‘First of its kind’ solution to transform public sector tail spend

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has launched a ‘first of its kind’ new solution to help public and third sector customers get the best deal on the procurement of millions of low value products.

Our Tail Spend Solution will help the public sector to manage and aggregate ‘tail spend’ – low value, ad hoc purchases which are often made from lots of different suppliers. Estimated annual public sector tail spend on goods is currently more than £1 billion.

This is the first time a centralised tail spend solution has been made available to the whole of the UK public and third sectors.

The benefits

Tail Spend Solution will support public sector buyers to spend less time and money on invoicing, increase visibility and control of ‘hidden’ spend, and improve spend data.

Mercateo Unite and OT Group are launching CCS’s Tail Spend Solution framework on their online platforms on 26 January 2022 – opening up public sector procurement to a large supply chain of small and medium-sized suppliers, offering millions of products at market-leading prices.

Simon Tse, Chief Executive Officer of CCS says:

Tail Spend Solution is the first of its kind – a new agreement that supports the public sector to take control of its ad hoc purchases, aggregating the spending power of the UK public sector as we build back better.

There is wide agreement across the public sector that tail spend is an under-managed and often overlooked area of spend that is increasingly important for organisations to deal with.

Use of self-serve, modern technology and aggregation to create efficiencies and empower staff outside of commercial functions is critical for buyers who wish to improve their delivery of commercial benefits beyond just focusing on the largest contracts.

Our customers

Schools, charities, the NHS and other public sector and third sector organisations will be able to purchase IT peripherals, office and janitorial supplies, educational resources, musical instruments, camera equipment and other non-safety critical products through the online platforms.

Tail spend is often invisible until purchases appear in an organisation’s end of year accounts, and these can cause significant budget pressures if not controlled properly. CCS’s Tail Spend Solution will allow public and third sector customers to bring this spend under control.

The solution was developed after extensive engagement with CCS’s public and third sector customers and the supply market.

Find out more

Please visit our agreements page to find out more about the new Tail Spend Solution framework.