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United Kingdom : Govt. plans to launch new Crown Marketplace to shake-up procurement
Publish Date : 01-Dec-2015
In order to make it easier for businesses to provide goods and services to the government, a plan has been announced for the launch of new 'Crown Marketplace'. It says that the move "provides a huge new opportunity for small business with central government procurement spend in the region of £44bn a year."
It also looks to shake-up local government procurement procedures to enhance access to SMEs. The new marketplace has been announced in a policy paper published by the Treasury. Part of a broader plan to open up state procurement, the move, builds on the digital marketplace concept.
The paper says the government is transforming how the public sector procures digital and technology services, making it simpler, clearer and faster to purchase what it requires through the Digital Marketplace.
It adds the "Digital Marketplace has reduced barriers to the public sector market by applying user-centred principles to the design of procurements and contracts. This is making it easier for businesses to sell to government, delivering better value for money and creating new jobs. The public sector now has access to a greater number of new and innovative suppliers and the savings they unlock, many of whom have never had the opportunity to work with government before. Total sales through the Digital Marketplace have reached £836m in three years and are continuing to grow. Of this, £406 million (50 per cent by value and 60 per cent by volume) have been with SMEs."
Hence, building on the "lessons of the success of the Digital Marketplace, the government now wants to create a Crown Marketplace, extending the approach to the purchase of other common goods and services in government. The government will also develop market feedback systems on the quality of services provided and the quality of commissioning itself, to signal and drive the growth of the best providers."
