Award-winning Bloom Procurement Services has been appointed by NEPO (the North East Procurement Organisation) to deliver the multi-billion-pound NEPRO³ public sector procurement solution for up to eight years.
NEPRO³ is a compliant procurement framework, available to every public sector organisation in the UK.
Bloom provides a full end-to-end marketplace solution for the procurement, contract management and payment of all consultancy and professional services. From local authorities, housing associations and central government departments to NHS trusts, not-for-profit, emergency services and education. Bloom’s solution supports and assists the entire UK public sector to buy and manage professional services from a choice of regional and national suppliers. It allows them to move quickly and at the lowest possible cost, whilst achieving better outcomes.
Bloom has been the UK’s exclusive operator of the NEPRO solution since its original inception in 2012 and has been successful in winning the third iteration of the contract up to 2027. NEPRO³ will open up procurement opportunities for public sector buyers – giving them access to a constantly evolving supply chain – whilst providing efficiency savings, transparency and a compliant route to market.
The solution will deliver substantial savings to the public sector. On average, public sector buyers currently using the NEPRO solution save between 11% and 19% against budget.
In addition, NEPRO³ will open up the market to all suppliers, removing the traditional barriers of marketing and selling to public sector bodies. The advantage to suppliers, especially smaller SMEs, is that once they are registered and accredited with Bloom they no longer have to go through time-consuming prequalification stages, instead they compete on a level playing field against larger suppliers for contracts they might not otherwise have access to.
Opportunities available to suppliers include small to multi-million-pound public sector projects. Bloom is regularly involved in roadshows across the UK, which outlines to local companies how they can join Bloom’s supplier community – and the ease of access this allows to multiple projects from over 330 public sector bodies. To date, Bloom has successfully completed over 4,500 projects.
Opening up procurement to SME suppliers is a key aspect of the NEPRO solution. 70% of projects have been delivered by SMEs enabling the public sector to drive significant growth back into local economies and remove barriers previously faced.
To find out more about working with Bloom, visit: https://bloom.services/work-with-us/