Member Sponsor: Cllr Tim Evans, Spelthorne BC
CEO Sponsor: Paul Turrell, Runnymede BC
The aim of this workstream is to investigate ways in which Surrey public bodies can reduce costs through collaborative procurement. This programme of work is being developed and delivered by the Surrey Procurement Group - comprised of procurement specialists from across the county. This Group will also liase with the other Surrey First workstreams to provide procurement support and help to maximise the potential benefits of their projects.
The Surrey Procurement Group will carry out an analysis of high spend commodity type categories and maximise benefits to be drawn from economies of scale. Current work is focused on the following areas:
| Food a procurement has already been completed that allows access for all authorities to dried and frozen foods that will deliver significant savings for partners. Further work on this category is currently being undertaken to ensure all savings opportunities are exploited. |  |
| Cleaning a framework has been identified that will allow partners to pool their spending power to achieve savings on cleaning materials. Work is also being carried out to deliver a cleaning services procurement that all authorities are welcome to join. |  |
| Commercial Printing - work is underway to collect data to understand existing arrangements and costs for commercial print and distribution needs. The benefits of combining distribution and jointly procuring services will be explored. |  |
| Postal Services - this project will review current postage arrangements across all partners and research market alternatives and potential opportunities. |  |
| Suppliers - work is underway to identify the common suppliers used by authorities to harmonise terms and leverage opportunities for savings. The procurement workstream is collaborating with the IT Surrey First Workstream to look at common IT suppliers. |  |
The next step is to understand the full nature and scale of spend and estimate the potential savings to be obtained.