Using Data to Enhance Efficiency and Insight
This month we are looking at how we use data to inform decision making and provide accurate and reliable data to ensure the integrity of our delivery.
Within NHS procurement, ensuring efficiency, transparency, and strategic decision-making are paramount. At NOE CPC, our data teams are instrumental in the creation and delivery of different customer-facing tools that can help customers efficiently and easily source and access services to suit their procurement requirements through our website.
Two of our most recent projects have been the Vendor Discount Matrix Power BI tool, developed to be used in conjunction with our Total Technology Solutions framework, and our Supplier Geo-Tool Power BI tool, tailored for integration with our Laundry and Linen Total Solutions framework.
Supplier Geo-Tool
Accessible through our Laundry and Linen Total Solutions framework page, the Supplier Geo-Tool is a simple but effective tool that has been developed to allow users to view and determine which suppliers are active in different integrated care system (ICS) areas.
Ryan Hopkinson, Data Services Specialist, led the development of this tool. He adds, “When developing the benchmarking tool for the Laundry and Linen Total Solutions framework, I recognised the limitations of the existing Excel-based supplier geographical location matrix. I wanted to create something that was a more intuitive solution to enhance user experience and navigation.
“Beginning with a prototype, I collaborated closely with the framework’s Category Manager, who endorsed the concept for the development of the new tool. The formation of the tool was a collaborative effort, with assistance from the Procurement Operations team who helped with data mapping.”
For further guidance on how to use this tool, please check out our video guide below.
Vendor Discount Matrix
Our Vendor Discount Matrix tool has been developed to allow users to identify the best value offering for a given requirement under the Total Technology Solutions framework agreement.
This tool provides a transparent justification for making direct award decisions which mitigates potential risks. The VDM tool also serves as a valuable resource for market research purposes, enabling users to locate vendors or manufacturers in specific ICT product domains and identify suppliers with partner status with a given vendor or manufacturer.
George Martin, Senior Systems and Process Analyst, steered the development of this tool and added
“The Category Manager initially came up with the idea of enhancing user experience by allowing users to have an easier and more interactive experience of the Excel version of the vendor discounts. The user should be able to easily identify the biggest discounted suppliers but also allow them to see other suppliers on a list. This should be split into the various product category areas and then customers should be able to filter the vendors. Each vendor had their descriptions of the categories too – which looked rather messy within Excel.
“Recognising the limitations from a data perspective, the initial focus was on restructuring the data to facilitate report generation. With valuable input from the procurement category team, the subsequent task involved leveraging Power BI to craft visually engaging tables categorised by product type. To highlight the leading discounted supplier. I utilised Power BI's ranking feature to isolate and prominently display this information in a larger text box.
“While I handled the report creation independently, the Category Manager provided invaluable guidance on formatting and ensuring the report's coherence.”
For detailed instructions on utilising this tool, please refer to our instructional video guide below.