Collaborative purchasing

Hampshire County Council, together with the City Councils of Portsmouth and Southampton, are members of the Central Buying Consortium (CBC), a group of seventeen local authority procurement departments who have come together to develop very competitive purchasing arrangements for selected products and services. CBC itself is a member of Pro5 which is one of the biggest public sector buying consortia in Europe.

Central Buying Consortium (CBC)

CBC is a group of seventeen local authority procurement departments who have come together to develop very competitive purchasing arrangements for selected products and services. Originally formed in 1991, it is currently composed of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Coventry, Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Luton, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, Suffolk and West Sussex.

Purchasing power

CBC has a combined turnover of over £750 million and consequently has massive purchasing power to negotiate highly competitive purchasing prices for the benefit of customers in the areas of the seventeen members.

Independent

Membership of CBC does not affect the independence or status, in any way, of County Supplies which is the purchasing and supply service of Hampshire County Council.

Benefit to Hampshire

Membership of CBC is an exciting opportunity for County Supplies to combine added purchasing strength with local service for the benefit of Hampshire taxpayers and all our customers.

Local Service

The local service philosophy is enshrined in the objectives of County Supplies and so the CBC buying strength is seen as a significant aid to achieving those objectives. CBC is also an ideal forum for discussing and exchanging information about product developments, launches and changes. The experience of seventeen professional purchasing organisations gives each member a wealth of information to aid their product selections, price negotiations, delivery arrangements, safety assessments and environmental auditing.

Keeping you informed

Hampshire is constantly reviewing product and services ranges to identify those that could benefit from CBC arrangements. Please watch our Catalogue Updates and issues of SupplyBase, our County Supplies newsletter to find out more.

For more information visit the CBC website at: www.cbconline.org.uk