2009/10 Year 2 Reports
Project Title: EPiC (effective procurement in Cumbria)
Lead Officers: Conway Stewart, Cumbria CC
Total Amount of Funding Awarded: £72k (revenue)
Cashable savings accrued; £1.46m (NI 179 data)
Non cashable savings accrued; £206k
Total Amount of Funding Spent: £71.9k
Contact Details:
Direct Line: 01228 227672
Email address:
Final Delivery Plan:
Pro Forma
· Brief summary of the project (Aims, what has been covered, timescales)
The EPiC (Effective Procurement in Cumbria) project is a collaborative procurement arrangement across Cumbria County Council, the 6 district councils and the Lake District National Park Authority.Through collaborative procurement EPiC aims to deliver increased cashable efficiency savings in line with the national agenda, while providing a forum to share procurement based knowledge and expertise. Also in accordance with national aims we plan to embed sustainability considerations into procurement activity across the sub-region, benefiting the Cumbrian community and local economy. Ultimately we hope to standardise documentation and procurement processes across the County in our move towards a Shared Procurement Service.
Since EPiC began in June 2007 the use of collaborative contracts has notably increased resulting in rising efficiency savings. We are also far along in the roll out of the North West e-tendering portal (the Chest) with training provided to all authorities and 6 of them advertising opportunities through this medium. The project received national recognition in year 2 when asked to present at the annual SOPO (Society of Procurement Officers) conference, and was also asked to host one of two Local Government Improvement and Development/SOPO national pilots for Equalities in Procurement training.
Training needs in procurement were identified across Cumbria leading to Procurement and Contract Management training courses which were provided to allocated staff members throughout the EPiC authorities. Also via funding from Envirolink the project board attended sustainability workshops which established a strong foundation from which the flexible framework can be tackled more effectively.
From the beginning of year 3 we plan to drive towards an agreement on an implementation model for a shared procurement service, and hope to get off to a good start by using Quarter 1 to review the Business Case and identify more areas for collaboration. Also as indicated in the year 3 Delivery Plan we are aiming for all authorities to be using the e-tendering portal for contracts over an agreed threshold by the end of quarter 2.
It is hoped that by the end of year 3 sustainability considerations, which will include environmental, social and economic factors, will be heavily embedded in all procurement activity across EPiC; included in this is our plan to work more closely with the Third Sector and Small & Medium Enterprises. A steady increase in procurement skills and expertise across the sub-region is expected to support this and to increase throughout the final year.
· Partners Involved
EPiC is a collaborative procurement arrangement between Allerdale Borough Council, Barrow Borough Council, Carlisle City Council, Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria County Council, Eden District Council, South Lakeland District Council and the Lake District National Park Authority.There is also an involvement with the other sub-regions in the North West with EPiC represented on the NWIEP Procurement Hub, in particular support provided to and gained from the Lancashire Procurement Hub.
· Outcomes achieved
In year two cashable efficiency savings have increased through the use of collaborative contracts, including inter-district where considerable savings have been generated through a couple of joint service contracts. In total EPiC delivered cashable savings of £1.46m (inc NI 179 data) and non-cashable of £206k. We hope to increase this further by using the results of our Spikes Spend Analysis, completed in year 2, to identify more areas for collaboration.There has been a sharp increase in use of the e-tendering portal with 6 out of the 8 authorities now using it to advertise new opportunities. Four of these authorities are using it for a vast majority of contracts, particularly contracts of a high value.
Year 2 has seen EPiC utilised more effectively as a forum which provides a strong support network through the sharing of procurement based experience expertise across both the county and the North West. This has been partly achieved on a sub-regional basis through changes in communication, with the Sharepoint portal now adopted as a progressive link between the EPiC authorities.
Procurement training needs across the EPiC authorities were identified in year 1 and where applicable Procurement and Contract Management training was delivered in year 2 to promote best practice and standard procurement processes across the county. Also EPiC was chosen to host a national pilot for ‘Equalities in Procurement’ training led by Local Government Improvement and Development and SOPO, and took part in Sustainability Workshops delivered on the back of funding from Envirolink. The Sustainability Workshops were delivered by Action Sustainability and the outcomes generated will be used to form an action plan on tackling the flexible framework.
· Outcomes not achieved (include brief description of why not)
EPiC had intended to adopt Marketplace as a means of sharing electronic catalogues, however, due to problems with the service provider only Allerdale and Copeland are continuing with this system. As a resolution EPiC was awarded capital funding from NWIEP for one of the District Council’s to pilot the County Council’s e-procurement portal. Unfortunately we were unable to progress to full implementation due to technical barriers in integrating with several FIMs systems. Nevertheless a common platform has been produced and work will be carried out in year 3 to find a solution to enable the sharing of electronic catalogues.Falling under the Supplier Engagement deliverable there was an intention to put together a Supplier Guide. This is currently in draft form and will be carried forward to year 3 to be implemented.
· Barriers and limitations encountered during the project
The failure of Marketplace and the technical barriers which halted the e-procurement pilot have resulted in there being no practical means of sharing electronic catalogues. This is likely to impact on the level of EPiC contract usage which in turn will have a knock-on effect on the level of cashable and non-cashable efficiency savings delivered.In order to rectify this problem we will need to identify a solution to share electronic catalogues by the end of year 3.
· What would you do differently in the future?
The project may have benefited if a model to measure efficiency savings was agreed and formalised earlier as not having one in place meant there were rather timely obstacles to overcome when reporting on progress in Quarter 2. This has since been resolved and reporting on efficiency savings has become a lot smoother.· Sustainability of the Project, what are the next steps? What’s been the best part of the project?
One of our first steps in year 3 will be to identify more areas for collaboration and hopefully deliver further efficiency savings as a result. A review of the Business Case is also intended to take place in quarter 1 and we hope to reach an agreement across the board on an implementation model for a shared procurement service.A major driving force in year 3 will be sustainability as we aim to embed it further into procurement practice across the sub-region. This will link in with focus on Supplier Engagement as we aim to develop stronger relationships and provide support and guidance to Small & Medium Enterprises and the Third Sector. We have enlisted the support Georgina Ternent to tackle this, who will also be working on extending Cumbria County Council’s Third Sector Compact to the District Councils.
Continued training and support will be provided on the Chest with a push to have the final 2 authorities advertising opportunities through the portal.
· Where the project has a final report asone of the outputs, when is this being delivered?
Throughout the course of year 2 EPiC reported to CIEP 6-weekly and quarterly, and NWIEP quarterly. A publicly available case study was also produced in quarter 2:· Projects Overall Performance (deliverables achieved vs. deliverables projected)
While progression has been made on all deliverables in year 2 these are ongoing and will be carried on into year 3:§ Joint Tendering Programme – Collaborative contracts are in place delivering efficiency savings but more work will be done to increase the number of joint contracts
§ Implementation of Outline Business Case – The Business Case will be reviewed using the results of Spikes Refresh. The aim to is to have an agreement on an implementation plan for a shared service by the end of year 3
§ Electronic Tendering System – Currently 6 districts are advertising opportunities on the e-tendering portal. In year 3 support will continue to be provided with hope that by the end of quarter 2 all 8 authorities will be utilising the Chest regularly
§ Sharepoint – Successfully implemented in year 2 but with more work to be undertaken in order for the portal to be used to its full potential
§ Efficiency Savings – EPiC delivered £1.46m cashable efficiency savings in year 2 with projected savings of approximately £1.5m for year 3
§ Supplier Engagement – Workshops were held in year 1 to target local suppliers. In year 2 a draft Supplier Guide was produced to be implemented in year 3. For the coming year we have enlisted Georgina Ternent to provide support to the Third Sector and Small & Medium Enterprises, and to extend Cumbria County Council’s Third Sector Compact to the District Councils
§ Procurement Training – Basic procurement training has been provided throughout the authorities. For year 3 we have already sourced basic sustainable procurement training to offer to all EPiC authorities and plan to source training on specification writing
§ Sustainability – In year 2 a good basis for embedding sustainability further into procurement practice was developed through the Envirolink Workshops. In year 3 action plans are to be created off the back of the workshops and areas where it is possible to collaborate and provide support identified
§ Spend Analysis – The Spikes Refresh was completed in year 2 and the data will be used to identify further areas for collaboration.
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