FAQs

Bloom is an innovative private limited company that provides a single supplier solution for consultancy and specialist professional service suppliers to the UK public sector.

We are the delivery partner of the neutral vendor framework for specialist professional services from the North East Procurement Organisation 

As supply chain specialists, Bloom’s philosophy is underpinned by an ‘outcome focused’ approach to procurement. We focus on driving value for money by giving contracting authorities the best choice of large and small suppliers in a quick, compliant and collaborative way.

Bloom is the trusted partner to more than 500 public sector clients from across the UK. The neutral vendor approach from Bloom handles all the complexities of supplier management for the client, as we contract back-to-back with suppliers.

View our introduction to Bloom

We provide greater control and transparency of expenditure, whilst also ensuring compliance and helping to support strategic ambitions. Such as creating greater social value. 

We believe Bloom’s neutral vendor model is unique to the procurement of specialist professional services for the UK public sector. This makes it a safe and viable alternative to traditional procurement methods.

There’s no minimum or maximum value of the project and it’s simpler than traditional frameworks. The only procurement decision and contract is with Bloom; via a compliant route. First, we help to create the best brief possible. Then we present the client with a selection of the most relevant suppliers that meet the brief. 

View our introduction to Bloom

Clients choose from mini competition or direct award; our experience shows the best value is achieved through mini competition; generating average savings of between 11% and 19% against budget. Our diverse supplier community means we can source suppliers with the right capabilities, capacity, and experience for each project. 

Our supplier accreditation process ensures all standard documentation; such as professional indemnity insurance, collateral warranties, right to work and recent references are in place. We assure delivery by putting in place all necessary contractual agreements and managing the relationship with the chosen supplier. That means risk is mitigated and quality assured.

Bloom is a delivery partner, awarded by the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO). We source, appoint and manage specialist professional services for its Member Authorities and Associate Members.

Bloom is a private limited company and has no shareholding or other commercial arrangement with NEPO. We also deliver frameworks with other organisations like Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO).

As part of their OJEU compliant framework tender process, the North East Procurement Organisation requested daily rates for each of the 20 categories, as well as the typical grades and roles from potential suppliers in the UK Consultancy Market.

The solution can also be used by contracting authorities for benchmarking purposes, and pre/post appointments. This information is available on request from NEPO, please contact adam.smith@nepo.org. 

The North East Procurement Organisation holds regular performance reviews with Bloom. It’s the opportunity for NEPO and its members to share management information and review the quality of the service provided by Bloom.

Each client of Bloom joins the North East Procurement Organisation as a member or associate member. This provides access to the NEPO team, as well supplier and Contracting Authority networking days. 

Traditional procurement frameworks can take 100 days from requirement to project start. Bloom provides an average turnaround of 20 days from the requirement. That’s based on receipt of a complete project brief. Turnaround times differ depending on the level of support you require from Bloom.

Consultants are typically registered companies employed to deliver a specific outcome in a defined time period. Interims are usually employed to fill a role, one which could be done by an employee. They work to an agreed job description and are usually paid by the hour.

Working with Bloom to appoint consultants means getting the best value and the best choice of suppliers. This is backed up by supply-chain expertise and delivery assurance.

Yes. Bloom provides an alternative option for delivering outcomes, for which an interim is typically used.

We can facilitate interim appointments where there’s delivery of specialist professional services. However, agency and temporary recruitment is out of scope. 

There are 20 categories of Specialist Professional Service (SPS) covered by the Bloom framework, including consultancy services. Just take a look at our category list to see all the consultancy services available via our framework. 

The Bloom solution is typically cost neutral to clients. The supplier community working with Bloom is charged a 5% management fee on the successful delivery of a project. For that, Bloom provides an efficient route to market for suppliers of all sizes. With Bloom, large and small suppliers can access significant public sector contracts without the need for complex tender responses.

On average public sector clients save between 11% and 19% against budget with Bloom.

Of course. Just get in contact with Bloom on 020 3948 9400 or by email to hello@bloom.services

That depends on how you want to work with Bloom. Our supply chain experts are on hand to help you at every stage of your project. We run a diagnostic with you to analyse your spending and needs. To get started, you’ll need to sign a call-off agreement if you’d like to fully adopt Bloom. We can attend any meetings required, to help inform your stakeholders. Templates are available to help you. Equally, if you’d like to work on a more ad-hoc approach, we’re available to walk you through each project. 

Just get in touch to understand how we can help to get you started.

To join the Bloom supplier community, all suppliers go through a full accreditation process, before working on any project. Our supplier accreditation process is robust ensuring all documentation is in place.

We conduct regular updates through project reports, confirming the quality and standard of the services being delivered. Each project ends with a full client satisfaction review.

Bloom clients have access to our dedicated service delivery team and a single point of contact to ensure successful project delivery. If any challenges or issues are encountered, that is the first place to contact to help the project run smoothly again. 

We ask clients to complete a full satisfaction questionnaire after project delivery. We have a robust complaints procedure if there’s anything that needs more immediate or senior attention.

Suppliers express interest through the supplier sign-up form. This begins the registration and accreditation process to join our supplier community. Registration is the first stage and requires that you provide us with your initial contact details. Accreditation is Bloom’s quality evaluation process that all suppliers must go through to access our opportunities with the public sector. 

For NEPRO³, you’ll need to decide which categories to register for. 

See our category list for full details.

A growing number of public sector bodies are choosing a neutral vendor approach across all procurement categories, including professional services. Bloom is the trusted partner to more than 500 public sector clients from across the UK.

To access these opportunities through Bloom, suppliers need to be accredited. This gives you the opportunity to prove your suitability for the projects on offer and ensures that you’re on the radar for future opportunities.

You’ll then be able to promote your accreditation with Bloom. This offers you an efficient route to market, via a national framework for professional services.

View our introduction to Bloom

Once accredited, suppliers receive automated alerts, giving them the chance to evaluate the opportunity and whether or not to respond. These are pre-qualified, well-defined and genuine opportunities to win public sector business.

Our service delivery team works between you and the client to ensure the smooth running of the project. You’ll get open and honest feedback on bids. There’s also the chance to network and partner with complementary suppliers to access wider opportunities.

To join Bloom’s supplier community, specialist professional service providers go through a detailed accreditation process. It’s all done through Pro-vide 2.0, our cloud-based system.

Registration on Pro-vide 2.0 has been designed to be quick and easy. To become a Bloom Accredited Supplier, you need to express interest via our supplier sign-up form. Once qualified, you’ll be sent a registration link, allowing you to register and complete your basic profile. This includes agreeing to our terms and conditions. Your basic profile will be checked by our team, and you will receive confirmation in due course to confirm your Bloom Accredited Supplier status. This will give you access to all Bloom procurement frameworks.

To be able to win work on individual frameworks, you will need to ensure your extended profile is complete; within this section you will also need to agree to the SDA (Supplier Delivery Agreement) terms of each individual procurement framework. 
 
To get started on a project, we’ll require a purchase order number for the work before it begins. 

We have designed the Pro-vide 2.0 registration process to be as quick and easy as possible whilst ensuring the process is robust.

During registration you will be asked to confirm your Professional Indemnity Insurance; as insurance requirements are different for each framework and project, you will not be asked to upload Professional Indemnity Insurance certificates until you receive a relevant opportunity and complete the ITT (Invitation to Tender). 

You will be asked to provide case studies and references each time you submit an ITT, allowing you the flexibility to provide the most relevant and up-to-date case studies to showcase your service offering. You will not be required to upload case studies when completing your basic and extended profiles as part of the registration process.

The following documents are specifically required for registering under the Construction, Design & Engineering category, these documents are required within your extended profile section:
Health and safety (including training) policy
Work equipment procedure policy
First Aid policy
Risk assessment and COSHH assessment policy
Accident reporting policy
Fire risk assessment policy
Electrical safety policy
Manual handling assessment policy

Bloom offers your business an efficient route to market offering pre-qualified, well defined opportunities for suppliers of all sizes, across the UK. We help suppliers like you by supporting established client relationships and helping to create new ones, opening up access to public sector procurement opportunities as never before.  

View our introduction to Bloom

As a neutral vendor, Bloom works with you to provide a valuable resource to ensure project success. 

There’s access to established processes and CIPS-qualified staff that guide the client from the initial statement of requirements to appointment. Meaning your projects with Bloom have the best possible start.

We are then on-hand with as much or little assistance as required to ensure delivery. That means you get unbiased support to ensure project success, working between you and the client as required.

Suppliers are not charged for registration, accreditation, or participation in bid opportunities. The only charge is a 5% management fee for any services delivered via our NEPRO³ neutral vendor solution. How much of this fee you choose to include in your proposal costs is your commercial judgment. Bloom Accredited Suppliers have access to the 5% management fee calculator, available on the Suppliers Resources Page. 

Bloom is working with over 500 public sector clients from across the UK. When signing a call-off agreement with Bloom, these clients can choose to work on a full mandate or ad-hoc basis. Both options mean each contracting authority can work with you as an accredited supplier for each of the categories that you’ve accredited for with us, opening up opportunities both locally and regionally. 

Your main contacts at Bloom will be our Customer Experience and Procurement Operation teams who are available to help you make the most of your Bloom accreditation. If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Experience team at suppliers@bloom.services

A member of the Bloom team will get in contact with you, or you may be sent an automated email from Pro-vide. If you’d like to discuss the number of opportunities that you are receiving, please contact our supplier team:  suppliers@bloom.services

Your profile is your shop window – so keep it attractive and update it regularly. Your profile includes questions about your service capabilities. Keeping this information up-to-date will enable us to match your service offering to project requirements; we will do keyword searches to shortlist suppliers based on their capabilities.

Bloom works using a self-billing arrangement so, in short, you now need only to submit a Payment Request. Once the Payment Request has been approved by the client, payment terms are triggered, and Bloom generates a self-billed invoice on your behalf. Client organisations raise their PO to Bloom after which you are paid by Bloom within the agreed terms. 

It is important that you do not send us copies of your own generated invoices. As a supplier, all you need to do is submit your Payment Request and once approved by the client, we will take care of the rest.

Self-billing ensures the payment process is quicker as it is automated. You can find out more about self-billing on the Gov.uk 
website here 

Link here: VAT: self-billing arrangements - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Suppliers are not charged for registration, accreditation or participation in bid opportunities via Bloom. The only charge is the 5% management fee for any services delivered via the NEPRO³ Solution. To obtain the management fee, Bloom nets off 5% from the total value of the submitted invoice. This means that if 5% were to be added to the total, it would be deducted from 105%.

To help our suppliers work this out, we have a simple management fee calculator. It also factors in whether your organisation is VAT or non-VAT registered. For a more detailed explanation on how this is calculated, we have also included a working example below:

If a VAT registered supplier submits an invoice for £10,000, they would be paid £9,500 (net) after the management fee of £500, or 5% of £10,000, has been deducted by Bloom. 

If the supplier was looking to receive £10,000, the fee would need to be incorporated into their pricing. An invoice for the gross value of £10,526.32 would need to be submitted. (£10,526.32 x 95%= £10,000.00)

If the supplier is not VAT registered, a gross invoice for £10,638.30 would need to be submitted

Please contact our Customer Experience team: suppliers@bloom.services

We encourage all suppliers to promote their accreditation through social media and news stories on their website. Tagging Bloom on LinkedIn and Twitter ensures we will share this through our channels. As a Bloom Accredited Supplier, public sector clients have an OJEU compliant solution to access your services at speed. Maximising the promotion of your accreditation lets potential clients know your organisation is open for business. 

If you’d like the logo in a different format or size, please contact our marketing team: marketing@bloom.services

The Bloom accredited supplier logo can be used on a range of marketing and promotional materials including business cards, email signatures and materials such as brochures, leaflets, presentations, proposals and your website.

You can add the Bloom Accredited Supplier logo on your website with a link back to the Bloom website. This makes it clearly visible to target clients that they can compliantly access the services you offer. It also has the added benefit of a relevant outbound link on your website, which helps improve your own SEO performance.

Yes, we encourage you to refer clients to Bloom when talking about your Bloom Supplier Accreditation. Through Bloom, public sector clients can compliantly and directly appoint you to complete a project, providing a cost-effective and fast route to market. Let us know if you need help to explain how clients can use Bloom to compliantly appoint a supplier. Just get in touch with our supplier team: suppliers@bloom.services 

NEPRO³ is an OJEU compliant procurement framework which was set up to help the UK public sector buy and manage specialist professional services, whilst achieving better outcomes and improving value for money.

The NEPRO framework was originally setup in 2012 by NEPO (The North East Procurement Organisation). NEPRO³ is the third iteration of the framework and is building on the successes to date as the only solution of its kind within the UK public sector marketplace. Bloom have been the exclusive operator of NEPRO since its inception.  

Having launched on 1 September 2019, NEPRO³ will run for 8 years– opening procurement opportunities for buyers and suppliers alike. 

To access Pro-vide 2.0, and the benefits available, you will need to sign a new call-off agreement for NEPRO³.  

Pro-vide 2.0 will enable robust and tailored buyer and supplier onboarding and ongoing management, whilst providing enhanced functionality for spend control, spend management, specification development, evaluation and payment.  

The new platform will offer the flexibility needed to evolve and respond to ongoing demands in the public sector, including: 

Enhanced functionality to capture your precise project requirements. 

Requirements can be routed for approval in accordance with your internal processes. 

Enhanced functionality to shortlist suppliers based on: location, organisation size, capabilities, professional qualifications and accreditation. 

Best in class evaluation and automated scoring functionality. 

This depends on your specific organisation and how many projects you have. The customer migration process will be straightforward, and we will guide you through the entire process. You will receive detailed information explaining how the process will work for your specific organisation.

Bloom is migrating all customers on to Pro-vide 2.0, regardless of framework, as we cannot operate more than one system. You will be asked to sign up to NEPRO³ as part of your Pro-vide 2.0 migration to ensure that you have access to the most up-to-date version of the NEPRO framework.  

Pro-vide 2.0 is a flexible system and can replicate your authorisation processes to ensure compliance. You will be asked for these details in the customer onboarding document that we use to support your migration. 

All customers will have access to additional support during the first few months after migration to ensure that all users understand how to use Pro-vide 2.0. After those first few months, you will continue to have the level of Bloom support that you have always been able to access.