Arden & GEM’s procurement and contract management team has been successfully shortlisted as finalists in two categories at this year’s UK National GO Awards 2021/22.
The UK National GO Awards recognise excellence in public procurement and celebrate the very best procurement achievements from across the UK’s public, private and third sector organisations.
Arden & GEM’s first finalist achievement is in the ‘Best Procurement Delivery’ category for the commercial support provided to the COVID-19 vaccination programme. The procurement and contracting team worked on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop and execute a successful procurement strategy for vaccine-related equipment and consumables in an intensely competitive international market. Building on this success, the team went on to deliver support for the programme’s workforce, technology and logistics workstreams ensuring that the right resources were in the right place at the right time while achieving value for money for the public purse.
The vaccine logistics workstream brought together a team of professionals from across the NHS and industry and has also been shortlisted in the ‘COVID-19 Response and Recovery’ category. Working in close collaboration, partners from Arden & GEM, NHS England and NHS Improvement, PA Consulting, Baringa, Blake Morgan and Hatmill provided the specialist expertise needed to successfully execute a procurement and contracting strategy which ensured vaccine stock was delivered on time and in full. Effective commercial management also ensured value for money.
“I am delighted that this outstanding example of procurement and teamwork excellence has been recognised by the GO Awards. The safe and effective delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is one of the most successful endeavours ever undertaken by the public sector. Enabling frontline teams to deliver more than 100 million vaccine doses required a significant coordination of commercial expertise including supply chain management. I am proud that Arden & GEM’s procurement and contracting team was able to play a key role in this project, securing essential resources and ensuring these were in the right place at the right time.”
John Parkes, Managing Director at NHS Arden & GEM CSU
The award winners will be announced at a ceremony in Birmingham on Wednesday 25 May.
The full list of finalists is available here.