June/July 2007

YPO, which is believed to be the UK's largest formally constituted local authority purchasing consortium, has appointed Minorplanet its sole telematics supplier. The arrangement is said to be fully compliant with EU tendering rules, and will run initially for three years, with an option to extend for a further twelve months.

Any public service body can tap into this 'framework agreement', which aims to provide competitive deals on various products and services. The attraction is that such bodies can adopt the product in question without having to negotiate a formal tender themselves.

Minorplanet says it was chosen because of its wide range of innovative, in-house developed products, which it says offer appeal to users such as local authorities, police, NHS, fire services, municipal waste contractors and housing associations.

Examples of other products sourced by YPO include specialist refuse collection vehicles and road sweepers, automotive parts and windscreen repair service. It supports all these resources through a comprehensive contract management service.

 

According to YPO's new business development manager, Roy Orchard: 'YPO's framework agreements can make a significant contribution to Gershon efficiency savings for the public sector. This can be achieved through both the actual cost of the procurement exercise and the base-line cost savings.'