ProcServe Trading Network to be deployed across 43 police forces

ProcServe, a leading provider of eProcurement solutions, is pleased to announce that they will be providing an end-to-end Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) and eMarketplace service for all 43 police forces across England and Wales. The contract was signed on 31st March 2011 by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Cabinet Office, to deliver a national Police Procurement Hub that will be used across all forces for purchasing goods and services.

The Police Procurement Hub will play a vital role in helping the police to become more efficient by collaborating on procurement across the police forces. This initiative will help to deliver the necessary cuts in spending that the police service faces over the next five years. The Hub will enable each force to buy from the best value centralised deals as well as from their regional and locally let supplier contracts. Roll out will take place over the next 12 months, as part of the Collaborative Police Procurement Programme (CPPP). The contract with ProcServe will continue for a further five years.

The new P2P and eMarketplace services will enable the police service to:

- Improve efficiency and procurement processes, providing forces with easy access to pre-loaded best value contracts, simple connectivity to their suppliers, including SMEs (small medium enterprises), and electronic invoicing capabilities

- Provide greater visibility into direct and indirect spend with access to comprehensive management information in a standardised and consistent format

- Greatly reduce spending from unapproved contracts which will lead to significant savings.

Sue Moffatt, Head of Commercial and Procurement at the NPIA, said: “The police service is committed to deliver £545 million pounds of savings per year by 2013/14. It is absolutely vital that those charged with buying goods and services have access to the tools that make them available quickly, and directly to their desktop.

“The Hub complements existing procurement processes across the police service so forces do not need to invest in replacing current systems. It enhances existing processes and provides a simple online shopping system to access best value products and services.”

Jim Knox, CEO of ProcServe is delighted to welcome the police service to the rapidly expanding community of ProcServe’s customers, stating: “This is an exciting new programme that will create a truly collaborative eMarketplace for all police forces and their suppliers across England and Wales, and transform the way they procure goods and services. This is about giving the police forces an affordable way to practice smarter spending and to support the savings initiatives been driven by NPIA and ACPO.”