Blog: The importance of two-way communications between NOE CPC and its customers.
Our focus for May is #CommunicationMatters. To introduce this topic, Julian Clarke, Head of Business Services, addresses the importance of two-way communications between NOE CPC and its customers.
"Effective communication is essential in every organisation, but it is especially important for NOE CPC due to the complex nature of national, regional and local NHS procurement and supply chain management. For us, it is important to establish and maintain good quality two-way communication with our customers, procurement leaders in the NHS.
"Our Customer Relationship Managers regularly conduct face-to-face or virtual meetings with our Member Trusts. The CRM team build strong relationships with procurement leaders in our member trusts and their procurement category teams. We maintain this high-quality level of communication to inform and update our customers on the services we offer. Building strong relationships with our members helps both parties increase spend under management and maximises the member rebate opportunity.
"It is essential that as well as informing our customers, we also listen to and learn from them to ensure the frameworks NOE CPC creates are what our members need. Also, by listening to our members and customers, we can learn how to become better, whether that is through direct feedback or through our annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. Our customer board meets regularly to help guide NOE CPC strategy and deliver relevant procurement services to you.
"Another important communication channel is through our Members’ Forum and Procurement Leaders Round Table meetings, where through networking we can share best practice and the latest insights from NHS England, Central Commercial Function, ICSs and local trusts. These are just two of the many regular events organised by our Training and Events team, who hold a busy calendar of events throughout the year, ranging from legal updates to the basics of procurement. These help to keep our customers up-to-date with the latest legislation and procurement policy.
"Throughout the year, our procurement experts attend conferences around the country, showcasing the products and services we have available to our customers and helping to grow our supplier base. The events we attend give us opportunities to forge valuable connections with contacts within the industry, as we constantly seek to tailor our service offering so that it is best suited to those who use it.
"We also encourage our members to communicate directly with our expert category teams. This is supported by direct emails and sourcing groups and helps build relationships and improve collaboration and innovation.
"Innovation is essential in any industry, but it is especially important in healthcare procurement. Good communication between NOE CPC and its supply base, for example, can foster innovation by allowing for the exchange of ideas and knowledge. When suppliers are able to share their expertise and collaborate with NOE CPC and its customers, they can develop new solutions that meet the evolving needs of the healthcare industry.
"In recent months we have also invested in our marketing resources and capability to not only ensure our customers know how they can get the most out of our products and services but also to provide valuable thought leadership pieces on the healthcare procurement landscape.
"We have refreshed our monthly newsletters and introduced new topics for discussion every month using our #Matters hashtags which we have been using on our social media channels to drive awareness and encourage conversations.
"Good quality two-way communication is essential for NOE CPC to build successful, long-standing and strong relationships with our members and NHS procurement colleagues. By building trust, promoting collaboration, improving efficiency, fostering innovation, and ensuring customer satisfaction, we can continue to establish mutually beneficial relationships with our customers."