FEATURE FOCUS: FINANCE
introduced and exploited at any point in the supply chain. A vulnerable supply chain can cause damage and disruption to your school or college. ISO 27001 is the only auditable international standard that defines the requirements of an information security management system, it is an essential requirement for all suppliers on the Tail Spend Solution. This means we’ve ensured that framework suppliers on the agreement have this accreditation so that your data remains safe at all times.
• Improving Compliance
Tail spend is often viewed as non-compliant spend as it generally isn’t ‘strategically managed’ and doesn’t go through the procurement process. If we’re purchasing from a supplier who does not conform to Government Buying Standards, Public Sector Terms and Conditions (T&C’s) or cannot demonstrate price competitiveness then we are purchasing non-compliantly and don’t have any protection if things go wrong.
What can I buy through the Tail Spend Solution?
Tail Spend Solution is a ‘first of its kind’ digital marketplace style solution, which lists millions of products from a vast range of suppliers. Does your PE department need twenty new footballs? Do your students require compasses for the Duke of Edinburgh programme? Are there any ad-hoc accessibility requirements you need to fulfil on a last minute basis? Or do you urgently need 100 clipboards for a school trip next week? If so, we can deliver all of these to you easily and at competitive prices.
Schools, colleges and universities will be able to purchase educational resources, musical instruments, camera equipment, IT peripherals, office and janitorial supplies, and a diverse range of other products through the online platform.
Five benefits of using the Tail Spend Solution
• Free access to analytics and reporting The most common challenge faced by organisations while trying to tackle their ad hoc or low value spend is a lack of information regarding what that looks like i.e. what they actually buy over time. Unless organisations are tracking ALL of their spend centrally it can be hard to have visibility of what this spend consists of.
Through the Tail Spend Solution framework there are no hidden costs for accessing spend analytics and reporting. This differs from many similar marketplace providers who require customers to subscribe to additional packages at an increased cost in order to obtain oversight of their data or access certain functionality. You will have the ability to see what your organisation is spending in their ‘tail’ and analyse and understand it, allowing you to make more effective decisions and achieve greater benefits.
• Social value filtering and reporting Technology and online procurement can play a big part in selecting products to match sustainability and social value credentials. The Tail Spend Solution has built-in filters to enable customers to choose the criteria that are important to their organisation and align with their social value priorities. The advanced search filters allow customers to quickly identify product
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and vendor options related to social value and green credentials.
• Choosing your preferred suppliers Our Tail Spend Solution allows you to filter and nominate your existing or preferred suppliers, aligned to your organisation’s long term objectives. For example, where a customer is already purchasing from a supplier with strong social value and Carbon Net Zero credentials, they can choose to work with them as part of their bespoke supply chain. Customers can also choose to purchase solely from local vendors and support local businesses.
Customers can easily source products that have been through an ethical sourcing process and can filter on the product categories they desire. This functionality gives the education sector the ability to create a bespoke supply chain tailored to their exact requirements.
• Strengthening your data security: ISO 27001
Effectively securing your supply chain can be hard because vulnerabilities can be inherent, or
Tail Spend Solution guarantees a compliant process and removes unwanted risk, underpinned by public sector terms and conditions.
About CCS
CCS is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, supporting the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services.
Our experts lead procurement policy on behalf of the government and use their skills and knowledge to source the best products at the best prices, saving organisations both time and money. Our frameworks are free to use for public and third sector organisations in the UK.
Find out more
To learn more about CCS’s Tail Spend Solution, visit
crowncommercial.gov.uk/tailspend. You could also watch our webinar which provides an overview of the solution on Youtube, you can find it by searching “An introduction and overview of the Tail Spend Solution”. Alternatively, get in touch with the team directly by emailing us at
tailmanagement@crowncommercial.gov.uk
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