The Benefits of Using a Dynamic Purchasing System in School Procurement: Simplifying Complex Contracts Like Catering and Cleaning
By Victoria Lawson, Education Business Manager – Education Buying
When it comes to procuring services for schools—particularly more complex contracts such as cleaning and catering—there’s a common struggle: how to balance speed, compliance, and efficiency while securing the best value for money. Traditionally, the procurement process can be cumbersome, drawn out, and fraught with complications, particularly when dealing with multiple suppliers, compliance regulations, and the transition of staff under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment).
Fortunately, schools have a better option—Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS). These offer a more flexible, streamlined procurement process for complex contracts like catering and cleaning, ensuring faster and more efficient procurement, while remaining fully compliant with public procurement regulations.
What is a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)?
A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a modern and flexible procurement method that allows buyers to access a dynamic pool of pre-qualified suppliers. Unlike traditional frameworks, which often have a fixed set of suppliers for a set period, a DPS remains open throughout its duration, meaning that new suppliers can join at any time, encouraging continuous competition and innovation.
Suppliers who wish to join the DPS must first pass a series of pre-arranged checks, ensuring they meet the necessary standards. Once in the system, buyers can filter suppliers by geographic location. Under our DPS, all suppliers within the relevant lot must be invited to compete for contracts. This ensures fairness and transparency, giving every pre-qualified supplier an opportunity to bid, while still allowing schools to focus on suppliers that can meet their local or regional needs. This regional approach ensures that schools can access local suppliers who understand their specific needs and can offer timely, cost-effective solutions.
One of the standout benefits of a DPS is its incredible adaptability. Unlike traditional procurement methods that can feel rigid and slow to change, the DPS is designed to grow and evolve. It’s like having a constantly refreshed marketplace at your fingertips, always open to new suppliers, innovations, and fresh ideas. So, if you’re a school looking for catering services, the DPS gives you access to a diverse range of suppliers offering various solutions. The DPS ensures all suppliers within the relevant lot are invited to compete. While you can’t choose who to invite, you still benefit from the built-in flexibility and competition.
A Time-Saving Lifeline for Schools and Trusts
I see it time and time again—schools, and especially trusts managing multiple sites, scrambling to secure catering or cleaning contracts without giving themselves enough time for the procurement process. It’s a recipe for stress and, often, last-minute compromises. That’s where a DPS really shines. Instead of the months you’d typically expect with traditional procurement, a DPS can cut that time down significantly. In fact, I’ve seen solutions delivered in as little as three months! For schools under pressure to meet deadlines and maintain compliance, that kind of speed is a game changer.
It’s not just about being fast either—the DPS blends compliance, competition, and flexibility seamlessly, making it an invaluable tool for modern procurement needs. Unlike traditional frameworks, a DPS is kept open for new suppliers to join throughout its lifespan, increasing competition and allowing schools to access a wider range of suppliers. It’s particularly useful for recurring services such as cleaning and catering where multiple suppliers can provide competitive bids.
At Education Buying, we have seen first-hand how schools’ benefit from using a DPS. For example, one of the schools in our network, a large multi-academy trust in the Midlands, successfully reduced its procurement process for cleaning services by over 50% using our Cleaning DPS, significantly speeding up contract awards while ensuring compliance with regulations.
But let’s delve deeper into why a DPS—particularly for cleaning and catering services—has become such an effective tool for schools.
Streamlining the Procurement Process
One of the biggest advantages of a DPS is its ability to streamline the procurement process. Schools using a traditional tendering process often find themselves caught up in administrative backlogs, long lead times, and the complexity of public procurement compliance. A DPS, however, reduces much of this burden.
For example, schools don’t need to issue lengthy pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) because suppliers are pre-vetted. The DPS framework gives schools access to a list of suppliers that have already met essential standards in terms of capability, compliance, and financial stability. Schools can issue requests for tenders directly to these suppliers, speeding up the entire process and avoiding repetitive qualification steps.
This fast-track approach was instrumental in the success of the MAT mentioned earlier. Before adopting our DPS for cleaning services, the school had struggled to manage procurement effectively. Using the DPS, however, they were able to pre-select a range of suppliers, issue a tender quickly, and secure a cleaning contract in half the usual time.
Ensuring Compliance with Public Procurement Regulations
Another important aspect of procurement for schools is compliance with public procurement regulations. The education sector is subject to strict procurement guidelines under the UK’s Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, more recently, the Procurement Act 2023. Failure to follow these regulations can result in costly delays or legal challenges.
The DPS ensures that all stages of the procurement process are fully compliant with these regulations. Because suppliers are pre-qualified, schools can rest assured that they meet all required standards for transparency, competition, and fairness. This level of compliance is essential when dealing with large, complex contracts like cleaning or catering, where a variety of suppliers are often involved and where legal scrutiny can be intense.
Starting Early: The Key to a Smooth Transition
When schools don’t allow adequate time for the procurement process, things can easily go wrong. For complex contracts like catering and cleaning, it’s crucial to start the procurement process early to allow for a smooth transition, especially concerning the intricacies of TUPE regulations.
TUPE applies when a service like cleaning or catering changes from one supplier to another, protecting the employment rights of staff. If schools don’t manage the procurement process and the transition properly, they risk non-compliance with TUPE, leading to significant legal and operational challenges. TUPE can extend the timeline of a procurement process, so it’s important that schools plan accordingly.
At Education Buying, we recommend that schools allow at least nine months for planning and implementing a new contract. Starting early ensures that every step—from the initial tender to the final transition—is well-planned, compliant, and avoids unnecessary disruptions. This planning period also provides enough time to manage TUPE, ensuring a smooth transition for both the incoming supplier and the affected employees.
Managing the Tender Process with DPS: A Holistic Approach
Education Buying’s DPSs offer an additional benefit: our team can manage the tender process on behalf of schools. Schools are often already stretched thin, and procurement is a complex and time-consuming task that can divert valuable resources away from core educational responsibilities.
We take the burden off school administrators by managing the entire tender process, from drafting tender documents to evaluating bids and ensuring compliance at every step. This support can be particularly valuable for multi-academy trusts (MATs) or larger schools with complex requirements.
For the MAT mentioned earlier, Education Buying not only helped reduce procurement time through the Cleaning DPS but also managed the entire tender process. This allowed the school’s procurement team to focus on other priorities, knowing that the tender was being managed efficiently and in compliance with all relevant regulations.
The Nine-Month Countdown: A Planning Roadmap for Schools
For schools to successfully manage a transition like cleaning or catering, starting the procurement process early is essential. Below is a simple timeline to help schools plan their procurement activities over nine months, ensuring a smooth process from start to finish.
Month 1-2: Needs Assessment and Planning:
Determine your school’s needs in terms of cleaning or catering services. Decide on your budget, service expectations, and contract length. Consider TUPE implications if current staff are impacted.
Month 3-4: Drafting the Specification and Tender Documents, add suppliers:
Work with your procurement team or a trusted partner like Education Buying to draft the service specification, ensuring all operational, legal, and financial requirements are clearly outlined. Additionally, onboard any suppliers onto the DPS that you want to include.
Month 5-6: Issue the Tender via DPS:
Release your tender to pre-qualified suppliers on the DPS. Suppliers will have already been vetted for compliance and capability, saving you significant time. Evaluate bids based on value for money, quality of service, and compliance.
Month 7: Awarding the Contract:
Choose the best supplier based on your evaluation criteria. Notify successful and unsuccessful bidders. Ensure all legal requirements, including TUPE compliance, are considered during the contract award phase.
Month 8-9: Implementation and Transition:
Work with the new supplier to ensure a smooth handover, including the transfer of staff under TUPE if applicable. Establish clear lines of communication and performance benchmarks to ensure the contract delivers the expected results.
Conclusion: Why Schools Should Consider a DPS for Complex Contracts
A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a powerful tool for schools managing complex contracts like cleaning and catering. It offers a streamlined, compliant, and competitive procurement process, saving valuable time and resources while ensuring that schools get the best value for money. For schools that need to manage a seamless TUPE transition, start early and use the nine-month timeline as a guide.
At Education Buying, we not only provide access to Cleaning and Catering DPSs but also offer end-to-end support, including tender management, so schools can focus on their primary mission: delivering outstanding education.
By leveraging a DPS and following the right procurement steps, schools can navigate the complexities of contracts like catering and cleaning with ease, ensuring a smooth, efficient, and compliant process every time.
