Delivered Ready Prepared Meals

This framework starts on 9 March 2024, runs for 24 months and ends on 8 March 2026. There is an option to extend for an additional 24 months.

There are four lots on the framework. They are:

• Lot 1 – Standard Ready Prepared Meals
• Lot 2 – Specialist Ready Prepared Meals
• Lot 3 – Retail Ready Prepared Meals
• Lot 4 – Small Community and Mental Health Site Provision.

For more information, please contact your NHS Supply Chain: Food Account Manager.

Resilience

All suppliers are UK based to reduce the impact of global supply challenges on product availability. To increase resilience the number of suppliers on the framework has increased from 15 to 31.

Our Category Management Team actively works with NHS trusts on a Framework Resilience and Contingency Plan to improve their resilience through promoting projects such as increasing storage space.

Savings opportunities

Invitation to Further Competition (ITFC) and Requests for Quotations (RFQs) can be run for an NHS trust purchasing through this framework. These involve re-opening a certain specification of products to tender to get a result that better matches the needs of a trust or several trusts, and potentially to get a better price.

The framework also allows for joint trust and Integrated Care System (ICS) contractual negotiations or further competitions to drive best value through increased volume.

Please talk to your NHS Supply Chain: Food Account Manager for more detail on these opportunities.

Social Value

Since April 2022 all our frameworks have adopted the Procurement Policy Notice 06/20. The suppliers on this framework have demonstrated their plans for:

• Fighting Climate Change – reduction of waste.
• Equal Opportunity – reducing risk of modern slavery.
• Wellbeing – promoting physical and mental health wellbeing or volunteering.

Sustainability

Through this framework we are working with suppliers to:

• Reduce the use of single use plastic and replace with fully recyclable packaging, where possible
• To identify the carbon footprints of each menu and
• Encourage the use of greener transportation processes.

There are 31 suppliers on this framework. They are:

• All Season Foods – New
• Amai Foods and Beverages – New
• Anglia Crown
• Anika Food Charity
• apetito Limited
• Chefly – New
• Coco Labelle Ltd
• Cuisine Centre
• Country Kitchen Foods (Norfolk) Ltd – New
• Dalehills Ltd t/a Harvest Foods
• Fairtrade Vending Ltd – New
• Field Doctor – New
• Food Network Corporation Ltd
• Greenwood Foods Ltd – New
• Holmesterne Foods – New
• Kitchen Prep UK – New
• Maple Fine Foods
• Medina Food Group Ltd
• NH Case Ltd.
• Norfolk Catering Ltd – New
• Nosh – New
• Oakhouse Foods – New
• Planty London Ltd – New
• Rockcliffe Group Int Ltd – New
• Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
• Simply Food Solutions
• Stan’s Choice Limited – New
• The Children’s Healthy Food Company – New
• The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
• Yearsley Food Limited
• Yumchop Foods Limited – New

The new framework includes the following product areas:

• Texture modified meals.
• Soups
• Main entrees
• Breakfast items
• Religious/cultural meals
• Retail meals

Choice

• Leading suppliers on contract – providing enhanced range and value from a single source.

More savings

• Pay less – with NHS Supply Chain you have a wider range of product options so you can select the ones that are fit for purpose and value for money.
• Leave your tendering to us – spend less time and money on tendering and let our procurement specialists undertake it on your behalf.
• Back office savings – the efficiency of our service, ranging from e-ordering to consolidated deliveries, enables significant back office savings.

More value

• An integrated approach – the financial benefits of NHS Supply Chain go beyond just product prices. Our approach is an integrated one that reduces cost throughout the supply chain, from raw materials to global logistics, resulting in a much lower total cost.
• Purchasing through our route – when there are changes in the market, we can help minimise the impact of price rises and give support with cost saving initiatives.

Our knowledge and expertise

• Dedicated Hospital Care and Out of Hospital Care Teams – your day to day contact for all queries. They will help you identify savings opportunities, solve any issues on your behalf and ensure high service levels are always met.
• NHS Supply Chain Buyers – procurement specialists in their product fields who can give expert advice on new and alternative products.
• Implementation Team – experts in helping you set up the new processes and training required when introducing new products.
• Customer Services Team – with the daily support provided by our dedicated and knowledgeable advisors and service managers you know you are in safe hands.
• Customer Assurance – providing customers with the confidence and assurance of products using a process of clinical evaluation and engagement with clinical users. This ensures all products are clinically assured by the CaPA process, supported by engagement with customers.

Peace of mind

• Dependable deliveries – having access to the know-how and resources of one of the world’s largest logistics companies means we can offer unrivalled dependability and responsiveness when it comes to our delivery services.
• Framework agreement – awarded in accordance with UK procurement legislation.
• Sustainability – Sustainable procurement is embedded into our category management processes to ensure that our suppliers meet requirements for carbon reduction plans, evergreen assessment, modern slavery, social value and NHS England net zero supplier roadmap. Additionally, our logistics partner is certified ISO14001.