Cheadle marketing services provider wins contract for print procurement marketplace

Cheadle based marketing services provider, APS Group, has won a government tender to manage a new print procurement marketplace for public bodies.

The new marketplace, in development by the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) and Wakefield-based YPO, will help to connect public sector organisations with UK print suppliers.

Print suppliers will need to register their interest with APS Group to be included for free on the platform, allowing businesses of all sizes to gain access to a wide range of public sector opportunities with the guarantee of prompt payment.

The Print Marketplace platform aims to streamline public sector procurement processes and will enable all public bodies to compare prices and order printed materials from both local or national print suppliers. Organisations will be able to use pre-designed templates to help confirm their specifications – with purchasers also able to compare the carbon impact of each order.

Dave Duncan, Crown Commercial Service’s Head of Document Management and Logistics said:

Capable of providing real, instant quotes from multiple suppliers, Print Marketplace will be a genuinely market-leading solution. It will allow customers from the entire public sector to purchase quality print products and, in doing so, save time and money while meeting their social value obligations.

“This solution will also support SMEs in the wake of COVID-19, allowing them to win new business and access customers they may have previously struggled to reach.”

Kim Naylor, Executive Director of APS Group, added:

We are delighted to be helping government, suppliers and public sector organisations develop a game changing online platform with such potential. By connecting supply and demand, we are helping to remove many of the obstacles that have previously prevented the public sector accessing smaller, local suppliers. We welcome the opportunities this will bring to our existing and new roster of print suppliers.”

Suppliers wishing to register an interest with APS Group to be included on the Print Marketplace for public sector procurement can do so online.