Customers save over £850,000 on mobile voice and data services
The Crown Commercial Service has helped 7 customers, including 2 NHS trusts, save an average 52% on their mobile voice and data services.
Background
Many organisations routinely purchase the same mobile goods and services as and when they need them. This creates varying contract end dates, and a potential barrier to switching suppliers as savings can be reduced or lost due to early termination charges.
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) aggregation team wanted to help customers break the perception of being tied to a particular supplier, by providing a way to bring together their requirements and achieve savings that would not be reduced by the early termination of existing contracts.
The solution
The aggregation team regularly conducts further competitions for multiple customers based on standard specifications for common goods and services. Combined volumes help attract more interest from suppliers and are proven to achieve better value and savings for customers.
As the aggregation team run these projects as a fully managed service, customers just need to express their interest and provide details of their requirements. We then go to market and manage the procurement from start to finish.
As part of this procurement, customers were provided with a comparison tool so they could compare their current pricing versus the ceiling price before we approached suppliers.
Using the Network Services framework agreement (RM1045), the most economically advantageous supplier offer was achieved by taking into consideration both price and non-price factors, such as quality. The further competition was concluded with sealed bids.
Innovative contract terms were also used so that customers can move their phone connections, as and when existing contracts expire, throughout the first 2 years of the 3 year contract.
The results
The project brought together the common mobile voice and data requirements of 7 customers - a total of nearly 10,000 connections.
It resulted in an average, indicative saving of 52% compared to customers’ existing prices. This is the equivalent of a saving of over £858,000 for the customers who took part.
Mohammed Mannan, Procurement Manager at London Borough of Hounslow commented:
“The process was clear and the documents produced were easy to understand. The tariffs delivered were significantly reduced when compared like for like to our existing arrangement.”
These results clearly demonstrate that by combining volumes and using a standard specification for a commodity product or service, significant cost savings can quickly be realised.
Get involved
We would like to hear from customers across the public sector who are interested in securing savings by combining their requirements with other organisations on a range of common goods and services including mobile voice and data services, other telephony services and technology products.
Find out more about future opportunities on our technology aggregation pipeline.
You can also email technologyaggregation@crowncommercial.gov.uk or call us on 0345 410 2222.