Central commercial function
The central commercial function (CCF) is a team of commercial experts who deliver 7 services for the wider NHS commercial community.
These services are at different stages of maturity with some being new or in development. The NHS England Board paper outlines what the CCF will deliver and how, along with the associated benefits of our new strategy. The CCF supports NHS Long Term Plan priorities, delivers on the Carter Review of NHS efficiency recommendations and meets the ambition of Delivering a net zero NHS to decarbonise the NHS supply chain by 2045.
1. Commercial best practice
The central commercial function helps NHS trusts, foundation trusts, and integrated care boards (ICBs) to leverage NHS buying power through category expertise.
Since 1 April 2024, NHS trusts have been required to purchase goods, services, and works via national accredited framework hosts. The list of accredited hosts, together with guidance is available for NHS trusts.
Guidance on which framework agreements to use to simplify the purchasing of digital and IT goods and services is also available.
2. People and community
We need to attract, develop and retain the best commercial talent in the NHS through career pathways. We are offering Commercial ADC (assessment and development centre) accreditation as a development opportunity for senior commercial leaders; supporting the Graduate scheme set up by the NHS Skills Development Network and the Health Care Supply Association (HCSA) and the Edward Jenner Apprenticeship scheme with the NHS Leadership Academy.
3. Governance, assurance and process
We support commercial teams with applying best practice, delivering central government procurement policies and adhering to legislation.
The NHS Provider Selection Regime (PSR) is a new set of rules for arranging healthcare services and the Procurement Bill will reform the UK’s public procurement regime.
The NHS terms and conditions for the procurement of goods and non-clinical services support NHS bodies when preparing tender documents, drawing together contracts for the purchase of goods and services. For clinical services, see the NHS Standard Contract.
NHS Commercial Standards, known as the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF) enable benchmarking against similar organisations to help drive continuous improvement in commercial practices. These NHS standards were updated in May 2020 to align with Government Commercial Function (GCF) standards for all public procurement.
4. Technology and data
Improving how we use data will increase efficiencies and build resilience. Trusts and integrated care boards already use data tools, such as the Spend Comparison Service to switch to better value products and the Model Hospital for benchmarking costs against similar providers.
The Spend Comparison Service has been refreshed in May 2023, with additional data and tools to further support NHS commercial teams to deliver the best value for the taxpayer. The refreshed service includes a new ‘product benchmarking tool’ that identifies cashable savings that could be generated when switching from specific products to alternative sources of supply.
The Atamis e-commerce system is also used by many trusts and integrated care boards. The Crown Commercial Service funded the rollout of Atamis across health organisations, in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care. Using a single e-commerce system provides better visibility and business intelligence across the NHS commercial landscape and will help unlock significant benefits and savings.
Atamis will also make it easier for suppliers, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), to do business with the NHS, as they will only need to interact with one system.
5. Commercial strategies
The CCF is developing a commercial strategy across the NHS with clear procurement pathways and routes to market and will help facilitate integrated care system (ICSs) procurement strategy development.
6. Sustainability and innovation
Our supply chain is critical to delivering a net zero NHS as nearly two thirds of NHS emissions sit within our supply chain.
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7. Sourcing and management
A resilient supply chain is vital in ensuring that our frontline teams have the resources they need. The central commercial function manages our strategically important supplier relationships, so that we can rapidly respond to supply chain challenges.