaS) software and AI, this will open up a pool of cyber security risks and could potentially be very dangerous if data is not secure.

“We have a team of commercial specialists who focus on cyber security and work closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Our job is to ensure that organisations are buying cyber security services provided by NCSC assured, well-established suppliers who are capable of delivering cyber-secure technology advice and solutions to protect systems and data.

“We have recently expanded the scope of the DPS to enable buyers to buy cyber transformation services which will improve cyber resilience while reducing risk, assisting the movement into more sustainable technology.”

A collective effort

In summary, we all have a part to play in the reduction of carbon emissions. Sometimes this is a big change such as swapping coal to renewables, other times it is about the planning of multiple small adjustments. Two of the COP26 goals are to secure global net zero by mid century and to protect communities and natural habitats. To achieve these changes it will require data – and that data must be secure from the moment it is collected and throughout its journey of being used, analysed and accessed. Cyber security is a tool for doing just this – protecting the data.

Find out more

If you are interested in finding out more about the Cyber Security Services 3 DPS, please visit our website or get in touch by completing our online form.

If you would like to know more about how CCS is looking at sustainability please visit the website or email info@crowncommercial.co.uk

 

Join our apprenticeships training marketplace

About the marketplace

The DMP can help you meet apprenticeship targets and maximise the use of your apprenticeship levy. 

All of our DMP providers are on the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) register of approved training providers (RoATP) and/or the Register of End-Point Assessment Organisations (RoEPAO).

There are currently 142 training organisations appointed and live on the DMP, which includes a mix of large providers and SMEs, giving you a choice of suppliers across a wide range of apprenticeship standards and assessments. Almost 60% of appointed suppliers are SMEs.  

Through these providers, you can access apprenticeship standards including:

  • generic – Business Admin, Commercial, Digital, Finance/Legal
  • specialist – Health and Science, Engineering, Environmental
  • sector specific – Care Services, Education, Transport

Why use our dynamic marketplace?

The dynamic marketplace gives you an unrivalled combination of benefits to support the delivery of your organisation’s apprenticeship targets:

  • simple and quick access to service providers using an automated electronic process 
  • increased scope and scale of training services on offer
  • flexible procurement options: 
    • rapid award procedure – a fully digitised service from the commencement of your search, through to awarding and signing contracts digitally and the flexibility to take the award offline if preferred with no need to run a further competition.
    • standard award procedure – utilising the training filters to shortlist capable providers to enable offline further competitions to be undertaken 
  • supports localism and social value as suppliers can bid for business either locally, regionally or nationally and employers can stimulate the market by encouraging suppliers to join the marketplace
  • automated link to the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers ensures all suppliers are registered (and removed if necessary)
  • fully compliant with public procurement and ESFA funding rules

Find out more

We have tutorial videos, customer guidance and a checklist to help you get started. Find out more on the CCS website.

The first step is to register to access the marketplace. Choose the ‘access as a buyer’ option on Apprenticeship Training to get started.  

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 frameworks in September

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.

Frameworks awarded in September  

Frameworks extended in September

Frameworks that expired in September 

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.

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.

DVLA transforms contact centre services and telephony using Network Services 2

The requirement

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) holds more than 49 million driver records and over 40 million vehicle records. They collect around £7 billion a year in vehicle excise duty (VED). 

DVLA went to market to re-procure their telephony services contract (including contact centre functionality) to deliver a modern communication solution with increased functionality and flexibility, providing a better experience for customers and employees.

DVLA were keen to take advantage of the developments in the market since they last updated their system, and decided to take a technology-agnostic approach to their procurement. This allowed them to go to the market with an open tender rather than identify a specific solution, to increase competition and innovation. By focusing on outcomes, suppliers weren’t restricted in their approach to the competition. This led to a diverse response from the market, with bids ranging from on-premise network solutions to fully hosted and also hybrid.

The solution

As part of our ongoing relationship with DVLA, we regularly liaise with them to discuss upcoming procurements and the latest technological developments that they could benefit from.

The decision was taken to use Lot 10 (Unified Communications) of Network Services 2 for DVLA’s contract. 

The project team, supported by Ralph Hegarty from our Network Services team, engaged extensively with suppliers through site visits and supplier days. They carried out due diligence by consulting with internal experts to ensure that DVLAs requirements could be met through the provision of cloud, hybrid or on-premise solutions.

The results

DVLA ran a further competition using Network Services 2 (RM3808). The contract was awarded to Wavenet Limited. The 5 year contract will transform contact centre services along with DVLA’s back-office telephony, beginning with the cloud contact centre deployment. 

The contract is anticipated to deliver a smaller computer footprint that saves both space and power and offers increased opportunities for self-serve, automation, scalability and flexibility.

Rob Holohan, Contact Centre Product Owner at DVLA, commented,

From a customer perspective, this technology will deliver a greater choice around how and when customers contact us. A suite of management information (MI) and analytical tools will allow us to effectively measure and continuously improve the service we provide and ensure we are meeting customer needs.

It also gives us a great opportunity to deliver modern customer service tooling for our staff – and by providing a greater understanding of the customer journey it allows us to offer a more personalised and efficient customer experience. The new solution will allow us to revamp our IVRs (interactive voice response), automate some of the simpler enquiries that we receive and provide 24/7 support to our customers.

Justin Griffiths, Project Manager at DVLA, added:

The project will transform our contact centre services through Content Guru’s storm platform. This solution will integrate with our existing web channels and new telephony services. It will provide increased opportunities for our customers to use self-service and automation, as well as providing our staff with enhanced and improved communications tooling.

For further information

Our Network Services 2 framework has been designed to help you with all your telecom and

network requirements, from mobile, voice, and video, to data and security. To learn more you can view the web page or get in touch by completing our online form.  

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.

CCS’s Contact Centre framework helps tackle the risk of modern slavery in public sector procurement

In 2019 the government announced new measures for the public sector on transparency in the supply chain, which includes modern slavery. The aim of this is to harness the spending power of the public sector to drive up labour standards in supply chains. One of the ways that CCS tackles the risk of modern slavery in public sector procurement is by asking its suppliers to fill out a Modern Slavery Assessment Tool (MSAT). This is a modern slavery risk identification and management tool.

The CCS contact centre category sits within the People pillar and has created a framework to procure contact centres for public sector organisations. The risk of modern slavery in contact centres is generally low because there are relatively few risk factors for contact centre employees. However, these risks can increase as you get further down the tiers of the supply chain such as facilities management. 

Risk evaluation

The category asked all the suppliers on its framework to complete a MSAT return and then assessed each individual report for possible improvements that the suppliers could make. There was a wide variety of scores between the suppliers with a few having rigid safeguards in place to avoid instances of modern slavery throughout all tiers of their supply chain to other suppliers who were relatively lax even in the first tier of their supply chain.

The MSAT analyses specific areas and provides recommendations where the supplier could improve, however, sometimes this must be done manually. The category looked at one specific supplier that had a net score of 52%, one of the worst performing in the category. Initial evaluation showed that there were significant areas for improvement as well as measures that could be termed ‘easy wins’, small measures that would have a large impact on the overall score on the MSAT. These included educating their workforce on the dangers of modern slavery, introducing KPI’s to make sure that their workers read a modern slavery statement and conducting frequent supplier reviews.

Working with suppliers as partners

A meeting was set up to discuss the findings of the MSAT. The approach taken by the category was to strike a balance between policies that were overly onerous to business and those that would make a difference to preventing instances of modern slavery. The acknowledgment of this is beneficial in building a receptive relationship with the supplier.

The recommendations that were given by the report were put forward to the supplier who broadly supported them. One of these was to add a provision to their training including a KPI’s to make sure that their workers will read a modern slavery statement. They also agreed to conduct annual supplier reviews to have a view of further tiers of the supply chain.

The suppliers also acknowledged that some of the questions were answered incorrectly and this may stem from some of the questions being ambiguous. Furthermore, the supplier felt that the questionnaire is too general and has questions that do not apply to contact centres.

Safeguarding against modern slavery

A summary of the recommendations and government materials was sent to the supplier. The supplier then implemented the recommendations especially around using KPI’s to measure modern slavery training and inserting safeguards further down the supply chain. The supplier undertook a new MSAT and was awarded a score of 85%.

Following on from actions with the initial supplier, we have undertaken an assessment of all 8 Contact Centre suppliers on RM3815 through the MSAT tool. For each supplier we have agreed recommendations and remedial actions to amend policies, and implement new procedures that mitigate against the risks of modern slavery in their organisation and further tiers of their supply chains. All the MSAT reports are maintained and updated by our suppliers and are available for review by our customers, so that they can be assured CCS suppliers have safeguarded against the risk of modern slavery.

Empowering you to make better buying decisions

If you have any queries please get in touch:

Sheffield City Council secures a transparent and trusted partner for gas supply

The requirement

Sheffield City Council’s gas supply contract was due for renewal and they wanted to ensure
they were getting the best value out of the way they purchased gas. It was the ideal time to
complete a retrospective price review and look at how they buy energy to create more
transparency.

The council also wanted to improve account management so they could feel confident of
receiving prompt support from their chosen partner when needed. Sheffield City Council
contacted our regional customer experience team for help to complete a market
assessment. Having a local approach to customer engagement across the local government
sector allows us to be more focused on where help is needed. We were quickly able to give
Sheffield our full support and attention.

Gas supply is a major cost for the council. Continuity of supply is important to ensure
services continue to be delivered particularly during periods of uncertainty. The year of the
COVID-19 pandemic brought this into sharp relief.

The solution

Our Supply of Energy and Ancillary Services agreement lot 3 Natural Gas and ancillary
services were set up with a focus on efficiency and value. The agreement delivers great
prices through the aggregated buying power of the government.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) worked closely with Sheffield City Council to support their
benchmarking activity. Energy industry expertise and advice was provided by John Moors in
our energy category. Phil Hodgson from our regional customer experience team provided
bespoke account management support.

We completed a thorough review of the council’s gas supply cost for previous years. We
compared the performance of their current provider against historical data and considered
general market performance. This gave a transparent opinion on how CCS and the
incumbent had performed during this period when compared to market trends.

At the same time, we considered what might happen with future energy supply and the
customer appetite for risk exposure. In this way, we’re able to make confident predictions on
the best buying approach for the council and the schools it supports.

At all stages, we listened to the customer to understand what they needed from a future
relationship so that we could agree on a support structure that was personalised to their needs.

We played an active role throughout the review process over several months. Through
weekly meetings, we helped Sheffield City Council address needs such as:

● achieving value for money
● delivering a transparent buying strategy
● providing enhanced support and account management

This information was critical for the council’s leadership team to make an informed choice.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team of experts continued to communicate through
video conferences to ensure a successful conclusion to the project despite a rapidly evolving
working environment. We worked flexibly to support the customer’s timeline, agreeing on an
approach that suited their needs.

The results

Buying energy can be extremely unpredictable due to the number of factors that need to be
considered. Our analysis clearly showed that the CCS buying strategy had outperformed
Sheffield’s incumbent supplier for the same period by 21%. Our approach gave us
confidence that having outperformed the market in previous years our recommendation
would perform favourably for the council and local schools.

To monitor buying performance and service delivery, we established a bespoke approach for
the council. This means that Sheffield can be confident of how it manages and buys its
future gas supply. As well as our industry-leading performance reports and energy category
team support, Sheffield City Council has a named account manager and can look forward to
regular review meetings and fast efficient help and advice when it’s needed.

We’ve helped to ensure that the councils buying strategy is fully transparent and compliant
with all government energy buying requirements. At the same time, the council can look
forward to a value for money service that is well supported with robust risk management in
place.

Our approach is completely driven by customer needs and Sheffield was able to benefit from
our flexibility during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CCS provided a professional customer support function throughout the process. Through
regular contact they were always on hand to answer queries and provide advice which
enabled us to make key decisions within tight timeframes.

Chris Trotter, Energy Manager

Sheffield Council has a large energy portfolio so it’s important for us to have confidence
we’re getting good value from our buying strategy. CCS helped us to better understand
market drivers and how we could save money buying gas through their agreement. They
provided a great deal of insight, which gave us the confidence to work with them, and we
have ongoing support we can call upon when needed.

Sian Holmes, Interim Head of Procurement and Supply Chain

The Council was looking to renew their gas contract and having identified the possible
routes to market, the Council reached out to CCS to further explore the CCS gas framework.
CCS provided invaluable support and advice throughout the process as well as
benchmarking the best possible market price. The CCS team were quick to understand our
needs and were ready and able to support the Council throughout the procurement process.
The resulting contract will help deliver crucial savings to the Council over the coming years.

Sarah Rani, Procurement and Supply Chain Manager (Energy Category)

Get help to save money for energy supply

Make smart buying decisions for the supply of energy with our Supply of Energy and
Ancillary Services agreement (RM6011).

To learn how our agreement can support you, view our web page or complete our online
form and our team of commercial experts will be in touch.

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.