Crown Commercial Services

Crown Commercial Services (CCS) are the biggest public procurement organisation in the UK. They procure hundreds of services every year, primarily for the public sector but also for the third sector.

Although they do procure ‘single-supplier’ opportunities, they are best known for procuring substantial Frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS), including in areas such as Communications and IT.

All of their opportunities are able to be found through the normal free platforms such as Contracts Finder and Find a Tender, as well as through their own website.

If you are an organisation interested in bidding for public sector contracts, we strongly recommend that you keep an eye out for CCS opportunities, as their frameworks and DPS’ open up the potential to put yourself in front of almost all public sector organisations. For example, the recent G-Cloud 13 procurement’s potential customers included all government departments, police forces, NHS bodies, educational bodies, housing associations, councils, and many more.

For those not familiar with frameworks and DPS’, they are application processes where you have to reach a minimum standard to get on to what is essentially a preferred supplier list. If you are successful in getting on to the framework/DPS, approved buyers then have the option to approach you for a quote or ask you to undertake a mini-tender competition versus other suppliers. The key advantages of a framework DPS are that the standard to get on to one can be relatively low, and the potential buyers it opens up to you can be huge.

As of April 2022, CCS has a number of ongoing large procurements, including:

• Three large technology frameworks - G-Cloud 13 (for suppliers who can provide cloud hosting, software and support), Digital Outcomes 6 (for suppliers who can design, build and provide clearly defined bespoke digital projects and services), and Big Data and Analytics

• Workforce Improvement Services – to support NHS Trusts with workforce solutions

• Facilities Management and Workplace Services – supporting the entire public sector with FM services, such as security, catering and many more.

There are also 22 DPS’ ongoing, including for Building Cleaning, Insurance Services, Cyber Security, and many more. For full details, check out their upcoming procurements page.

Tender Alchemy’s Consultants have supported many organisations get on to CCS frameworks and DPS’, including for the Communications Marketplace, G-Cloud and a number of small defence frameworks.

For further details on how we can support you, have a look at our services.