Aggregating purchasing demand is the process of a group of buyers working jointly to engage the market for the same technology product or service simultaneously. This is a 'soft' model of collaboration at the commissioning stage only, and collaboration ends prior to a formal 'joint procurement' (for more information, see guidance on Joint Procurements). Here, each borough will need to individually procure the supplier's solution in separate contracts.
Aggregating purchasing demand to commission with other boroughs is most effective when:
<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/66fe7e92-95f8-4744-9c9e-08c92a05b6a0/Ellipse_2_(3).svg" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/66fe7e92-95f8-4744-9c9e-08c92a05b6a0/Ellipse_2_(3).svg" width="40px" /> The NAO found significant price discrepancies across different public organisations for the same good when investigating the need for collaboration in procurement. For example, for a simple LCD computer monitor, some authorities paid 169% more.
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The benefits of collaboration in commissioning are widely agreed, though at present boroughs report to struggle to identify areas, contracts or partners to collaborate with. Working together at the commissioning stage only, also enables boroughs to avoid common pitfalls of joint procurement including shared decision making, contracting and budgeting.
Key benefits include:
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