Centralised Category Overviews

1. Centralised Category Overviews

2. Category Overview | Communications | Category Scope The communications category provides access to a wide range of frameworks covering advertising agencies; communications planning; design and creative services for print; direct marketing services; digital media; educational marketing; events, exhibitions and technical services; external engagement; internal communication; market research; marketing, brand and strategy; marketing aimed at culturally diverse audiences; media buying; press cuttings; partnership marketing; public relations; radio advertising copy; and regional agencies and sponsorship. Category Overview • The category currently comprises of a number of frameworks which were established by the Central Office of Information (COI) and transferred to Government Procurement Service in advance of the closure of COI in March 2012. • A new centralised model has been developed to support the communications needs of Central Government Departments, Arm’s Length Bodies, Non- Departmental Public Bodies and Executive Agencies. • The model will comprise of a reduced number of frameworks: • Framework 1: Creative Content, Delivery, Execution and Related Services will cover creative services; direct marketing; digital marketing; PR services and contact centres for direct response marketing. • Procurement 2: will encompass communications and media strategy and planning; market research; events and media monitoring. • The new commercial arrangements will be open to the wider public sector. • There will also be an Agile Route to Market for low value (sub-OJEU) work. This will provide easy access for SMEs to public sector business and will reduce the cost and time burden of competing for business. • Implementation of the new model will be phased using existing frameworks and contracts to manage spend during the transition period. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • Full consultation with key stakeholders is underway to ensure that the new frameworks provide the necessary services to meet customer needs and deliver value for money. • An OJEU for Creative Content, Delivery, Execution and Related Services was published in August 2012 with award expected in November 2012. • An OJEU for Strategy and Planning is planned for October 2012 with award expected in January 2013. • The Agile Route to Market is scheduled to be available from September 2012. • In line with government policy, once the new frameworks are in place, Departments, their Arm’s Length Bodies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies and Executive Agencies will be mandated to use the new arrangements. • All current frameworks can be accessed via our website at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/find-a-product-or-service • The scope of existing frameworks has not changed, however, it is now the responsibility of customers to manage contracts awarded through these arrangements as the managed service previously provided by COI ceased on 31 March 2012. • Existing frameworks are being used to manage communication spend during the transition period. When agreeing new contracts avoid entering into long term commitments as this may prevent transition to future frameworks. Benefits Summary • Aggregation and leverage opportunities through reduced contracting routes with agreed and transparent pricing. • Savings benefit calculations based on 09/10 baseline pricing and market indices where available. • Improved management information and reporting systems help with demand management and compliance. • Supplier performance is managed through monthly, quarterly and 6 monthly reviews to ensure competitiveness and service is maintained. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

3. Category Overview | Energy | Category Scope The energy category regulates the purchase and management of electricity and gas supplied to Central Government, health and wider public sector customers. The category also facilitates the purchase and management of liquid fuels, lubricants and coal for use by all customers. Other services such as automatic meter reading and carbon offsetting are available to assist customers in generating savings. Category Overview • Centralisation of Central Government spend into single supply contracts, where possible, to aggregate demand and optimise energy prices. • The energy portfolio is effectively risk managed by market experts in line with a tailored energy purchasing strategy. • Savings are generated through innovative framework agreements reducing costs to customers in comparison to market prices. • Services and solutions enable customers to monitor, control and manage demand improving sustainability and savings. • Origination schemes harness unused energy produced on the Government estate and interact with the market to generate further savings. • The long term goal is to access energy generators and producers (rather than wholesale suppliers) to further reduce price risk. • A Customer Governance Board, created in July 2011, meets quarterly to review performance. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • Non-half hourly electricity extension in place until September 2013. A replacement procurement commenced in August 2012 and is due to award in January 2013. • The project to transfer all MoD, DWP and health customers to the gas, half hourly and non-half hourly electricity frameworks in completed in April 2012 in line with agreed timescales. • Customer access to online site data and consumption is planned for winter 2012/13. • All frameworks can be accessed via our website at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/find-a-product-or-service • Customer Access Agreements and supply contracts are completed by all Departments regarding the supply of electricity/gas. • Existing electricity and gas frameworks are already used by all Departments and are also available for health and other public sector customers, with energy product confirmations completed annually. • eAuctions for carbon offsetting against the framework on a quarterly basis. Benefits Summary • The award winning category is the largest buyer of gas and electricity in the UK with in-house skilled market analysts, risk management specialists and robust independent governance. • The large scale transfer of over 21,800 sites, primarily across MoD, DWP and health estates, will deliver an additional £25m per annum in savings. • We offer a transparent, not for profit service with dedicated internal energy customer teams and supplier managers. • A range of services to help monitor, control and manage demand. For example, automatic meter reading, additional origination services and carbon offsetting. Improved demand management will reduce Departments usage and improve sustainability. • Savings are calculated using an average of market pricing opportunity against actual price achieved during the buying window. Further calculations are also being developed to capture the benefits in other areas such as ‘bid/offer spread’, ‘cost to serve’, ‘out of contract’ savings, ‘aggregations’, ‘load shaping’, liquid fuels, carbon offsetting and automatic meter reading (subject to approval). • In 2011-12 our carbon offsetting eAuctions saved customers £700,000. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

4. Category Overview | Fleet | Category Scope Fleet covers the purchase, lease and hire of vehicles including passenger vehicles, motorcycles, car derived vans, light commercial vehicles under 7.5 tonnes and medium to heavy and specialist commercial vehicles 7.5 tonnes and above. Plus, fleet management services, tyres, vehicle conversions and insurance. Category Overview • Department requirements are gathered by the central team and aggregated volumes are sourced via existing frameworks. • Second generation vehicle purchase and lease frameworks have the capability to supply motorcycles, coaches, buses and heavy commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes. In-house workshops can also be authorised and non-standard vehicles are fully warranted. • eAuctions are used to deliver further discounts on framework support terms. • An online fleet portal for quotes and price comparisons is used in conjunction with the vehicle purchase (lots 1 & 2) and lease (lot 1) frameworks. • Third parties such as leasing and fleet management companies must use the fleet frameworks to ensure Departments get the most favourable prices whether hiring, purchasing or leasing vehicles. • Vehicle specifications have been standardised incorporating Government Buying Standards and relevant environmental legislation/standards. • Standardised fleet policy, vehicle allowances and better data visibility help control spend. • Suppliers are performance managed and benchmarked to ensure competitiveness is maintained and brand-led decision making is eradicated. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • Migration of Departments to centralised route as current arrangements expire or sooner if terms and conditions allow. • New framework for Supply and Fit of Tyres went live in August 2012. • A new Insurance framework will cover all types of insurance including vehicle insurance. OJEU is expected in September and award in January 2013 in time for April 2013 renewals. • A new Vehicle Conversions framework will cover all conversion types and specialist vehicles, including refurbishment and electrical installation. OJEU is expected in October and award in December 2012. • Discuss your needs with the fleet team to ensure your requirements are aggregated with other Departments. The team will advise on the best solution. • All existing frameworks can be accessed via our website at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/find-a-product-or-service • Cars and light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes can be procured via the fleet portal at https://vehicleleasing.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/ • The eSourcing suite is available for other vehicle types and spot hire further competitions. • We are gathering volumes for the next vehicle purchase eAuction in November. Deadline for volume commitment is September. To discuss your requirements and find out whether an eAuction is appropriate please email fleet@gps.gsi.gov.uk Benefits Summary • Improved base vehicle costs through leveraging consolidated volumes, including Central Government and public sector customers. • Working with Departments to standardise specifications and utilise core specifications to remove the extra costs associated with variation and choice. • Demand is managed by a central team to help drive further savings, and with the help and support of the Fleet Strategy Board and Technical Group we ensure operational behaviours are challenged, allowing further efficiencies to be realised. • MI obtained directly from fleet category departments, with the support of the category board. • eAuctions in 2011/12 delivered savings of £1.8m on top of framework support rates for customers including the Ministry of Defence, HMRC, Highways Agency, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the Coal Authority. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

5. Category Overview | ICT | Category Scope The ICT category provides access to ICT commodities and supporting services in hardware, software, telecoms and networks. Category Overview • Lead the commercial implementation of the Government ICT Strategy and associated commercial actions. • Aggregate spend where possible and purchase once as the ‘Crown’ – one price for Government. • Procure common ICT goods and services against a set of standard specifications, as defined by the CIO community. • Increase efficiencies through the use of online catalogues via the Government eMarketplace. • Further develop Software Asset Management expertise to facilitate transfer and reuse of assets across Government. Move to culture of reuse before purchase. • Improve interoperability between solutions through the use of open standards. • Embed full transparency in all new ICT contracts to enable effective management of the supply chain, pricing and unit costs. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • In the first instance, discuss your ICT requirements with the category team to ensure your requirements are aggregated with other Departments. The team will advise on the best procurement route. • Centralised deals with catalogues will be made available through the Government eMarketplace. • All existing frameworks can be accessed via our website at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/find-a-product-or-service • The ICT Commercial Strategy was approved by MCO and further ratified by CIO Delivery Board in October 2011. • Online catalogues for hardware, software, document management and ICT disposal are available now. • G-Cloud Services awarded in February 2012. Phase II is due to award in September 2012. • PSN Connectivity awarded in April 2012 and PSN Services awarded in June 2012. To date, 16 further competitions for PSN Connectivity and 27 for PSN Services have been initiated through our eSourcing suite. National further competitions are currently being co-ordinated by the team. • New IT Hardware and Solutions framework went live in July 2012. • New Application Development, Delivery and Support Services framework will have staggered awards with security lots due in early October, and the other lots due by the end of October. • Hosting OJEU issued in July and award is expected in November 2012. • Desktop Services due to go to OJEU in September and award in February 2013. Benefits Summary • Improved pricing on contracted services and verifiable cash savings. • Standardised specifications for hardware and services will bring price transparency for all and facilitate reuse/redeployment of assets. • Software licensing optimisation has delivered over £7m of savings to date through licence transfer and renegotiation of terms. • Online catalogues for commodities will make purchasing easier and will offer Open Source alternatives for new software investments. • New procurement vehicles provide access to new telecom offerings compliant with PSN standards. • eAuction for 16,000 desktops for HMRC delivered over £1m of savings. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

6. Category Overview | Office Solutions | Category Scope Office Solutions for Central Government Departments covers the provision of office supplies, multi-functional devices (MFDs), postal & courier services and document management. Category Overview • The following commercial arrangements are open to Central Government Departments, ALBs and NDPBs (as well as all other public sector customers): • - Multi-Functional Devices and Service, Managed Print and Print Audit Services (RM1159) provides leasing and rental options for office print solutions. • - Postal Services (RM782) provides a range of services from consolidation of mail through to hybrid mail. • - Document Storage (RM1689) covers physical storage and management and related services. • For office supplies (office products and electronic office consumables) the Government Office Supplies contract (RM917) should be used by all Departments. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • The Government Office Supplies contract (GOSC) is managed by HMRC. All Central Government Departments currently able to join have now migrated to this centralised contract. Further organisations are due to come on board during this financial year. • The new MFD framework went live in March 2012. • The new Document Storage framework was awarded in April 2012. • Plans are underway (led by HMRC) to go to market for 3 courier contracts in 2012. A DWP/ HMRC closed Dedicated Network is currently being developed. The contract will be enabled for other Departments to set up their own networks. National and regional solutions are also being developed and an OJEU for courier services was published in August with award planned for January 2013. • Office supplies can be accessed by Departments via online catalogues on Government eMarketplace, through Departmental P2P systems or web, fax and phone routes. • Further competition and eAuction facilities are available for Departments to access other frameworks. • A customer toolkit is available for Postal Services customers offering support in identifying the correct requirements to take to further competition. • All existing frameworks can be accessed via our website at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/find-a-product-or-service Benefits Summary • Aggregation & leverage opportunities: • - GOSC is delivering cashable savings of 12%-29% through a single contracting route with agreed and transparent pricing, a choice of service wraps and a ‘closed loop’ paper recycling service. • - Document Storage savings of up to 15% on lot1 and on average 5% across all lots can be achieved. • - The new MFD framework is delivering savings on hardware of between 7% and 27%, with savings of up to 41% on Managed Print Services. • Standardising products - lot1 (restricted catalogue) of the MFD framework provides savings of up to 46% on hardware costs and 49% savings on service costs. • Improved management information and reporting systems help with demand management and compliance. • Supplier performance is managed through monthly, quarterly and 6 monthly reviews to ensure competitiveness and service is maintained. • Sustainably sourced products are available, for example remanufactured print and toner cartridges. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

7. Category Overview | Print | Category Scope The print category helps deliver savings and efficiencies through the implementation of industry best practice for the provision of print & associated services including business operational print, advertising and marketing print, security print, printing paper, bulk envelopes, basic design/typesetting/brand management, print and print management related services and digital asset management (DAM). Category Overview • Control spend by moving to a Managed Service Provider model to implement best practice and deliver visible and coherent management information and performance data. • Aggregate and leverage spend and buying power through three primary contractual vehicles 1. HMRC Print Vendor Partner contract (PVP) 2. DWP Print & Associated Services Solution (PASS) 3. DfE Publishing & Delivery Service (PDS). • The supplier manages the second tier supply chain to harness industry expertise, exploit market capability and supply innovation to deliver efficiencies. • Consistency of pricing, products and services with an incentivised cost model based on a performance driven payment. • Strategic goals are being implemented across all primary vehicles (subject to existing contractual constraints). • Standardisation of product specifications and processes to reduce demand. • Transition and transformation through the life of the contract to deliver ongoing cashable savings. • Digital asset management will provide a central asset repository and be a key enabler for standardisation and rationalisation. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • HMRC PVP contract was awarded in July 2011. The contract went live in October 2011 and was transferred to Government Procurement Service on 16 December 2011. • Departments are being migrated in phases as existing contracts expire (timelines to be agreed): • Phase 1 – Main PRB members - complete • Phase 2 – Remaining PRB and all EPRB members to be completed by October 2012 • Phase 3 – Remaining CG Departments • Phase 4 – Existing long term contracts: DWP and DfE. • Roll out of digital asset management during 2012. • The HMRC PVP contract is available to all Departments, their ALBs and NDPBs. • Customer access to the contract is determined through the implementation process. To join the contract or for further information please email hmrc.cpprintimplementationteam@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk • Existing contracts (DWP & DfE) should be accessed by existing customers in the usual way only until contract expiry. Benefits Summary • Customers do not need to conduct call-offs/further competitions when using the centralised arrangement. • Customers can access market innovation and knowledge through the expertise of the supply base. • Sustainable savings are delivered through aggregation and quality of specification. • Improved data and price transparency through matrix pricing. • Delivery of estimated savings of approximately 23%+ and between £20m-£25m over the life of the contract. One price, acting as one customer. • Increase value of spend through SMEs, supporting the SME agenda. • Full MI visibility. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

8. Category Overview | Professional Services | Category Scope Professional Services consists of a range of existing frameworks, plus new centralised services which are currently being developed. The first are consultancy and contingent labour. Existing services are management consultancy, contingent labour, permanent recruitment, legal services, law costs draftsman services, eDisclosure and hard copy review services, financial analysis, face to face interpretation, translation and transcription and learning & development. There are also frameworks for temporary clinical staff designed to meet the needs of organisations with health specific requirements but available to all public sector organisations. Category Overview • Control spend through stronger governance, mandatory approval processes within Departments and improved quality and use of data. • Centralise management consultancy spend through a new single framework for Central Government, replacing 16 current frameworks. • Open the consultancy market up to SMEs by openly competing sub-£100k work and implementing an ‘SME Charter’. • Centralise management of contingent labour spend through a new single framework, replacing the Cipher and Non Permanent Staff frameworks. Cipher, Non Permanent Staff and Non Medical, Non Clinical frameworks are the current routes for contingent labour. • Civil Service Learning is providing flexible access to eLearning and classroom training solutions to improve the overall quality of training provision. • Legal services includes the provision of external legal services to support Departmental commercial activities (with the exception of litigation). • Recruitment services for permanent staff and face to face interpretation services are also available to support Department needs. • Resource solutions for health include Agency Nurses, Medical Locums and Temporary Allied Health Professionals & Health Science Services Staff. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • Consultancy ONE framework is due to be launched in early 2013. • The new Contingent Labour ONE is due to be launched in early 2013. • Civil Service Learning contract awarded in February 2012. • A new Legal Services framework is due to award in October 2012. • An online catalogue for face to face interpretation services is now available on Government eMarketplace. • New frameworks for Medical Locums, Agency Nurses and Allied Health Professionals and Health Science Services Staff due to be launched October-December 2012. • Recently awarded frameworks include Environmental and Sustainability Advice, Support and Delivery Services, Financial Analysis, Law Costs Draftsman Services and eDisclosure and Hard Copy Review. • All existing frameworks can be accessed via our website at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/find-a-product-or-service • eAuctions and aggregation with other Departments. • Contingent Labour ONE access route to be determined once the procurement is complete. • Consultancy: below £100k will be accessed via Government eMarketplace, £100K-£2m access route to be agreed. • Online catalogues are accessible through the Government eMarketplace. Benefits Summary • Continuation of ERG ‘actions and processes’ is reducing demand and overall costs. • Consultancy ONE and Contingent Labour ONE will provide improved management information to help with demand management and compliance. They are also designed to offer greater choice and opportunity for new entrants. • Customers can access central expertise through the Government Procurement Delivery Centre shared service. • Access to improved pricing for contingent labour through aggregation, leverage and the application of rate cards (where appropriate). • The cost of classroom courses has been cut by up to 70% and eLearning has dropped from an industry average of 38p per hour to just 11p per hour. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

9. Category Overview | Property Solutions | Category Scope Property Solutions covers Facilities Management (FM), Project Management & Full Design Team services, Building Materials, Estates Consumables, Signage, Furniture, Laundry & Linen services, Estates Professional Services, Modular Buildings, Environmental & Sustainability Services, Commercial Catering & Refrigeration and Medical Refrigeration. Category Overview • Continually reviewing and refreshing the range of frameworks within the portfolio to reflect emerging government strategy. • Centralised strategy/contracting vehicle for FM is being developed with Government Property Unit and spend will be controlled through a FM governance board. • Deliver flexible commercial arrangements that enable greater use of direct award via Government eMarketplace or through eAuctions/further competitions which will continuously drive efficiencies and savings via leveraging of spend. • Embed full transparency in all new frameworks and commercial arrangements to enable effective management of the supply chain, pricing and unit costs. • Working with departments and industry to open up the public sector market to SMEs via new frameworks and commercial arrangements. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • Existing frameworks covering FM, Project Management, Building Materials, Signage, Laundry, Estates Professional Services, Modular Buildings and Environmental & Sustainability services are available to access now. • Online catalogues for furniture, signage and refrigeration are available now, with an online catalogue for Building Materials due to go live in autumn 2012. • A new Commercial Catering & Commercial Refrigeration Equipment framework is expected to be awarded in October 2012. • New procurement for Furniture is expected to award in November 2012. • New procurement for Estates Professional Services is due to commence in October and award in February 2013. • New procurement for Project Management is due to commence in December 2012 and award in May 2013. • Furniture Repair and Renovation will expire in September 2012. The new Furniture framework will cover these services. • Estates Consumables expires in October 2012. Our current Building Materials framework covers the majority of products and services captured by the expiring framework. • In the first instance, discuss your needs with the property solutions team to ensure your requirements are aggregated with other Departments. • The online catalogues are accessible through the Government eMarketplace. • eAuctions and further competitions will be run against existing frameworks e.g. Building Materials and Modular Buildings. • All existing frameworks can be accessed via our website at http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/find-a-product-or-service Benefits Summary • Refreshed and new framework offerings will offer additional value alongside current frameworks which delivered £64.3m savings during 2011/12. • Supplier performance is being proactively managed via monthly and quarterly strategic reviews to ensure competitiveness and service is maintained. • Aggregated volumes will deliver improved rates across Government. • Improved data and MI obtained via frameworks is being used to help better manage demand and influence decision making. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

10. Category Overview | Travel | Category Scope Travel covers the booking of UK and international business travel, including air, rail, hotels and meetings & events, via Travel Management Companies (TMCs). Category Overview • The Central Government Travel Management Services (CGTMS) contract centralisesall Central Government travel spend with two TMCs based on two standardised travel profiles. • The single supplier Central Government Meetings & Events contract aggregates all requirements through one booking source. • Direct contracts with key air, rail and hotel providers are negotiated, in conjunction with TMCs, to maximise Government leverage. • Greater use of online booking tools maximises efficiency. • Adoption of travel policy principles helps control Department spend and drive higher standards of compliance. • Significantly improved data from suppliers and Departments ensures greater visibility of spend and compliance. • Reuse of existing Government estate assets, such as free meeting rooms, features in the new Central Government Meetings & Events contract. • TMCs will be performance managed and benchmarked to ensure competitiveness is maintained. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • The Central Government Travel Management Services contract was awarded in November 2011. Departments started migrating in April 2012 and migration will be completed in October 2012. Arm’s Length Bodies will continue to migrate to the new service throughout 2012. • The new Central Government Meetings & Events contract was awarded in July 2012. Departments will migrate spend to the new contract as their existing arrangements expire or sooner if terms and conditions allow. • All requirements are booked through the Department’s appointed TMC, with online booking as the preferred route. • Direct contracts with key air, rail and hotel providers can be accessed only through the designated TMCs. • The existing Travel Management Services Provider and One-Stop-Shop frameworks remain available for wider public sector customers with travel and meetings & events requirements. Benefits Summary • Consolidated volumes and direct contracts deliver improved rates and consistent pricing across the whole of Government. • Online booking tools reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency making selection of best rates quicker and easier. • Improved, more accessible management information helps better manage demand and influence traveller behaviour. • TMCs are contracted on a transaction fee only basis and do not retain commission. • Effective use of Government estate reduces duplication and waste. • By following current best practice we expect Departments to be able to deliver savings of 10-20%. • Government is already saving over £80m a year on prices paid for hotel, rail and air bookings under the new strategy and the contract is expected to deliver a further £5 million a year of savings on booking costs. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

11. Category Overview | eEnablement | Category Scope The eEnablement strategy supports the sourcing, procurement and management of contracts and suppliers. It includes Contracts Finder, Government eMarketplace, eSourcing tools, a spend analysis solution, a new procurement portal and external hosting solutions for supplier data. Category Overview • Contracts Finder is where all new Government contract opportunities over £10,000 are posted. • Government eMarketplace hosts centrally negotiated contracts and catalogues for products and services where fixed prices can be clearly defined. • Dynamic Marketplace enables suppliers, especially SMEs, to bid for contracts below the EU threshold of £100,000 through a quick, effective request for quotation service. • The eSourcing suite enables compliant sourcing of requirements over £100,000, including further competitions, eAuctions and contract/supplier management. • The spend analysis solution provides visibility of every Department’s spend by common category and supplier. This replaces PSPES data. • A more secure, robust external hosting solution provides consolidated management information. • Organisations who source on behalf of Government Procurement use their own solutions, but all documents will be stored centrally. Implementation Timescales Customer Access Routes • All tools are available now. • There are over 50 online catalogues available on Government eMarketplace. • Call-off user licences for Departments needing to conduct their own strategic sourcing activity will be available shortly. • A short term tactical replacement for PSPES was awarded in September 2011. 2010/11 data is now available. A long term solution has now been procured and we are currently collecting 2011/12 data. • The portal provides a single point of access for all of these tools: http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ • Access to the eSourcing suite for further competitions against our frameworks is available here: http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/run-further-competition/running-further-competition • Access Government eMarketplace here: http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/buy-item • Access Dynamic Marketplace here: http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/run-further-competition/running-low-value-open-competition • Contracts Finder can be accessed here: http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/ Benefits Summary • Contracts Finder helps support the transparency agenda and increases competition. • Dynamic Marketplace gives quick and easy access to suppliers for low value requirements. • One easy access point for centrally negotiated deals ensures consistent pricing for common goods and services across all Departments. • Government eMarketplace fully integrates into Department’s back office applications. • The eSourcing suite supports standardised, lean procurement processes and improved performance management. • A consolidated view of spend helps identify opportunities for further savings, drive compliance and reduce data burden on Departments. • The portal provides a “one stop shop” for customers and suppliers to the full suite of tools, plus information and guidance on accessing the centralised arrangements and other framework agreements. • Simplified access to all centralised arrangements will help drive compliance. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

12. Category Governance Boards Communication Services Energy – meets quarterly Fleet – meets bi-monthly Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

13. Category Governance Boards ICT A Governance Board will not be established. The category works to a different model due to their work with CIOs to implement the Government ICT strategy. There are a number of technical workstreams covering different elements of the ICT space and customer engagement varies in each workstream.  Office Solutions Print Property Solutions Existing Governance structure is managed by the Government Property Unit via the Property Champions Group and Property and Facilities Management Board representing Departments. Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

14. Category Governance Boards Professional Services Travel – meets bi-monthly Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012

15. Useful links Published version 15.0 – 3 September 2012 Procurement plan: an overview of procurements that are being planned or are in progress - http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/i-am-buyer/procurement-pipeline About us: further information about Government Procurement Service can be found here - http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/about-government-procurement-service/about-us Savings approach: an explanation of how we calculate savings can be found here - http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/about-government-procurement-service/savings-approach FAQs: frequently asked questions can be found here - http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/information/FAQs-info