Our blogs guide you through eight reasons to take a fresh look at framework agreements and evaluate whether your business could benefit from this streamlined purchasing approach.

Reason 7: Supporting social value

One of the most critical elements of any public sector procurement decision now depends on the level of social value embedded within contracts. Since 1 January 2021, the UK government has imposed a new set of measures setting out how organisations that benefit from the £49BN public purse must contribute to the country’s economic, social and environmental goals.

Framework agreements can help you to ensure that the social value your contracts deliver chimes with your organisational goals and objectives and helps to boost your corporate social responsibility. At the start of your relationship with any supplier as part of a framework agreement, it is important to set out your objectives in advance and establish the KPIs against which you will measure your working relationship.

As RSLs, you will be focused on the proportion of right first-time deliveries, and on time deliveries, and will be keen to reduce the volume of returns, improve invoicing accuracy and see clear cost and revenue tracking metrics. Ultimately your relationship with suppliers within a framework agreement should enable you to drive improvements in customer satisfaction while enjoying the reassurance that you have left no stone unturned in your effort to spend public resources wisely and to deliver social value as the UK starts on its road to post-pandemic recovery.

 

 

Reason 8: Building positive working relationships

Perhaps the most important advantage of selecting a supplier as part of a framework agreement is the opportunity to drive continuous improvement over successive years. Framework agreements safeguard long-term commitments which enable both parties to invest in a mutually beneficial

relationship over time. Suppliers benefit from the confident expectation of time to understand your business objectives, build positive working relationships, and adapt their service to meet your specific needs. You should expect to see progress over the framework period in terms of cost savings and quality improvements as you and your chosen supplier work more closely together.

Procurement strategy should take account of your business objectives so that you can map how suppliers will enable you to achieve goals in terms of social value, net zero carbon, customer satisfaction, safety, and value for money. Fundamentally there is no one-size fits all for framework agreements so you will need to carry out the research to find the right one for your organisation.

Many frameworks offer additional benefits to boost their competitive appeal. Investigate whether you could gain access to additional support such as free consultancy, best practice benchmarking, or data production services. Check the level of account management that you can expect to receive as part of any agreement.