Crown Commercial Service wants specialist supply base for public bodies

Supply base will provide more services and expertise than generalist suppliers, claims CCS

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is looking to enable public sector bodies to access a specialist supply base for common software solutions such as ERP, CRM and electronic document and records management (EDRM) systems.

It forms part of CCS's Pan Government Collaborative Framework Agreement created with procurement partner Pro5 Group for use by public sector bodies.

In the Official Journal of the European Union notice, CCS said non-departmental public bodies, NHS bodies and local authorities can use the framework agreement. Central government bodies and their arm's-length bodies need approval from CCS before using it.

"These public sector bodies have a need for corporate software solutions; a vehicle to provide solutions for complex business needs based on common product types. The intended supply chain will provide more services and expertise than as standard by generalist suppliers," the notice states.

"The authority is looking to access a specialist supply base for common software solutions such as ERP, CRM and EDRM systems. The authority aims to procure a framework agreement for this requirement in collaboration with the Pro5 Group of professional buying organisations," it adds.

The procurement covers implementation and associated services covering: enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, finance software, HR and payroll software, CRM software, data management and reporting software, enterprise content management (ECM) software and mobile application solutions.

The contract is split into seven lots reflecting the different solutions mentioned above.

The framework agreement will have an initial period of two years with the option to extend for two subsequent 12-month periods at CCS's discretion.