The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is setting up a procurement framework for automation solutions.
It has published a notice inviting potential suppliers to apply for places on a dynamic purchasing system named the Automation Marketplace. The contract will initially stand for two years with the potential for two one-year extensions, and estimating the value at up £100 million.
CCS has outlined four service filters for the framework: design, involving strategy and business information; build, taking in problem solving and technology solutions; live, with resources and training; and software licences.
The move is aimed at making it easier to public sector organisations to procure a range of automated applications, and marks a significant stage in the increasing take-up of automated solutions in the sector.
It comes soon after Scotland’s local authority procurement agency Scotland Excel set up a framework specifically for robotic process automation (RPA) solutions, and three years after the Cabinet Office set up a special unit to encourage its use in central government. Public sector bodies including Neath Port Talbot Council and the National Crime Agency have made significant commitments to the technology.
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