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Central Procurement Office is making buying simpler

26 Sep 2018

Further improvements are being made to eMarketplace as a result of feedback from staff to simplify the purchasing experience for everyone

There are currently over 4.7 million items listed in the eMarketplace catalogue, however only around 100,000 of these were purchased last year. 

In response, the Central Procurement Office is rationalising the catalogue by looking at what is bought, how much it costs, current suppliers and opportunities to drive value for money and sustainability. 

In consultation with our suppliers we have already removed around 300,000 items, which has helped streamline the number of products listed and speed up searching and ordering.

This approach has already started to deliver results, with savings of around £700,000 set to be delivered this year through standardisation of our mobile network provider, re-contracting of stationery supplies and renewal of the IT equipment contract.  

Further areas, offering additional opportunities to save money, will be reviewed over the coming months, ranging from photocopier paper to consultancy frameworks. 

eMarketplace is the quickest and most effective way to order routine items. Currently around half of our orders, by volume, are placed through this electronic purchasing system.

Steve Dauncey, Director of Finance, said: “These latest enhancements to eMarketplace demonstrate buying smarter and buying simpler in action. The reduction in the number of available items will make it easier to find the right products at the best possible price. This will ultimately contribute to the savings that are essential to delivering our financial sustainability agenda.”   

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