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The background

The University of Manchester was looking to renew its mobile voice and data services contract, which had been put in place using a CCS framework agreement.

They realised that using the aggregation service that CCS offers to customers free of charge would be an ideal way to renew the contract, and seek improved value for money.

The solution

The CCS aggregation team helps customers make savings by creating opportunities for them to standardise their requirements. The university decided to join an aggregation for their mobile voice and data services needs. They joined 8 other customers, enabling us to aggregate 16,600 mobile connections in total.

The university worked closely with the team at CCS, who clearly explained the process and the support available at an introductory meeting. Following this, a detailed early market engagement and benchmarking exercise was jointly carried out. This identified that the aggregated approach could help the university achieve a minimum saving of 40%. 

Mark Worrall, Procurement Office, University of Manchester said:

The CCS team provided excellent professional support throughout the process. They aided discussions with internal stakeholders and suppliers. The detailed analysis and engagement provided confidence for university stakeholders. They provided all the information I needed to ensure internal approval to take part in the aggregation was secured.

CCS led and managed the procurement process extremely well. We were kept updated throughout, from the drafting of the tender documents to post-contract award. The contract was awarded in April 2021 and we have been able to realise savings of around 50% against our existing deal. This is even higher than anticipated.”

Ian Jarvey, Deputy Head of Procurement added:

We had a pressing need to renew our mobile voice and data services contract and were fortunate that we were able to join an aggregation with CCS which met our needs and is delivering real savings. CCS was great to work with, and the support from Louise and the CCS technical team was first class. The contract was re-let, pain free, on favourable terms and we will certainly look to take part in further aggregations when we can.

Let us add power to your procurement

To find out more about our aggregation service and upcoming aggregations please visit our dedicated web page.

You can also call us on 0345 410 2222 or email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk 

You will also find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.