Assisted procurement service

High quality public services depend on modern, well-managed and efficient procurement. Yet many public sector organisations are struggling to find the time and resource. 

Our assisted procurement service gives you access to a team of experienced professionals who can help ease the pressure on your commercial staff.

Tap into our vast sourcing knowledge and you can count on us to help you get the best procurement solution, however complex.

The service is available free of charge to all public and third sector organisations

We’ve completed assisted procurements with a total annual contract value of £7.3 billion for customers including NHS trusts, police and local councils since 2021.

Learn more

Explore these sections to learn more about the service and decide if it is right for you.

What is the assisted procurement service?

• the service is aimed at customers who need support running procurements to free up resources for other procurement activity, such as contract management
• it is best used if you have a complex need and are looking for commercial advice and guidance
• any common goods or services that are available through our agreements can be bought
• our team has a wealth of experience running tenders across all types of procurements and sectors, whether you need help building a new hospital wing or digitally transforming your organisation 
• your request will be allocated to the procurement lead with the best skill set and experience to support your specific need
• each procurement lead in the team only takes on a small number of tenders at any one time, to make sure they can provide a high level of personal service and support 

 

How is the service delivered?

Your request will be received and reviewed promptly by our triage team upon arrival. The triage team will:

• support you to finalise your Statement of Requirements/specification
• work with you to agree the most appropriate route to market, liaising with our commercial agreement managers as necessary
• prepare a procurement strategy report 

Following customer approval of the procurement strategy report and the proposed approach, the triage team will introduce you to a dedicated procurement lead. Your lead will be allocated to you based on their experience, skills and capability. Each procurement lead handles a small number of assisted service procurements at any one time, ensuring they have the resource to provide you with a robust service.  

Your procurement lead will:

• prepare and issue compliant documents, following customer approval 
• manage the supplier clarification period
• arrange and manage the evaluation of bids, and conduct the commercial evaluation
• draft the award recommendation report and contractual documentation 
• handle all transparency obligations, in line with policy

The value to you as a customer

The service offers numerous benefits, including:

• our procurement leads are specialists in the procurement process, your procurement is in safe hands
• our documentation, including templates and guidance, are continually updated to reflect the very latest in public procurement policy and best practice
• we provide full management of your procurement via our secure e-Sourcing Portal, your procurement lead will build and manage this on your behalf
• we provide management of the clarification, evaluation periods and drafting/issuing communications to all bidders
• we ensure a full transparent audit trail throughout the process, and we keep customers updated regularly
• with CCS managing your procurement, commercial teams can focus on other areas of their business and role, such as contract and supplier management
• the service is completely free of charge to CCS customers

What we need from you

The procurement lead will work collaboratively with the customer, be it the service user or the commercial team. Your responsibilities are as follows: 

• collaboration with the procurement lead to develop, finalise and approve the documentation – while the procurement lead will facilitate this activity, we need customer input to ensure an appropriate outcome
• availability during the supplier clarification period: the procurement lead will need a point of contact to answer any technical queries
• provide a technical evaluation panel
• take forward ongoing contract management post award, following a handover from the procurement lead

How to access our assisted procurement service

In order to access the service, please send an email to info@crowncommercial.gov.uk. Please include your draft Statement of Requirements, a completed Request for Procurement Action form and confirmation of budgetary approval. The triage team will then be in touch to confirm our capacity to support. 

Alternatively, please reach out to your account manager to discuss any future requirements. 

“Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council used the assisted procurement service to procure for its Grayson Place regeneration project. Having access to pre-prepared, compliant documents provided a useful backdrop to the council’s procurement process and having an independent chair and note-taker for consensus meetings saved the council time and resource. Officers had to upload notes/scores via the CCS portal and this worked well for collation of information. This was the first time we used the service and it was a positive experience.”

Matt Wallbank MCIPS (CS)

Assistant Director – Governance and Democracy, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council

Not sure if we have a suitable agreement to meet your needs?

Full details of all of our commercial agreements can be found in our digital brochure. You can also explore them directly in the agreements area of our website.

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Information for buyers and suppliers

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Find information for buying and supplying.

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Glossary

Find explanations for common terms and abbreviations used in public procurement.

Explore our glossary.