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Future Purchasing Limited

Digital Category Management Platform Selection

We are independent of platform providers and work with organisations to identify and select the best fit Digital Category Management Platform. We support the definition of requirements and business case, the running of compliant procurement processes, PoC testing, down selected vendor contract award, stakeholder alignment, risk management and implementation planning.

Features

  • Thought leadership reporting of industry best practices and emerging trends.
  • Unbiased, independent, objective platform assessment for the best-fit vendor solutions.
  • Current state assessments of skills and capability against industry benchmarks.
  • Creating comprehensive Statements of Requirements and investment Business Cases.
  • Developing and running compliant procurement processes with tailored selection criteria.
  • Enabling compliant vendor negotiation and selection processes, delivering optimal terms.
  • Facilitating Proof-of-Concept exercises with the down-selected, shortlisted vendors.
  • Run impact assessments and cost-benefit analysis for platform investment cases.
  • Platform implementation planning, including integration risk assessment and mitigation strategies.
  • Facilitation of stakeholder alignment events and development of adoption strategies.

Benefits

  • External thought leadership that brings competitive advantage and informed decision-making.
  • Independence that eliminates conflicts of interest, ensuring optimal platform selection.
  • Robust assessment of skills and capabilities that will need developing.
  • Requirements matched to the most suitable platform for long-term success.
  • Securing favourable pricing, terms, and conditions for maximum organisational value.
  • Supports competition, transparency and compliance with Procurement law.
  • Builds trust through validating platform capability and fit, before selection.
  • Approach that justifies investment and ensures alignment with business objectives.
  • Risks are identified and addressed upfront, with clear mitigation plans.
  • Stakeholders are aligned to manage smooth decision-making and project support.

Pricing

£500 a unit a day

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at mbassington@futurepurchasing.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

2 1 8 3 2 7 2 2 3 3 2 3 5 3 5

Contact

Future Purchasing Limited Mark Bassington
Telephone: 07899947880
Email: mbassington@futurepurchasing.com

Planning

Planning service
Yes
How the planning service works
We work with organisations to create a phased plan to achieve an agreed platform selection goal. Starting with visioning the future state of the organisation having adopted the Digital Category Management Platform and how it could operate across the organisation, and the desired performance. Then creating a roadmap of phases of selection: Project Set Up (who and when people need to be involved in the Selection Project, how it is governed), Current State Analysis (assessing the current methods, capabilities, strengths and weakness and level of existing adoption of Category Management to identify opportunities for improvement), Market Analysis (of the available platforms and their capabilities), Strategy Development (to agree the right approach to select/procure a Platform), Procurement (engage the market and obtain competitive bids, evaluate solutions based on tailored selection criteria, including assessing any Proof of Concepts, and recommending the preferred Platform vendor, through to supporting negotiations and a contract award), Implementation Planning (working with the Platform vendor to agree to an indicative platform roll out plan, understanding scope and scale, resources, risks and dependences, reporting and performance management regime.
Planning service works with specific services
No

Training

Training service provided
Yes
How the training service works
The Future Purchasing training support provides capability building in the use of the selected platforms functionality and also the off system activities required to deliver a robust strategy including but not limited to stakeholder planning, communications, influencing skills, and key workshops required to drive collaboration and co-creation.

Our system training comprises of hands-on workshop training on the core system functionality and components supplementing the on-line help available within the tools.

In addition to the system training our service includes category coaching for the team(s) developing and implementing category strategy(ies) to ensure that the learning is embedded and the desired outcomes achieved. This training is typically based on the FP best practice toolkit but can be tailored to accommodate Client materials if required.

Our training is phased to align with the steps of the category strategy development and implementation lifecycle to ensure that the learning is provided at the appropriate time and then embedded through real category strategy activity to embed the learning. Soft skills training can also be provided.

Our capability building process follows the 70:20:10 methodology has been tried and tested over 20 years and proven to deliver an enduring capability.
Training is tied to specific services
No

Setup and migration

Setup or migration service available
Yes
How the setup or migration service works
Through the selection process we will help the client organisation evaluate the Digital Category Management Platform vendor's set up and migration processes and experience. Identifying points of potential risk or concern than need to be addressed during any Proof or Concept and/or eventual implementation and we will review and approve the vendor's plans and recommendation to help them mitigate risk or concerns prior to contract award.
Setup or migration service is for specific cloud services
No

Quality assurance and performance testing

Quality assurance and performance testing service
Yes
How the quality assurance and performance testing works
Should potential Digital Category Management Platform vendors offer to provide, and or support a Proof of Concept during the Selection Process. We would scrutinise the vendors own quality and performance testing processes and systems. This may include working with the client organisation to test the input data that would be uses, the measures to secure the data security within the Platform, and assessing the accuracy of the output results and performance metrics such as results run time, accuracy, completeness, errors and anomalies.

Security testing

Security services
No

Ongoing support

Ongoing support service
No

Service scope

Service constraints
We remain Digital Category Management Platform/System agnostic, and therefore have no constraints to prevent us from working with any potential Platform/System vendor.

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
Within normal business hours Mon-Fri 9-5pm (excluding Bank holidays) we would respond within 4 working hours
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
No
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
No
Support levels
FP Provide a Technical Account Manager who would be the focal point for service support.

The Technical Support Manager cost is included within the agreed service charges based on the SFIA rates provided or withing the fixed costs depending on the agreed pricing model.

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Other security clearance
Government security clearance
Up to Security Clearance (SC)

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
No
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Cyber essentials
Yes
Cyber essentials plus
No
Other security certifications
No

Social Value

Social Value

Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

Fighting climate change

We encourage our teams to reduce their carbon footprint, including working from home to minimise travel when practical to do so, utilising public transport as the default for essential business travel, and use of low emission vehicles. We also encourage use of green energy providers/tariffs for employees utilities provision. We operate digital by default to maintain a paperless office and reduce waste.

Tackling economic inequality

1.1 Supporting local communities
As an example of this on a previous client engagement in the Bristol area as part of the contract we required additional programme administrative resource to support the programme. We committed in the tender through our social value response to recruit the resource locally through a Bristol based labour agency with the stipulation that the candidates came from specified local postcodes. We recruited a local candidate on a fixed term contract for the duration of the contract paying a rate significantly in excess of minimum wage. Throughout the period of the contract we fully integrated them into the team and provided coaching and upskilling to help prepare them for future roles. We would be happy to consider similar arrangements for the G-Cloud contracts subject to obtaining required Security Clearances.
1.2 Provision of expert business advice to VCSEs and SMEs
A further example is our work with a Trust Port based in the South West on a voluntary basis, providing non executive board member input and chairing the board of trustees. This has enabled organisational improvements, including a revised marketing strategy, a program of updates to the financial systems and revised approaches to HR. We would be happy to consider providing similar support to local organisations associated with clients under G-Cloud.
1.3 Support to unemployed people
As an organisation we have also provided free coaching hours to VCSE Organisations in supporting unemployed people into work by providing career mentoring, including mock interviews, CV advice, and careers guidance. We would be happy to consider similar arrangements in collaboration with clients under G-Cloud.
We provide annual charitable contributions, this years charities were Winstons Wish, Doctors Without Borders and British Red Cross

Equal opportunity

We are an equal opportunities employer, we consider all job applications through our recruitment partner on the basis of experience alone covering the past 10 years as a maximum. We do not include names or dates of birth to avoid any possible bias. This enables us to shortlist and interview candidates based on their stated experience alone. Our interview process is held with a panel consisting of diverse panel members.
Diversity, ethical procurement and social value in the supply chain – we promote ethical procurement, diversity and social value within our own team and supply chain, obligations on this are included within any subcontracts.
Diversity training is provided for all staff and subcontractors

Wellbeing

We operate flexible working for our employees and sub-contractors where this fits in with client requirements, our flexible working covers both hours and place of work.
We recognise the needs of our neurodiverse team members and make suitable accommodation based on individual circumstances.

Pricing

Price
£500 a unit a day
Discount for educational organisations
No

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at mbassington@futurepurchasing.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.