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Lollipop chart showing time taken to publish contract award notices

How Long Does It Take A Department To Publish A Contract Notice?

Public sector organisations have, according to guidance, thirty days to publish details of their contracts online. So, thirty days after a contract there should be a public notice with some key details about the contract online. Our analysis shows that on average, just three departments met the thirty day guideline in 2020. In 2019, just two departments ...
Example dashboard for a client

Visualise your data

Harness the power of procurement data to make informed decisions. Using our advanced analytics, we can create custom visualisations and dashboards for your team. Whether you're building new insights for your own campaign or wanting to understand the nuts and bolts of your own procurement data, we can help you bring your data to life; from identifying ...
Cleaning

Clean and enrich your data

Cleanse all of the supplier records within your organisation, creating a single, consolidated record with rich information to help you make better buying decisions. Match your suppliers to a single, company record; show other buyers who trade with your suppliers and; enrich your data with addresses, identifiers, company structures and more.
The Large Library, University College, Dublin

Classify your data

We have built a state-of-the-art algorithm just to categorise procurement data. Work with us to categorise millions of records with stunning accuracy automatically. Classify any document type, including spending and contract data; Classify multiple languages in a single process; Real time classification for new data from multiple sources and; use common standards like CPV or build ...
Spend Network's Insight Product

Analysis for the $13trn global market

If you need authoritative, evidence-based insight to apply to a broader strategic challenge, we're here to help. Unlike other consultants, we start with the largest database of procurement data in the world and combine that with deep analytical insights and expert knowledge of public contracting, not just in the UK but globally. Analyse competitive dynamics or contracting ...
Soldiers loading PPE into the back of an aeroplane

High priorities in PPE lead to missed opportunities

The NAO has just published a report criticising the government for using a 'high priority lane' where suppliers that were known to MPs were prioritised for public contracts for protective equipment, often at high values. Thread follows. https://www.nao.org.uk/report/government-procurement-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ It isn't hard to see why this is a problem, good suppliers with a history of supplying PPE were ...

Consultancy contracts published

Today we're publishing all of the recent consultancy contracts for the UK. This data is free to download and reuse. There has been high levels of interest in the roles that larger consultancies are playing in the delivery of the 'Test and Trace' service here in the UK, so we've decided to publish all of the data ...
Health worker in a mask and visor

Opening Covid Contracts

Today we're openly publishing all of the contracts let by UK public sector for medical equipment and protective workwear. This data is free for anyone to download and reuse in their work. The data we are publishing is selected on the basis of the category codes that are selected by each buyer when they publish details of ...
Diagram highlighting the use of codes in society, number plates on cars and ISBN codes on books

The little codes that hold our world together

Have you noticed that your email address is completely unique? Its obvious that this would be true, but it bears thinking about. In all the millions and millions of email addresses there isn’t another like yours, if there was another like yours there would be no way for your colleagues and friends to send a note ...
Photo of white face mask laid flat against a black background

What Is The Right Price For PPE?

-Ian Makgill, Founder, Spend Network What's the right price for PPE gowns and masks? With every Government in the world yanking hard on the same supply chains, prices have increased significantly. The UK Government has made it clear that they're willing to do what they can to get the equipment they need to protect NHS staff. We've written ...
Desk with screens, chair and cups

Your supplier is on mute.

Does video conferencing make it easier to evaluate suppliers? We're just finishing up a bid. Our heads are full of equality policies, pricing and schedules. It's a strong bid, a great team and we've got all the necessary experience. It feels good. We've written a lot, it has taken a long time, but could it be different? It used ...
Graph showing spend values rising

The Case For Using Data In Public Procurement

Our current model of procurement uses data for limited purposes. The primary analysis conducted by procurement teams is spend analysis, where buyers seek to identify opportunities for aggregating demand. Aggregation is where a buyer purchases more goods or services from a single supplier in order to achieve price reductions. In the public sector, spend analysis typically ...
Medics practise in full personal protective equipment

Tackling Covid-19 with open procurement data

To help public sector buyers around the world combat the Covid-19 emergency, we have built our supplier search tool (http://openopps.com/covid-19).  Our free service allows buyers to search for suppliers around the world that provide critical goods and services. By searching for a particular term, such as ‘PPE’ or ‘protective equipment’, users can be instantly connected to a ...

Why do Government IT projects fail?

Why do Government IT projects consistently fail? Below are eight reasons why we keep getting this wrong. 1. We've bought into a tech utopia Believe that technology is a solution to difficult problems, and we start to think about the edge case of possibilities and how it can be used to deliver a utopian future - blockchain anyone? ...

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