Gov Procurement in 2020: A Roundup

2020 has been an eventful year. In this blog we break down how the situation with COVID-19 has changed the landscape of Gov procurement in 2020.

gov procurement in 2020

With the public sector procurement world seemingly thrown into uncertainty at the beginning of the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s been many reactionary and cautionary changes to the landscape (in the form of these PPNs). We’ve covered some of the steps government have taken to ensure procurement takes place fairly and that buyers and suppliers are accounted for during these times, but we wanted to update on the situation.

Here, we look at some key government frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems in 2020. This is a quick breakdown on what’s happening with public sector procurement routes…

Dynamic Purchasing Systems

Often abbreviated to DPS, Dynamic Purchasing Systems are procurement routes with a lot more flexibility than your standard framework. Before 2020, we saw a lot more of these methods of doing business popping up.

DPSs such as Gigabit Capable Connectivity or the flagship innovative tech marketplace Spark were launched in 2019, with the slate for 2020 much more full too. But why are we seeing more of these pop up? Largely due to the flexibility. Suppliers can join a DPS at any point in its lifecycle and they can be adapted over time as technology needs to change. (You can get more info on the benefits of Dynamic Purchasing Systems here).

In a year where government, and organisations who run procurement routes, need to be adaptive and respond to the needs of buyers and suppliers carefully – as well as enabling the public sector to procure faster, Dynamic Purchasing Systems have really helped in 2020.

Here’s some that have already opened:

Expect to see more of these open up in the future. Also, some frameworks are running DPSs alongside them. To enable different ways of procuring services and goods for buyers and suppliers. It’s all about making it easier within the new climate, but keeping everything compliant!

Frameworks

Although there are a lot more DPSs being announced, frameworks are still going strong. Buyers this year will largely be choosing to do their procurement through already established frameworks, rather than finding new (sometimes time heavy) routes, to help speed up processes.

We’ve seen a fair few be delayed because of this and to ensure teams have the capability to get everything right internally. This is also due to the fact suppliers need more time to adjust to today’s landscape too. For example, the CCS’s Digital Marketplace was affected. G-Cloud was delayed and is expected to go Live this September, and applications for Digital Outcomes and Specialists 5 open this September too. We usually see these appear around July and August. This was down to allowing procurement through the currently opened iterations to still take place and give public sector buyers a bit more leeway with their stretched teams.

Future frameworks have also been delayed too though. With Transport Technology & Associated Services being put back until January 2021 and Technology Services 3 now opening for applications at the end of October, to name a couple. This isn’t a negative on frameworks, they’re still a preferred way for government departments to procure goods and services, and we don’t expect this to change.

What should I do now?

If you’re a supplier currently on some frameworks then you should be utilising these and carrying on your procurement business as usual. If you aren’t, then definitely consider listing when the relevant route opens for applications.

Dynamic Purchasing Systems already open are a good way to get involved in the market now and without waiting for other relevant frameworks to open up, so these should not be overlooked. As we said, the public sector will turn to frameworks and DPSs they know about and know how to use. They want procurement processes to be quick, compliant, and efficient. Especially now when their teams are stretched due to COVID-19.