NHS Supply Chain has opened a tender worth up to £10 million to procure a digital commerce portal.
The opportunity aims to replace systems “over 30 years old” and introduce a single order and order management platform.
NHS Supply Chain said it currently uses a range of systems for a core catalogue, order feeds, forecasting to replenish, and ordering triggered by usage. However it notes that theses systems are “unstable, are not flexible and are unable to adapt to our strategy or external changes”.
It now aims to introduce a modular platform that is accessible by over 1,000 suppliers and ensure there’s a single source of truth of data. Some of the requirements noted in the tender include a business rules engine including product price, stock levels, rationing rules, minimum and maximum order values, and supply routing conditions, as well tools to support users easily find what they need and process orders.
In November, NHS Supply Chain said: “The organisation is at an exciting cross-roads, having recently defined a new 10-year vision to enable it to better meet the needs of the NHS and bring its value proposition to a broader range of healthcare providers.” A three to five year transformation plan is in place which aims to re-platform the core front office and digital commerce solutions, in addition to “dramatically improving” the user experience and interface.
By the end of the year, they aim to save the NHS £2.4 billion through “leveraging the scale of the NHS to drive savings and providing a standardised range of quality assured clinical products that meet the NHS’s diverse needs”.
The contract value is up to £10,000,000 for a five year duration.
The deadline to apply for the tender is 24 March 2023. To find out more, please click here.
