The Journey of ConstructDPS

The story so far…

In late September 2020 LSC and Sanctuary Group formed a steering group to create a pre-approved National Supply Chain for Sanctuary Groups in-house construction team. From then until Dec 2020 the steering group met every week to map out, refine and create an approval process that would remove barriers to entry for contractors whilst still maintaining an OJEU compliant DPS.

We wanted to create a scheme that was simple and easy for both buyers and contractors, our aim was to remove the restrictive processes that are well known on traditional frameworks and open up opportunities to contractors of all sizes.

After a few group sessions we had already identified a criterion for contractors that enabled them to apply without having to obtain any additional accreditations with a preferred provider. To often contractors are completing PQQ’s/SEQ’s etc. multiple times to suit the buyer’s preference, wasting time and money for something they already have.

By October we finally had a solid plan, so we started to configure LSC to suit Sanctuary’s requirements, we mapped out and trialled contractors’ applications to ensure they were streamlined and easy to follow and by mid-October the Construct DPS was born, a dynamic purchasing system compliant with OJEU regulations which will be used as a central resource for the in-house construction team, promoting fair procurements and enabling the team to source and engage pre-approved contractors.

November came and we were against the clock to roll out the new procurement tool to the team and start to build the numbers on the DPS ready for the December launch so we began circulating the news, through marketing campaigns and launching a website www.constructdps.co.uk to invite contractors of all sizes across the UK to come and join our brand-new scheme.

Now wouldn’t it be nice to say it took off and we were overwhelmed with contractor applications yes it would be but that wasn’t realistic and didn’t happen. We have spent the last 6 months raising awareness of the scheme in many different ways and slowly but surely the numbers began to grow week by week with the number of accepted contractors now reaching 1000.

More recently we have onboarded Sanctuary Property Services who are now using the DPS for their reinvestment plans and are looking to onboard other teams in the very near future. The DPS is now becoming a central resource within Sanctuary to source and engage pre-approved contractors.

June 2020, with over 60 different trades and services, UK wide coverage and value bands from up to £50k through to £4.2m plus we have created a diverse and invaluable National Supply Chain for any Public sector organisation to utilise.

Throughout the DPS’s journey there has been so much hard work and determination from all involved but also lots and lots of laughter. Sanctuary Group have been a pleasure to work with and I am very much looking forward to what’s next for our partnership and the Construct DPS so watch this space!

For more information, please contact: ConstructDPS