The Public Procurement Act

The most recent Public Procurement Act of 2023 aimed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of how the public sector could purchase goods, including IT hardware.

 

With £1 in every £3 of public money being spent on procurement, making the right choice on your procurement habits is essential for remaining complaint and for meeting demand.

 

Choosing the right products, that do not compromise on the essentials; reliability, cost-effectiveness, performance and sustainability – can seem daunting, particularly with IT hardware.

 

This is where refurbished can play an integral part in public sector procurement.

 

Why Consider Refurbished Under the Public Procurement Act

The Public Procurement Act 2023 encourages public sector organisations to consider refurbished hardware by emphasising the importance of value for money, environmental impact and effectiveness in procurement decisions.

 

The Public Procurement Act states that contracts must be awarded based on criteria that ensure best value for money. This takes into account four key features of the product or service: value for money, public benefit, transparency and integrity.

 

In terms of IT hardware, refurbished is a careful balance of quality, cost and sustainability. This means that, by choosing the right supplier, public sector organisations can meet all 4 of the demands of the public procurement act.

 

“In carrying out a covered procurement, a contracting authority must have regard for the importance of - (a) delivering value for money, (b) maximising public benefit, (c) sharing information for the purpose of allowing suppliers and others to understand the authority’s procurement policies and decisions; (d) acting, and being seen to act, with integrity.”

 

Quality

Refurbished hardware has not only been proved to perform as well as new but is also paired with the same warranty as new when working with reputable vendors. This ensures that the device is powerful, efficient and performance driven, and is also backed by the supplier for reliability and peace of mind.

 

The quality of refurbished IT hardware delivers a maximised public benefit by supporting the infrastructure of authorities with high-performance, efficient technology.

 

Cost

Refurbished can be to 70% cheaper than new without compromising on the performance, efficiency or reliability commonly associated with the latest technology. By choosing refurbished, many organisations can maximise their budget, purchasing more compute power than they originally thought possible, or spending less for what they need.

 

This means that public sector organisations can demonstrate excellent value for money without compromising on overall performance of the technology.

 

Sustainabilty

We all know that manufacturing is an environmental mine field – from the mining of materials to the shipping of components, assembly and sale, each area of manufacturing comes with its own environmental challenges and costs.

 

In terms of carbon itself, the manufacturing process for a single server generates 1099kg of CO2e. In comparison, the refurbishment process of the same server will generate 8kg of CO2e. This means that by choosing refurbished, you could make a CO2e saving of 1091kg per server in your IT estate. That’s the same weight as two fully grown grizzly bears!

 

Whilst we have used servers as an example here, similar savings can be seen against all forms of technology.

 

With this in mind, making the most of what we do have, for as long as possible, is the best environmental choice when it comes to procurement. Refurbished equipment comes with a lesser carbon price tag than new equipment and also utilises materials that have already been mined and assembled, prolonging the use of resources.

 

By choosing refurbished hardware, therefore, public sector authorities can demonstrate that they are acting with integrity – making the sustainable choice for those that they serve and support and considering the wider consequences of their procurement decisions.

 

Choosing a Refurbished Supplier

Many suppliers of refurbished technology are on leading frameworks for public sector procurement, such as CCS TePAS2, Health Family and Value Match. These suppliers have been vetted and assessed for the capabilities in supplying the public sector, taking the hard work out of finding the right suppliers for your organisation.

 

However, to assess a supplier of refurbished technology, you can also look out for their efforts in social value and sustainability (often found in social value statements and sustainability reports), accreditations in the services they offer and quality assurance, as well as positive customer reviews and case studies.

 

All of these markers of a reputable supplier will allow the public sector organisation to demonstrate that they have acted with integrity, choosing a supplier who gives back and also provides exceptional services.

 

Techbuyer's Sustainable IT Solutions

The Public Procurement Act 2023 encourages public sector organisations to consider refurbished IT hardware as a viable option by demanding integrity, value for money and public benefit from their purchasing decisions.

 

With the act calling for full transparency on purchasing processes, rational and final decisions, refurbished hardware is a fantastic choice. When supplied through a reputable company, it delivers unmatched value for money thanks to its performance and reliability, as well as reduced cost.

 

Techbuyer is a leading supplier in sustainable IT solutions, including high quality IT hardware. We deliver services and equipment designed to meet the needs of every organisation without compromise, balancing cost, effectiveness, reliability and sustainability.

 

We can be found on leading public sector procurement frameworks, including CCS TEPaS2, Health Family and Value Match. These frameworks allow us to deliver leading services for IT procurement, maintenance and disposal to public sector clients.

 

For more information and to contact our team, head to our dedicated public sector page here.