The Cabinet Office has signed Ernst & Young as digital delivery partner for the new Central Digital Platform (CDP) for public sector procurement.
The two-year agreement went live in mid February to run for two years with a value of £17 million.
According to the award notice, the CDP will enable further development of the Find a Tender procurement service for the public sector, a new version of which was launched last month.
It came after the Procurement Act 2023 made provision for the development of a new central procurement platform, one of the purposes of which is to give more opportunities to smaller companies to win government business.
The work will involve ensuring that buying organisations are compliant with the Procurement Act, an improved sign-in for suppliers and a new centralised supplier information service.
The Government Commercial Function and Crown Commercial Service have worked on an agreement to fund the continued development.
Strategic goals
“The development of the CDP aligns to many digital and data strategic goals such as re-use and improved data,” the notice says. “The changes facilitated through the implementation of the CDP will help procuring organisations make better decisions through using complete and reliable data.
“The data will drive significant transparency improvements and help buyers better understand market capabilities, select the most effective suppliers for an outlay that clearly demonstrates value for money, and ensure buyers are held to account for their decisions.”
