LUPC is a not-for-profit buying organisation owned by its members, for its members. As a member you will benefit from:

• Guaranteed savings: Our members’ average return on investment is 120:1, with institutions saving £33.8 million in 2015-16. There is also a reduction in tendering costs and time for both buyers and suppliers.

• Guaranteed compliance: Through a combination of EU Directives and UK case law, public procurement is becoming increasingly complex and vulnerable to litigation. All LUPC contacts and framework agreements are tendered by experts and are compliant with all relevant rules and regulations, thus minimising the risk of legal challenge.

• Access to over 100 agreements: LUPC has a diverse portfolio of professionally arranged agreements in place, and is constantly adding to this range, based on member demand. Our agreements cover a range of goods and services, and are tailored to the specific requirements of our membership.

• Full member engagement: Members are at the heart of all LUPC’s activities and are consulted on the shape and delivery of all agreements before launch or re-tender. Full members have voting rights to elect and join LUPC’s Board and Executive Committee, ensuring we offer an organisation that is truly owned by its members, for its members.

Services

• Procurement consultancy services: LUPC can provide low-cost, professional procurement consultancy to members to meet a range of short-term procurement needs.  This is a chargeable service, albeit at a competitive rate. Read more.

• Shared Procurement Service - 'Ensemble Purchasing': Ensemble Purchasing is London higher education's shared procurement service and cost-sharing group, designed specifically for smaller LUPC members that don't have an in-house procurement team, and need some ongoing professional procurement capacity. If you'd more information or would like to get involved, contact Andy Davies.

• Free EU procurement advice: If you have problems with a particular EU procurement strategy or project, you can receive free advice from Achilles through the LUPC agreement.

Discounts and freebies

• Free access to Creditsafe: Members have access to a fast, consolidated online credit referencing service, helping you understand UK ratings and limits, check supplier credit and digest those reports, so you can reduce business risk and save considerable expense. The Guide to Creditsafe provides an overview of all the features available to you.

• Free membership to The Energy Consortium (TEC): Members can access collaborative energy buying arrangements for the public sector.

• Free membership of AIRMIC, the association for everyone who has a responsibility for risk management and insurance in their organisation, available to members of the LUPC Insurance Group.

• Exclusive discounts on BravoSolution’s e-tendering portal, a powerful end-to-end procurement process management system that provides secure, EU compliant tendering and automated analysis tools.

• Discounted subscription to Achilles' THEMiS, an online repository of EU procurement case law, updates and information.

Spend analysis

• Annual savings report: LUPC provides each member with an individual annual report setting out savings and spend through LUPC agreements. We also report on non-consortium spend that could be re-directed through our agreements, helping to identify further potential savings.

• Free spend analysis tool: LUPC also offers a free spend analytics tool from Spend 360 to integrate into members' own local procurement operations.

• Annual Scope 3 carbon emissions report: Using member spend data and a HEFCE-developed reporting tool, we provide members with a report to help quantify your performance in this area of sustainability.

• Benchmark your performance: LUPC has a limited resource to cover the cost of members who wish to undertake Procurement Maturity Assessments. These are professional assessments of your current procurement capability, which can be used to drive improvement and make the case for additional resource.

News, training and events

• Regular news and events: Members can keep up-to-date with LUPC agreements and changes to the wider public procurement landscape via a free monthly e-bulletin, quarterly print magazine and regular free or low-cost events; this includes free entry to our annual conference and exhibition.

Interested in joining LUPC? Read more or contact Laura Compton, Assistant Director (Membership), 020 7307 2766.