Foodbuy Awarded Department of Health Contract

Tuesday, 23 January 2018

Foodbuy, a leading food and beverage procurement company, has been awarded a major contract by the Department of Health’s Procurement Transformation Programme. The contract will see Foodbuy purchase food for over 150 NHS Trusts across the UK

The contract was awarded to Foodbuy as part of the Department of Health’s ‘Future Operating Model’ which sets out the design of a new NHS supply chain service that will deliver improved procurement support to the NHS. As part of the contract Foodbuy will assume responsibility for providing the central resource for food procurement across the NHS.

Working closely with the Intelligent Client Coordinator (ICC), which will be the management function for the Future Operating Model from April 2018, Foodbuy will work to optimise the supplier base for NHS customers and help it better flex its buying power by unlocking cost saving opportunities.

Also as part of the contract, Foodbuy will take on the procurement for the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, a government programme that entitles every child in England, aged 4-6 and in fully state-funded schools to a piece of fruit or vegetable each school day.

Oliver Cock, Managing Director of Foodbuy said: “This is a very significant contract win which step-changes the value of our managed procurement spend. The contract was awarded based on the quality of our response against set criteria, which included having competitive pricing and the credibility of our forecasts for improving food procurement across the NHS. We’re really excited and can’t wait to get stuck in.”

There now follows a six-month transition period during which the ICC will work with Foodbuy to ensure its strategy is in line with NHS requirements. Following this transition period the contract will go live in July 2018.