Unlocking Value in Paper Hygiene Through eAuctions and Further Competitions
Paper hygiene products are among the most widely used consumables in healthcare. From hand towels in washrooms and clinical areas to couch rolls in treatment rooms and facial tissues in patient spaces, they play a constant — and often underestimated — role in delivering safe, hygienic care.
Because they’re used at such high volume across almost every department, paper hygiene products also present a valuable opportunity for procurement teams to drive efficiencies through standardisation, aggregation and market engagement. Even marginal savings at unit level can quickly translate into meaningful budget impact when scaled across an entire trust.
That’s why our NHS Supply Chain: Facilities and Office Solutions team is focusing on this category — using a combination of real-time pricing tools, strategic competitions, and future-ready product planning to help trusts unlock better value and make smarter decisions.
Driving Competition
To support more transparent pricing and stronger supplier competition, our NHS Supply Chain: Facilities and Office Solutions team uses a strategic mix of framework-led further competitions and eAuctions — depending on the product type and level of standardisation or flexibility needed.
eAuctions are a particularly effective tool for high-volume, standardised products where quality and format are clearly defined. They are live, online bidding events where pre-approved suppliers compete to offer the lowest price for a specific list of products. Suppliers can see — anonymously — whether their bids are currently leading and are encouraged to revise their pricing in real time to stay competitive. The format promotes multiple rounds of bidding within a short timeframe, often resulting in lower final prices than traditional negotiation methods.
For commodity products like facial tissues, couch rolls, and centrefeed rolls, eAuctions provide an efficient, transparent way to secure the best market pricing without compromising on specification. Because these products are widely used and relatively consistent across suppliers, they’re ideal candidates for this approach.
In contrast, further competitions are better suited to situations where there’s a need to tailor pricing and service to a specific trust’s circumstances. These may include preferences around pack size, storage and delivery arrangements, dispenser compatibility, or product performance features. Further competitions allow suppliers to provide pricing and product solutions that take these trust-specific variables into account — ensuring the offer is as relevant and workable as it is competitive.
By using both approaches strategically, the team can balance price competitiveness with local fit — helping trusts benefit from national scale without losing sight of operational realities.
Identifying “Quick Wins” with Minimal Disruption
A key part of this work involves identifying product switches that offer benefits without introducing new complexity. Some items — such as facial tissues or couch rolls — can be easily switched without requiring any infrastructure changes, which makes them ideal targets for quick-win savings. These types of products are more “plug-and-play,” making implementation easier for procurement teams and helping trusts realise the benefits sooner.
In contrast, some categories like hand towels and toilet tissue systems often involve estates input when dispenser types vary between suppliers. In these cases, the team works closely with suppliers to ensure any switch is as seamless as possible. This includes offering free-on-loan dispensers, providing installation and removal services, and supplying technical support or cost-justification modelling. Where appropriate, sustainability benefits (such as reduced waste from controlled-use systems) are also considered as part of the switch recommendation.
Planning for What’s Next
Looking ahead, the NHS Supply Chain: Facilities and Office Solutions team sees strong potential in switching from hand towel sleeves to rolls — not only for the cost savings, but also for the environmental and operational improvements this can bring. To support this, work is already underway on a universal hand towel roll dispenser that will be compatible across suppliers — helping trusts avoid the need for repeated estates-led refits when changing products or providers.
The team is also planning an eAuction for facial tissues, couch rolls, and centrefeed, and continues to scope further competitions for trusts that are reviewing usage, consolidating suppliers, or exploring benchmarking opportunities.
If you're reviewing your paper hygiene range or considering changes to your product mix, now is a good time to connect with our team. We welcome input from trusts to help shape product specifications for upcoming procurement activity — including planned eAuctions and further competitions.
Whether you're looking to standardise, consolidate suppliers, or explore the switch from hand towel sleeves to rolls, we can support you with insights, planning, and next steps. To discuss your paper hygiene needs or help shape future activity, please contact of expert category team on facilitiesandofficesolutionssupport@supplychain.nhs.uk.