OGCbuying.Solutions

OGCbuying.Solutions is the UK government executive agency charged with procurement management. It is an executive agency of the Office of Government Commerce in HM Treasury. It was formed when The Buying Agency, the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency, Property Advisers to the Civil Estate, and other units from the Treasury merged on 1 April 2001. They provide a professional procurement service to the public sector to enable organisations to deliver improved value for money in their commercial activities and provide professional support when it matters, advising on technical issues, energy saving and environmental improvements.

OGCbuying.solutions’ operations break down into two major areas of activity, namely Framework Agreements, delivered under the Catalist brand, and Managed Services.

Catalist Framework Agreements are a set of pre-tendered contracts with a range of suppliers from which public sector customers can purchase goods and services. A small commission (averaging less than 1%) is collected from the suppliers for each sale they make under the frameworks.

Managed Services are ongoing services managed by OGCbuying.solutions on behalf of public sector customers with OGCbuying.solutions acting as the “intelligent customer” to a range of strategic partners. The economic model here varies, depending on the business area ranging from commission to traditional purchase and sale at a small margin designed to cover the cost of managing the service.