On 18 March, Made in Britain hosted an exclusive online session with Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the UK’s biggest public procurement organisation, managing and simplifying the procurement process for the government departments and public sector organisations it represents. Its main role is to help the public sector maximise every pound so precious resources can go where they’re needed most.
In 2023/24, CCS customers achieved commercial benefits equal to £4.9 billion. Commercial benefits include factors such as cost savings and reaching carbon net zero targets. Supplying through CCS offers the following benefits:
• Access to 20,000 public sector buyers.
• Opportunities across 83 categories of common goods and services, from construction to energy and research.
• A simplified procurement process that promotes transparency and fair competition.
• Prompt payment policy implementation
The session featured the Commercial Manager and Commercial Lead from CCS, who shared insights on how to become a supplier for CCS, how to monitor and bid for CCS contracts, and how SMEs can play a vital role in the UK public sector and public procurement projects.
Shirley Cooper OBE, Small Business Crown Representative at the Cabinet Office, was also in attendance and contributed to the discussion. She previously delivered an online roundtable with Made in Britain companies in September 2024.
75+ companies registered for the session, to listen, discuss and ask questions. Attendees raised key questions about accessing and navigating public sector tenders, including how to list niche products and set up notifications for relevant opportunities. There were also questions about how businesses can introduce new or innovative products into procurement frameworks. A significant discussion point was whether UK-made products receive additional weighting in tender evaluations, particularly in relation to social value, recognising their contribution to local job creation, quality standards, and the wider UK economy.
The session was hosted and facilitated by George Middleton, Advisor to Made in Britain and Director at MAP UK & International. It took place as part of Made in Britain’s ongoing supply chains support programme. Previous sessions include those with Babcock, NATO, Leidos, Cabinet Office and NHS Supply Chain.
Please email: trade@madeinbritain.org to make contact, in relation to supplying CCS, request slides, links, and additional resources related to this event, and accessing Made in Britain’s supply chains support programme
By Made in Britain 3 months ago | By Made in Britain