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CRM - now part of the Supplier Relationship Development Project

The London Centre of Excellence recently merged with London's improvement body - Capital Ambition - and London Connects, to form London's Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (IEP). The new organisation retains the name Capital Ambition, and is responsible for all former LCE projects.

A website is being created for the new Capital Ambition, but in the meantime this site continues to be updated with all the latest information on this project, as well as important legacy documents. 

Following the success - both of this project and the Strategic Supplier Intelligence project - a second phase has been launched, called Supplier Relationship Development (SRD).

This builds on the work to date and continues to be led by London Fire Brigade. SRD focuses on collaborative working between London boroughs and contractors, using tools developed by the SSI initiative. The project will analyse the relationships between selected suppliers and local authorities in order to identify and realise opportunities for efficiencies and improvements. SRD is implemented in five stages:

  • Market research and analysis
  • Strategy development
  • Supplier engagement
  • Agreeing outcomes and action plans
  • Implementation

Two suppliers have been chosen to focus on the first tranche of work: one in the waste indusrty and one in social care

The Story So Far


Our best practice guidance manual for contract and relationship management practitioners, entitled You and Your Contractor is now available for free download.  Find out more...

The Project
Led by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA), this is an important project for London local government in the context of the Gershon Review.  Getting contract and relationship management (CRMGT) right is vital to the shared service agenda.

CRMGT is a vital part of the procurement lifecycle.  It can be defined as:

  • the management of the interfaces between client and contractor to ensure that the relationship and contract performance are optimised to deliver best value; or
  • a number of related activities that together form a structured and planned system which enables the proactive management of all aspects of contractual relationships and their desired outcomes; or
  • the pursuit of contractual performance.

Project Objectives
The project is designed to support London authorities with the active management of suppliers and contractors during the live contract phase to ensure that contracts continue to deliver and optimise:

  • best value;
  • ongoing value for money;
  • ongoing quality;
  • continuous improvement;
  • realisation of all the intended benefits identified pre-contract;
  • sustainable service delivery;
  • performance compliance; and
  • the fulfillment of ongoing demand.

Phase 1 of the project set out to carry out a status review of contract and relationship management practice in London and make recommendations for improvement.

24 contracts in 15 London authorities covering a range of goods and services were examined in the review.  The contracts account for over £200m of expenditure each year.

The Final Report of the review with recommendations is available to download.

pdf.gif Status Review of Contract and Relationship Management in London: Final Report, March 2006
(pdf 864kB)

Phase 2 is now underway. in which a programme of work will support the delivery of improvements to CRMGT in London by:

It is intended that participants in the programme will be managers in London local authorities who are responsible for major contracts and contractual relationships, drawn from social care, waste, leisure services, street scene and other public service sectors.

Attention will be focused, although not exclusively, on strategically important relationships such as PFI contracts and other public-private or strategic partnerships.

London local authorities spend £8 billion annually on a wide range of goods and services.  Clearly, the complete permeation of best CRMGT practice cannot be attained overnight.  This phase is intended to begin the process in earnest, as a prelude to lasting cultural change.

A Project Initiation Document detailing the programme of work in Phase 2, how it is being delivered and governed and the intentions for Phase 3 is available for download, as is a short presentation outlining the project.

pdf.gif CRMGT Phase 2 Project Initiation Document (pdf 204kB)

pdf.gif CRMGT Project Presentation (pdf 170kB)

Find out more
If you would like to find out more about the Contract and Relationship Management Project, email the Project Team.