Frameworks

FRAMEWORKS GOLD STANDARD NEEDED TO CONQUER THE ‘WILD WEST’

The framework marketplace is as crowded as it has ever been, but whether the quantity is matched by the quality is one of the construction industry’s key challenges. The Construction Playbook and the recent ‘Constructing the Gold Standard’ report have both called for greater standards to be placed on frameworks, something which Jason Stapley, Managing Director of Pagabo, believes has been a long time coming.

Frameworks have long been a source of surety for clients and suppliers alike. From humble beginnings, the market is now growing exponentially, and the flexibility, variety and competition that frameworks provide have been huge drivers for this sustained growth in recent years.

However, the problem with competition is that it can often lead to corners being cut to gain an advantage.

In addition, the lack of supplier capacity for new work and the growing cost of materials is causing a growing problem of getting enough companies to bid. With prices continuing to rise, suppliers are increasingly reticent to commit to delivering a project for a stated price when prices will have likely increased significantly by the time contracts are agreed.

With clients and suppliers both now used to frameworks delivering choice and flexibility, there is always going to be a varied market, but it’s about making sure everyone is going about it in the right way.

The Construction Playbook – now published more than a year ago – set out a roadmap for doing this, but more notable is the recent report authored by Professor David Mosey; ‘Constructing the Gold Standard’. This report has made a clear call for a gold standard for all frameworks to ensure that they are offering the very best level of procurement across the market for the public sector to access.

Setting the tone

One of the key roles of frameworks is setting the tone for responsible procurement practices, and it is essential that providers across the board adhere to the same levels of compliance, standards and provides the appropriate support to clients and suppliers.

This is potentially an area where newer framework providers have some way to go. Too many seem to be in the market for a quick buck and don’t necessarily provide the level of consultancy of some of the more established providers.

While this does make the likes of Pagabo’s frameworks and our service stand out from the crowd, the flipside is that it gives frameworks in general a bad rap. When you look at the raw figures, there are more than 2000 public sector frameworks, which creates a bit of a ‘Wild West’ situation, diluting the offering not just for clients, but for supply chain as well – who is going to bid for a framework without knowing that there is a solid pipeline of work?

Established framework providers have been pushing for the gold standard for some time, especially as their importance in the public sector is increasing. The fallout of the Construction Playbook and the Mosey Report shows a strong shift towards taking the complexity out of procurement, leaning heavily into that allimportant compliance.

Naturally, the biggest benefit of frameworks to clients is the choice of suppliers – many want as large a pool to fish from as possible, so they need to have that trust in the framework process to be sure that what they are getting is truly of a high standard. This also has a noticeable benefit on the supply chain side as well, with competition for work organically driving standards upward.

Benefits for all

Frameworks mean that suppliers are engaged earlier and costs are therefore lower for clients, making it a win-win for them – it cuts down on their legwork, and gives a higher probability of securing the best quality supplier without having to constantly retender.

For the suppliers, the visibility of pipelines is really

the most crucial benefit of being on any given framework. Some suppliers already have order books stretching deep into next year, while the cost saving that comes from having full visibility of what projects are worth their time bidding for can stretch into the millions on bigger jobs. It’s often overlooked, but every penny saved on procurement is another one to spend on the project itself.

There are a multitude of other benefits to framework working – regional lot breakdowns for a localism-centric approach, a commitment to SMEs and additional timeline security to name but three – but it all boils down to market engagement and collaboration.

If framework providers engage with the market to identify what its needs are – whether that be adjustments to existing frameworks, or ones specifically developed with their needs in mind – the result of that collaboration can only be beneficial for clients, supply chain and the providers alike.

That is the key framework issue that the playbook identified, and that is what the Mosey Report is looking to fix.  www.pagabo.co.uk