1. Customers receive over £10 million in rebates in 2 years

Did you know that customers using our ePurchasing Card Solution (RM1095) framework have received back over £10 million in supplier rebates over the past 2 years?

If you’re looking to improve your processes for buying low value goods and services and paying invoices - or would like to review your existing card programme - we’d encourage you to take a look at how this agreement can help you.

As well as benefiting from attractive supplier rebates:

• switching to our programme can typically save you between £28 and £45 per card
• you can save at least £5 per transaction compared to traditional purchasing methods, such as bank transfer
• customers have reduced the number of invoices they have to deal with by as much as 45% - and are able to pay more on time as this case study explains
• suppliers are guaranteed to be paid within 3 working days - helping meet prompt payment targets

You can also rest assured that it needn’t be a lengthy process - we can help you get up and running in a matter of weeks.

We currently have 4,000 public sector customers using our payment services, with over £1.4 billion of spend going through the ePurchasing card solution, so if you would like to join them and access these great benefits please visit the website or email financial.services@crowncommercial.gov.uk to find out more.

2. Temporary staff: what’s in a name?

Don’t be misled by the name, Non Medical Non Clinical Resource (RM971) isn’t just for NHS trusts! This framework can be used by all government and public sector organisations needing to fill temporary staff, interim and contractor roles. So if Contingent LabourONE (RM960) does not meet your needs, why not take a closer look?

You can use the framework to fill any office, clerical, IT, corporate, legal or manual role from the most junior to the most senior, including board level roles and those of a specialist nature. Temporary staff can be sourced on an hourly or daily rate or as a fixed term assignment and suppliers can engage with you directly. To find out more please visit the web page or email nmnc@crowncommercial.gov.uk

3. Would you like to save up to 40% on your fleet requirements?

If you need new cars or light commercial vehicles, including minibuses, join one of our regular fleet eAuctions and we will help you make fantastic savings.

By combining your requirements with those of other public sector organisations we can help you make great savings on the whole life costs of your vehicles - whether you need 1 or 1,000. We do this by using standardised vehicle specifications and using our bulk buying power to make your requirements more attractive to suppliers.

Why get involved?

Joining one of our eAuctions will save you both time and money:

• we run the eAuction for you so there is very little administration to deal with
• flexible payment and delivery terms
• save as much as 40% on manufacturer’s retail price (MRP)

The Vehicle Purchase (RM1070) agreement already has attractive standard discounts of an average of 32%, and we have found our eAuctions have added an average 8% additional discount, giving customers a total saving of 40% on MRP.

Our next planned eAuctions will be in February and July 2017, with customer commitment required by mid-January and mid-June respectively.

Download a leaflet to share with colleagues

4. How we buy energy

As the biggest supplier of energy solutions to the public sector - and the largest independent energy buyer (outside of the big six) - we’re able to bring together our customers’ needs and use our bulk buying power to buy directly on the wholesale market, providing you with sustainable savings and innovative solutions. Last year we saved our customers £75 million on their energy costs.

5. Get ready for water deregulation

From April 2017, over 1.2 million eligible non-household customers in England will be able to choose their supplier of water and wastewater retail services. Eligible organisations could benefit from:

• lower bills and better value for money
• better customer service
• more tailored services to suit your business needs
• help to become more water-efficient We’re working with other public buying organisations, including YPO, ESPO, NEPO, the Energy Consortium and West Mercia Energy, to develop a compliant route to market for your water supply, wastewater services (sewerage) and additional services to support water efficiency savings.

6. Take part in aggregated further competitions

When buying common goods and services, bringing together customers’ needs provides several advantages, including savings and a simpler tender process.

Recent examples of our aggregation success can be found in our case study collection

6.1 Are you looking to buy laptops or tablets?

We’re planning an aggregated further competition, designed specifically for brand agnostic laptops and tablets. It will include the following devices, alongside a number of optional services, such as asset tagging and image build/load:

• Laptops
• Notebooks
• Netbooks
• Chromebooks
• Ultrabooks
• Tablets
• Hybrid laptops

The competition will be based on a core standard specification, with a number of upgrade and downgrade options, so customers can tailor the devices to meet their individual requirements. We will use lot 1 (hardware) of the new Technology Products 2 (RM3733) agreement, and devices will be ready for delivery by end of March 2017.

If you are interested in getting involved or finding out more please email technologyaggregation@crowncommercial.gov.uk quoting NFC62 no later than 11 November.

6.2 Future opportunities

It’s not just technology that can be successfully aggregated - the team recently helped 8 customers with their vehicle hire and car share requirements and saved them over 12%. So if there is something you are looking to buy, and you would like us to explore the potential to help you achieve further savings by bringing your requirement together with other customers, please let us know.

Aggregation is suitable for most common goods and services, and we can use any CCS multi-supplier framework where further competitions can be run.

Please get in touch to discuss your opportunities by emailing technologyaggregation@crowncommercial.gov.uk

7. Procurement for growth balanced scorecard

A new procurement for growth balanced scorecard system has been designed to help ensure that major government procurements have a positive impact on economic growth, as well as achieving best value for the taxpayer.

The guidance introduces a balanced scorecard approach, which government departments should use in designing major works, infrastructure and capital investment procurements where the value is more than £10 million. The scorecard will help procurers consider the project requirements and needs, with criteria such as cost balanced against social, economic and environmental considerations.

8. Standard selection questionnaire template

Procurement policy note 8/16 provides you with a revised standard selection questionnaire template and guidance. It replaces the current standard pre-qualification questionnaire and supersedes the guidance on supplier selection and pre-qualification questionnaire in PPN 03/15.

9. Procurement policy guidance

The following procurement policy guidance documents have been updated:

• EU Public Contracts Directive 2014
• amendments to contracts during their term
• awarding contracts
• changes to procedure
• Dynamic Purchasing Systems
• eProcurement and eCommunication
• framework agreements
• light touch regime
• provisions that support market access for small businesses
• public to public procurement
• standstill period
• subcontracting provisions

View the updated guidance

10. Mystery Shopper scheme

The Mystery Shopper scheme allows suppliers to report public sector tenders they did not understand or instances of what they believe to be poor procurement practice. You can view the latest Mystery Shopper results to see how the scheme is helping to improve procurement practices across the public sector and support our ambition to make doing business with government as easy as possible for small businesses.

11. Contact centres

Are you a public sector organisation with a contact centre operation that links you with the public on a daily basis? If so, we would love to talk to you. We’re developing a brand new commercial solution to provide industry leading, scalable contact centre services, improved customer service and value for money. We want to make sure we understand your needs - now and in the future - so please email contactcentres@crowncommercial.gov.uk to help us shape this exciting new service.

12. CCS events

12.1 Grants and programme services: customer event

If you’re interested in using the Grants and Programme Services (RM949) framework please come along to our customer event at Aviation House in London at 1pm on 5 December. It will last about 2 hours and will give you a better understanding of how the agreement can support you in awarding grants. Email your details to financial.services@crowncommercial.gov.uk to reserve a place.

12.2 Insurance services: customer insight days

We’re hosting a series of customer insight days, in collaboration with YPO, ESPO and NEPO, to provide you with guidance and support on the procurement of insurance services using the Insurance Services framework (RM3731). We’ll be updating you on the latest market insight and sharing best practice, so you have the practical advice and information you need to run an effective and successful tender.

Register for your preferred date and venue:

• 8 November: London
• 21 November: Wakefield

12.3 Network Services

We’re hosting a Network Services webinar on 16 November at 10.30am for customers with legacy local and wide area network spend. The webinar will to help you understand how to transition to the latest agreement (RM1045). Book your place

12.4 G-Cloud

The next G-Cloud webinar will be on 9 November at 10.30am. The session will last about an hour and include a Q&A session.

It may be of interest to you if you’re looking to buy commodity based, pay-as-you-go cloud services and would like to learn more about G-Cloud, the Digital Marketplace and the buying process.

To register for a webinar email cloud_digital@crowncommercial.gov.uk with your choice of date.

13. Conferences and exhibitions

You can find us at the following events over the coming weeks:

• Local Government Procurement Expo: our CEO Malcolm Harrison is presenting a keynote about how we are working with local government customers and Nick Caton, Commercial Director, Wider Public Sector is taking part in a panel debate on the implications of Brexit in local government procurement and delivering social value. You can also find us at stand 3 in the exhibition. The event is on 2 November at London Olympia and you can register for free

• HCSA Annual Conference and Exhibition: we’re exhibiting at the Health Care Supply Association (HCSA) annual conference and exhibition at Harrogate International Centre on 2 and 3 November.

• Procurex Scotland: we’re exhibiting at this free to attend event on 9 November at SECC, Glasgow. Come and visit us at stand 74. Register for free

• Public Sector Show: we’re exhibiting and speaking at this free to attend event on 22 November at Manchester Central. You’ll find the utilities and fuel team discussing the road ahead for energy in the public sector and our senior commercial experts will also be talking about how we can help you make cost savings and efficiencies across a wide range of goods and services, the next steps for ensuring social value in procurement and what impact Brexit will have on EU procurement standardisation. Register for free

• Academies Show: we’re exhibiting at this free to attend event on 23 November at NEC, Birmingham. Come and visit us at stand D30. Register for free

14. New agreements

14.1 Supply and Fit of Tyres

Supply and Fit of Tyres and Associated Services (RM3767) is now live giving you access to a comprehensive range of tyres for cars, 4x4s, vans, commercial vehicles, coaches, buses, agrarian vehicles and motorcycles. This is complemented by an extensive choice of additional services including a tyre hotel facility, emergency breakdown recovery, wheel balancing, wheel and axle alignment checks and puncture repair - all with substantial supplier discounts. The agreement provides options for supply and fit at your own or supplier premises, plus roadside fitting. A dedicated single supplier solution is also available for police and emergency services customers.

14.2 Traffic Management Technology

Traffic Management Technology (RM1089) has awarded and will go live shortly giving you access to a range of innovative traffic management solutions, including electrical charging points to support a sustainable transport infrastructure. The agreement also offers an online catalogue of fixed price products and services.

14.3 Managed Print Services

Lot 3 of Multifunctional Devices, Managed Print and Content Services and Records and Information Management (RM3781) has awarded and will go live shortly providing you with access to managed print and content management services. Benefit from a flexible commercial model and enhanced services, such as hybrid mail and electronic document and records management systems, to help you realise the efficiency benefits of digitisation - typically customers save 10-30%.

14.4 Technology Products

Technology Products 2 (RM3733) has awarded and will go live shortly offering customers a flexible and compliant route to market for all their commodity technology product needs - whether it is a single cable or an entire corporate infrastructure. The agreement is a result of unprecedented levels of pre-market engagement with both customers and suppliers, and improvements include:

• a dynamic direct award catalogue
• reseller lots for hardware, software and combined solutions
• simplified terms and conditions for user friendliness
• direct contracting with manufacturers for aggregated hardware requirements

If you’re interested in using the new agreement, why not come along to one of our programme of customer engagement events to find out more? Register to attend your preferred date and location:

• 22 November, techUK, London, 2.30pm-5pm
• 23 November, Crown Commercial Service, Norwich, 10am - 12.30pm
• 6 December, YPO, Wakefield, 2pm-4.30pm
• 7 December, ESPO, Leicester, 10.30am -1pm

15. Agreements expiring shortly

• Secure Departmental Car Travel (RM965) will expire on 13 November. Government departments requiring secure car services for ministers should use the Government Car Service
• Technology Products (RM1054) will expire on 16 November. It is being replaced by Technology Products 2 (RM3733) which will go live shortly.
• Furniture and Associated Services (RM1501) is due to expire on 16 December. We recommend that you consider extending your existing contract and, where appropriate, bring forward any future requirements, as there will be a gap in service provision whilst a new agreement is developed.
• Courier Services (RM1006), Dedicated Courier Services (RM963) and Seasonal Courier Services (RM1008) will all expire on 31 December. They will be replaced by 2 new agreements: Courier Services and Specialist Courier Services. We recommend that all customers review their current courier contract, before 31 December, and put in place suitable arrangements to cover the gap in service provision. If you’re interested in helping with the evaluation of the new framework bid responses and would like to find out more about what is involved, please email courierservices@crowncommercial.gov.uk. Full training will be provided.
• Demand Side Response Services (RM964) is due to expire on 31 January 2017. A replace agreement is currently being developed and is expected to be in place in February 2017.
• Employee Eye Care Services (NEC/3/0065) is due to expire on 31 January 2017. A new agreement for Occupational Health, Employee Assistance Programmes and Eye Care is being developed and these services will form part of the new agreement which is expected to be in place in spring 2017.

16. Agreement extensions

• Creative Solutions Execution and Related Services (RM988) lots 1-4 and Strategy and Planning (RM1011) have been extended until 31 March 2017 to provide continuity of service during the development of the new Campaign Solutions (RM3774) and Communications Services (RM3796) agreements. The current agreements will be terminated as soon as the new ones are in place. Lot 5 of Creative Solutions Execution and Related Services (RM988) will expire on 30 April 2017.
• Digital Outcomes and Specialists (RM1043ii) has been extended until 2 September 2017.
• Print and Associated Services (RM921) has been extended until 30 June 2017.
• Technology Services (RM1058) has been extended until 27 May 2017 to provide continuity of service during the development of the new Technology Services 2 (RM3804) framework.

17. Recently expired agreements

• Occupational Health Services and Employee Assistance Programmes (RM932) expired on 3 October. We’re currently developing a replacement agreement which is expected to be in place in spring 2017.
• Environmental and Sustainability Advice Support and Delivery Services (RM830) expired on 31 October and is not being replaced. Once the new Project Management and Full Design Team Services agreement is live it will cover the majority of the services from this agreement and can be used to buy environmental services.

18. CCS on social media

We share regular news and updates throughout the month on Twitter and LinkedIn so if you are not already following us why not take a minute to do so now? You can follow us on Twitter and connect with us on LinkedIn

19. Sign up for email alerts

You can sign up for immediate, daily or weekly email alerts which will tell you what we have added or updated on the GOV.UK website. It is a great way to stay up to date with the latest news and information from CCS. Sign up for email alerts by providing your email address and selecting the frequency you wish to receive updates.

20. Quick links

eSourcing log on

eMarketplace log on

If you use these tools frequently why not save them to your favourites for easy access? Not yet registered? Find out how to register:

• eSourcing guide

• eMarketplace guide