ESPO Prospectus

Introducing ESPO

ESPO is a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO), specialising in providing a wide range of goods and services to the public sector for over 40 years. We offer a comprehensive, one-stop shop solution of over 27,000 catalogue products, over 120 frameworks and bespoke procurement services, all with free support and advice available from our expert teams.

Being 100% owned by the public sector means that any surplus we make after recovering our costs is returned to the public purse.

Our history

Originally established in 1981 to provide a comprehensive procurement service to Leicestershire County Council and Lincolnshire County Council, ESPO has since grown into a well-known, respected organisation for customers from all areas of the public sector.

Today we are one of the country’s largest PBOs owned by six member authority councils:

From our head office and warehouse based in Leicester, we service over 200,000 customers across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Our customers

We service over 200,000 customers every year from all areas of the public sector:

Education

Schools

Academies and Academy Trusts

Further and Higher Education

Nurseries and Play Groups

Specialist and Independent Schools

Local Authority and Government

Town and Parish Councils

City and County Councils

District and Borough Councils

Wider Government Services

NHS and Emergency Services

Police

Fire and Rescue Services

Ambulance Services

NHS and Health Trusts

Wider Public Sector

Charities

Housing Associations

Registered Social Landlords

Our catalogues

Our comprehensive catalogue range contains over 27,000 products including:

Stationery

Classroom Resources

Office Equipment

Presentation Equipment

Early Years Resources

Curriculum Resources

Art and Crafts

Catering and White Goods

Hygiene and Cleaning

Site and Safety Management

Furniture

Our public sector ethos ensures we always offer our lowest possible prices and regular benchmarking means that prices remain competitive.

From our 120,000 square foot warehouse we stock up to 10,000 products and deliver them to our customers using our own dedicated fleet. To complement our range we also offer an additional 17,000 products that come direct from our suppliers. This arrangement ensures our product offering is extensive and meets the unique requirements of the public sector.

Our Smartbuy range

Handpicked by ESPO, our Smartbuy range represents true best value, providing an affordable alternative to higher priced brand names, without compromising on quality.

Over the years, our Smartbuy range has expanded considerably and we continue to add new products to ensure our customers always have a budget friendly alternative. The range now covers a number of key product groups for our customers, including:

Stationery

Exercise books

Art & Crafts essentials

Cleaning and catering supplies

Furniture

Curriculum products

Be sure to look out for Smartbuy products, clearly labelled with the Smartbuy logo throughout our catalogue.

Our frameworks

Our market leading choice of over 120 framework solutions make ESPO one of the largest providers of public sector frameworks.

All our frameworks are free to access and provide a quick and compliant way to source a wide range of products and services.

Our framework offering is extensive and covers many different services. Each one falls under one of the following 10 categories:

Using a framework ensures that the buying process is fully compliant with UK procurement legislation and all suppliers listed on our frameworks have been assessed during the procurement process for their financial stability, track record, experience and professional ability.

Framework terms and conditions have been pre-agreed by our team to ensure that they are fair, transparent and in the best interest of our customers.

Our bespoke procurement services

With over 40 years’ experience providing comprehensive procurement solutions we have the breadth of knowledge to support any procurement challenge.

We regularly support our customers with unique purchases including sourcing and setting up bespoke frameworks and supporting large one off purchases.

Professional support for F&E projects

Our dedicated F&E projects team can provide help and support with major projects such as large scale furniture and equipment requirements for new builds and refurbishments.

Our people

“At ESPO we have over 300 dedicated members of staff striving to deliver the very best service to our customers. Throughout our established history we have continued in pursuit of our mission to work in partnership with our stakeholders to drive value-for-money for the public sector, through comprehensive procurement solutions including best practice sourcing, outstanding customer care, support and advice. From our warehouse to our offices, it’s our people that have made us the well-known and respected organisation that we are today and one that I am proud to lead.”

Chief Officer

While many of our staff work behind the scenes supporting ESPO’s key functions, others are just a phone call away and can provide first class customer service and support.

Key Account Managers

Our dedicated team of Key Account Managers provide face to face and virtual support to customers across the country.

Taking a proactive approach they can help identify areas of additional savings, be this through suggesting product alternatives or framework solutions. They can also support benchmarking activities and host workshops to maximise knowledge and confidence when dealing with large spend or highly complex areas of procurement.

Sales team sales@espo.org

Customer Services and Product Enquiries team

Helpful, knowledgeable and friendly, our Customer Services team are on hand 5 days a week processing orders, dealing with enquires and sorting out any problems that may arise.

In addition, our Product Enquiries team are able to help with any product related enquiries, from sourcing spare parts to checking materials and sizes.

Customer Services

0116 265 7901

c.services@espo.org

Product Enquiries team 0116 265 7901 catalogue@espo.org

Procurement teams

Our Procurement teams are experts in their field and can provide support and guidance on accessing our many framework solutions. Whether it’s access to template documents or advice on writing full specifications, we can help.

This resource gives customers the confidence to take on more complex procurement responsibilities, safe in the knowledge that they have a wealth of support and guidance on their side.

In addition, our expert Customer Relationship Managers are specialists in their procurement areas including Energy, Food and Catering and Place and Environment. Their job is to assist customers with larger or more complex framework needs from initial enquiry right through to the end solution.

If you have any queries about one of our frameworks, contact details can be found on each specific framework page.

F&E Projects team

Specialising in furniture and equipment requirements for new build and refurbishment projects our team have extensive experience in supporting customers with large scale developments including new and replacement schools, canteens, offices, sports halls, care homes and much more.

Using their strong supplier links and industry expertise they can manage project work flows to ensure all aspects run smoothly from product selection and ordering, through to delivery and installation.

F&E Projects 0116 294 4058 / 0116 294 4067

fandeprojects@espo.org

Our values

Our values guide everything we do here at ESPO, helping us to provide the best possible service to our customers and operate in a way that is in line with our public sector ethos.

Working together

The best outcomes are achieved through team work, which is why we encourage close working relationships internally within our own teams as well as with customers and suppliers.

Positivity

We foster a positive working relationship across all of our stakeholders and will always look to find solutions rather than problems, promoting a positive and rewarding experience.

Trust and respect

The foundations of any good relationship, we ensure that these qualities come through in our communications at all times.

Customer focused

From the products we stock to the services we supply, the customer is always at the forefront of our processes and drives us to continuously improve our offering.

Openness and transparency

Whether this is through our catalogue pricing or the terms and conditions laid out in our frameworks, we’re always open and honest about our service and always work in the best interest of our customers.

First class customer service

We take a customer-focused approach to everything we do, building it into our values to provide the best possible service in line with our public sector ethos.

Using the feedback system Feefo we are able to measure our day-to-day performance and we’re proud to share that we’ve won our Platinum Service Award for the second year running based on our feedback rating, after consistently achieving the Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award since 2016.

Easy to use website, large range of products at competitive prices. Efficient and quick delivery service.

Efficient delivery, we’re kept in the loop at each stage. Thank you

First order, will not be my last. Excellent service on my very first visit to ESPO. My order was with me extremely quickly, prices cheaper than my usual supplier, and their Smartbuy range is very good quality.

Good efficient service. Spoke to customer service regarding the items that have not been delivered very efficient and helpful. Great delivery driver

Easy ordering process. Prompt delivery. Delivery driver very helpful and friendly.

Register for an ESPO account

ESPO.org combines all of our goods and services into one place, giving you easy access to our full range of over 27,000 catalogue products, over 120 procurement solutions and bespoke support and advice, all at the touch of a button.

Our website has been designed to support you throughout your buying process and includes lots of helpful features to make this as quick and easy as possible:

Easy account management: track orders, add favourites, share baskets and reorder in just a few clicks

eProcurement made simple: integrate with your finance system and use our Organisation Structure Tool to control spend

Greater support with procurement solutions: track past and current procurement and contact suppliers with ease

Visit espo.org for more information or to register for an account.