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Customer Voice in Category Strategy Programme
Opportunities for our customers to get involved in the early stages of procurement and category strategy.

Our new programme is designed to enable proactive engagement with NHS trusts, in order to help us design and develop the right procurement strategies, and achieve enhanced benefit for the wider NHS.

Facilitated by our Voice of the Customer team, we are looking for customers from across a range of roles and disciplines to join one of our panels. The aim of the panels is to gather key customer knowledge and insight to help shape our future procurement activity.

The overall aim of this programme is to ensure the customer voice is embedded into the implementation and delivery of our category strategies. This will ensure that we will supply products that:

  • Are suitable for use.
  • Provide value for money.
  • Meet the needs of the NHS.

What benefits will trusts get by partaking in Category strategy customer advisory panels?

As well as learning about innovations being added to the new framework, customers will gain:

  • Ability to suggest new innovations that may be suitable to be added to the framework, to benefit patient care, care pathways and drive value for the NHS.
  • First sight of and input into potential savings levers, to factor into a savings work plan.
  • Greater engagement with us across our procurement activity, including visibility of key milestones within the procurement process.
Trade Meeting or Forum at Equinox House
Remote Teams or Zoom Call Meeting

How much time will I need to commit?

Requirements on your time and commitment may vary, dependant on the framework type and category area. There will be flexibility in the different types of engagement, and how we collate your feedback:

  • Microsoft Teams meetings
  • Live polls
  • Questionnaires
  • Email communications.

The decision was made to open up the engagement into category strategy, moving away from a sole responsible trust (Lead Reference Trust) to ensure we are capturing input from a wider scope of customers to support a strategy aligned to customer needs.

There will be opportunity to review and provide feedback on the current framework prior to us going out to tender for the category area. Updates will be provided post procurement activity, as well as seeking your feedback on the initial outcomes of the tender.

Once procurement activity is concluded, customers will be provided with details of the outcome via contract launch communications (available six weeks prior to the framework / contract start date).

Schedule of Category Strategy Customer Advisory Panel Meetings

As a priority, we are currently looking for expertise to join our panels in November in the product areas of Chlorine Tablets, Capital Endoscopy Equipment for New Hospital Programme and Infusion Pumps and Administration Sets and Associated Products.

Product AreaRoles RequiredFirst PanelSecond PanelFramework Start Date
Medical and Surgical Consumables; Infusion Pumps and Administration Sets and Associated Products> Clinical Procurement Specialists
> Category Managers
> Mechanical engineering / EBME
November / December / January 2024TBCOctober 2026
New Hospital Programme initiative by NHSE to focus on Endoscopy Equipment.
As part of the New Hospital Programme’s (NHP) ongoing efforts to enhance patient care and clinical efficiency, NHS Supply Chain, supported by NHSE is organising a roundtable discussion focused on the design and technological advancements of endoscopy suites. We require stakeholders with relevant subject matter expertise in the field of endoscopy, to participate in the discussion to enable valuable insights and clinical experience to shape the design and operational considerations of future endoscopy facilities. Key Objectives : Evaluating the Impact of Emerging Technologies on Endoscopy Suite Design; Lessons Learned from Clinical Practice in New Endoscopy Facilities and Horizon Scanning for Future Clinical Needs and Technologies
> Clinical (Endoscopy Nurses)
> Consultants (Gastroenterology)
> Service Managers and Leads
> Clinical Procurement
> Estates
Friday 29 November 2024TBCNew Hospital Programme (NHP)
Facilities and Office Solutions; Environmental Decontamination – Framework Renewal> IPC
> Procurement
> Facilities and Estates
October 2024TBCMarch 2026
Facilities and Office Solutions; Cleaning Supplies Equipment Working Group; Chlorine Tablets NCP programme.> IPC
> Housekeeping
> Ward Managers
> IPS Team
> CPSN
> Head of Facilities
> Estate Managers
October 2024TBCAugust 2024
Diagnostic Equipment and Services; Pathology and Point of Care Testing Outsourced Services – New Framework> Pathology Networks
> Laboratory Managers
> Clinical Category Manager – Pathology
> Procurement Category Managers
TBCTBCTBC

Guidance notes

If you would like to join one of our category strategy customer advisory panels please use our registration form.

For any other future category strategies that are not specified here, or for general queries about the programme, please contact us.

Voice of the Customer (VoC) Team

Voiceofthecustomer@supplychain.nhs.uk

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