National police procurement hub goes live

The National Policing Improvement Agency’s (NPIA) new ‘Amazon-style’ procurement process, which enables police forces to buy specified goods and services online, went live for the first time last week.

Lincolnshire Police became the first force to use the new National Police Procurement Hub (NPPH).

The hub allows forces to select, purchase and pay for a range of approved goods and services online from 500 suppliers and is set to save the service £30 million over six years. Approved items such as IT, body armour, vehicles and a whole range of other goods and services can be purchased at the touch of a button.

Peter Steed, assistant chief officer and director of resources at Lincolnshire Police, said: “In these financially challenging times it is essential that we take every opportunity to maintain services while reducing costs. We are therefore delighted to be the first force to adopt this system, which will enable us to make significant time and cost savings on the goods that we purchase.”

The national system allows police forces to do the whole process of ordering, buying, invoicing and paying online. It harnesses the buying power of the police service to lower costs and improve supplier relationships while realising greater efficiency in billing and processing transactions.