JISC

Procureweb is a JISC support service developed to support anyone involved in the procurement process in higher and further education. It comprises a variety of databases and websites which play a key role in the efficient procurement of resources and services.

Use of Procureweb has the potential to achieve savings by the further education sector of up to £5 million per annum.

Getting the best deal

Procureweb is a JISC support service for higher education, further education and the Research Councils. Effective procurement has a key role to play in improving the quality and efficiency of education and Procureweb provides a variety of information, tools and mechanisms to support anyone involved in the procurement process in these sectors.

Procureweb originated over 10 years ago as a result of an ambition to help universities and research departments reduce costs by exploiting the web, which was at that time a relatively new technology.

Starting with a contract database and one website, Procureweb now comprises a variety of databases and over sixty websites covering commodity groups and procurement. These Procureweb provisions now support all procurement functions in higher education, some research councils and a number of further education colleges, primarily through Regional Consortia or the LSC. Supporting in excess of an estimated 62,000 buyers, the contract database alone has more than 11,000 users a month.

About JISC Procureweb

Based at the University of Cardiff, Procureweb’s web services include:

• A central contract database (CuPID) which lists all current contracts issued by Regional Purchasing consortia and institutions
• A free tendering provision that enables an institution to go to tender for goods or services to pre-registered suppliers
• A free electronic billboard which allows users to post adverts for items that are no longer needed or for equipment being sought
• Procurement related website hosting; sites for suppliers, or secure access to supplier sites so that the sector can gain access to the contract terms available to them
• Websites for specific purchasing areas, for example: car hire, laboratory supplies, catering, etc
• Tools and electronic systems development, for example: building an annual returns data base for collecting spending information
• Website design: support for regional consortia, commodity contract managers, or supplier site design and hosting

These provide a number of benefits, such as:

• Saving time and resources in developing tenders
• Having access to a database of existing  and historical contracts
• Identification of costs of current and previous services and supplies
• Provision of example terms and conditions of supply
• Access to suppliers who have been approved by way of public tendering procedures, thus reducing risks

Other benefits include improvements in procurement efficiency, support in proving the value and worth of the procurement function and reduction in costs to suppliers, all contributing to consequential reduction in the costs of goods and services.

Impact on learning providers

According to Procureweb there isn’t a uniform picture of how procurement is managed within further education colleges. There are a great many ad-hoc arrangements with staff working in this role without specific training or relevant professional qualifications. This has a number of consequences, most of which result in unnecessary costs.

On the other hand, there are consortia like the Crescent Purchasing Consortium for Loughborough College, which have excellent and robust procurement practices.

Until recently Procureweb has been predominantly focussed on supporting higher education but it is now turning its attention to further education and examining how it can contribute to: 

• Improving the knowledge and skill of those engaged in procurement
• Organising training events to raise the competence of staff
• Building networks of institutions
• Advising on the integration and interoperability of systems

Procureweb doesn’t have the resources to work with learning providers on an individual basis but is examining how it can collaborate with, and support, the JISC Regional Support Centres to become a first point of contact for providers.

Key messages

1. Procureweb is a JISC support service developed to support anyone involved in the procurement process in Higher and Further Education
2. It comprises a variety of databases and websites which play a key role in the efficient procurement of resources and services
3. Use of Procureweb has the potential to achieve savings by further education learning providers of up to £5 million per annum

Further information

JISC Procureweb