Framework Agreement for the Provision of Inventory Management Systems

The NHS Collaborative Procurement Partnership (NHS CPP) comprises NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative, NHS London Procurement Partnership, NHS Commercial Solutions and East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub. NHS CPP has successfully delivered a number of projects, including the Total Orthopaedic Solutions (TOS) and Total Cardiology Solutions (TCS) framework agreements. NHS Commercial Solutions (NHS CS) is leading this procurement project on behalf of NHS CPP.

The intricacies of managing activity in contracts let under these frameworks, in particular, have identified the need for a means of managing the flow of equipment and consumable stocks throughout the organisation. To meet this need NHS Commercial Solutions, on behalf of NHS CPP, is procuring a framework agreement for the provision of commercial, "off-the-shelf", vendor-neutral inventory management systems to which a number of suppliers will be appointed.

The systems will, inter alia, require the capability to

Whilst the initial driver for this project is the implementation, into acute trusts, of TOS and TCS, benefits of inventory management are recognised across the wider NHS, including mental and community health. The IMS will therefore need to be scalable to enable delivery to organisations of different sizes and across a number of locations.