North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership

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NWCE STAKEHOLDER EVENT – ‘AHEAD OF THE GAME’ – 14th September

The NWCE hosted its third stakeholder event yesterday, ‘Ahead of the Game’ at Manchester City Football Stadium.  The event was a huge success and feedback so far has been excellent.  Thank you to all those who participated in the day.  Full details of the event, including presentations from the day will be made available on the NWCE website next week.  Look out for further details in next week’s news update.

BARGAIN HUNT - 3 OCTOBER 2006

See events section for full details.

This event is rapidly filing up, so if you would like to attend click here or contact Beverley Brooks - email bev.brooks@tameside.gov.uk or telephone 0161 342 4081.

Manchester City Council and NWCE eAuction Programme
 
The NWCE is pleased to confirm that Manchester City Council is running a planned eAuction programme of between 20 and 25 fully managed auctions to be held over the next two years.

Other local authorities are welcome to participate in the auctions should they wish and there will be opportunities within some of the auctions to include separate lots to accommodate other authorities’ specifications.

The first phase of eAuctions will be for the categories listed below, planned to be executed by January 07:

• Fresh Meat
• Telecoms (Landlines)
• Printing Services
• Residential Furniture (with possible managed installation service)

Each participant will be expected to make a small contribution of £5k per auction to the overall running costs.

Note: The auctions are fully managed by an OGC BS approved provider and will be OJEU compliant.  The cost of a fully managed, complex auction under the OGC BS framework is £32,000 per auction.  The cost of a simple, non-managed auction under the OGC BS framework is £4k per auction.

If you required further information or would like to confirm interest please call Paul Murphy on 0161 234 3273 or email p.murphy@manchester.gov.uk by 6th October. A full schedule of Manchester CC eAuctions is planned to be released later this year.

Project Meetings

P Card: It is now confirmed that the P Card Project meeting at 10am on 21st September will include a presentation from Barclays Supplier Adoption team after analysis in the region. It will also include a demo of the new free P-Card OGC management software.

Portal: Unfortunately the portal meeting for the afternoon of the same day has been postponed due to availability.

Frameworks: The Frameworks group will meet at 2pm on Wed 20th September to discuss the details of the work plan and use of the proposed contract register.

If you would like to attend any of these sessions or require further information please email neil.hind@hind.co.uk.
 

EVENTS

BARGAIN HUNT – CONFIRMED SESSIONS

The NWCE has identified in excess of £100m quick win procurement savings within the region. This event will illustrate how local authorities can take advantage of these savings. Further sessions have now been confirmed for the 3rd October Bargain Hunt session at the Palace Hotel, Manchester. Bargain Hunt should be attended by anybody looking for efficiency savings, involved in decision making or purchasing goods and services for local authorities.

Current sessions include:

A: Collaborative Procurement

B: Savings from Better Contract Management

C: Agency Staff - A Vendor Neutral Approach

D: Spend Analysis - Using the data to save

E: Postal Procurement Efficiencies

F: Mobile Telecoms Efficiencies

G: Savings from Better Energy Procurement

H: Using the OGC.BS Energy Framework

I: Making Framework Agreements Work For You

J: Fleet Procurement Strategy

K: Using Financial Information for Reducing Procurement Costs

L: Regional Procurement Cards

M: Can having the right connections save you money?

N: eInvoicing – Reducing the cost of invoice processing

O: Online Recruitment & Recruitment Advertising

P: eAuctions - Practical Example for the NW

It is expected that delegates will be able to select 5 workshops from a current list of 16 so organizations may want to send a number of delegates to ensure that all relevant sessions can be attended.

More information can be found at www.nwce.org.uk/bargainhunt.htm.

Sign up now October 3, 2006 by contacting Bev Brooks on 0161 342 4081 or bev.brooks@tameside.gov.uk

MAKING THE MOST OF PURCHASE SPEND ANALYSIS DATA

The North West Centre of Excellence is running a series of one day workshops on making the most of the Purchase Spend Analysis data that the majority councils have collated. These workshops will be completely subsidised by NWCE and as such will be completely FREE to you all.

The workshops provide a great opportunity for Local Authorities to gain the tools needed to make the most of Purchase Spend Analysis. The skills and knowledge you will walk away with will enable your authority to use the expenditure data effectively to help support future planning, to achieve efficiency and cashable savings and to identifying areas where collaborative working is likely to deliver the best results.  One workshop will be held in each sub-region of the North West throughout September and October. The following workshops have been arranged so far:

• Tuesday 19 September – Cumbria region (Dalston Offices, Cumbria CC)
• Wednesday 20 September – Greater Manchester region (Stockport Town Hall)
• Wednesday 11 October – Cheshire region (Paddington House Hotel, Warrington)

Each workshop can accommodate 16 people, with a maximum of 2 from each council.  Download a short two page summary of the workshops, providing details of the contents and format of the day.  If you wish to sign up for this event then please email Rebecca McDevitt (rebecca.mcdevitt@tameside.gov.uk)  at NWCE as soon as possible to avoid disappointment as places will fill up fast.

Delivery of Quality Services through Procurement Roadshows

Have you booked your place at one of these roadshows?

The first event takes place at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool on the 27th September 2006 and will run from 09:30 – 15:30. Places are still available and the event promises to be both informative and interesting, so don’t hesitate, book your place today!

Remember, full paying officers can bring a member for half price.

Further information can be found by clicking here.

Should you wish to join us at the Liverpool event or any of the other roadshows please complete the online booking form