A Crown Commercial Service-funded digital platform has identified millions of pounds of potential savings for NHS procurement teams in its first year of operation according to the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Subscribers to Atamis who include 258 NHS organisations (or 69% of the total) are benefiting from access to each element of the commercial process in a single location, removing often burdensome manual processes and saving millions of pounds in administration costs.
The new platform replaces multiple procurement systems, overcoming barriers to integration which have previously made it difficult for teams at DHSC and the NHS to share commercial insights and data.
CCS funding has been invaluable to DHSC, its Arm’s Length Bodies, NHS Providers, newly formed Integrated Care Systems, Integrated Care Boards and Commissioning Support Units.
The roll out of the Atamis e-commerce system was enabled by £12.8 million in funding from Crown Commercial Service which has been spread over 3 financial years, with a further target of 90 per cent of trusts set for 2025.
Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart, says: "To meet the Prime Minister’s goal of reducing national debt, we’re making efficiencies for the taxpayer."
The platform currently holds a pipeline of £24 billion and active contracts with a value of £108 billion.
NHS services in North West London were able to identify £34 million of savings by grouping 9 organisations on the same e-commerce system.
This has helped them to identify £34 million of potential savings in the past 12 months.
In addition to supporting NHS organisations to identify savings, Atamis provides procurement teams with a unified view of the data, which can be segmented according to the need of the organisation, ensuring it’s easier for procurement and commercial teams to make informed decisions that ensure the best value for money for the taxpayer.
Health Minister Lord Markham, adds: "I’m pleased to see the success so far of this digital platform, which is already helping NHS organisations across England identify savings opportunities.
"We’re delighted with the success of the rollout of the Atamis e-commerce system.
This is a great step forward in bringing the commercial activities of the health service together in one place to increase the effectiveness and resilience of NHS procurement."
Sarah Jewell, Deputy Director for partnerships at Crown Commercial Service, says: "We’re delighted with the success of the rollout of the Atamis e-commerce system.
"This is a great step forward in bringing the commercial activities of the health service together in one place to increase the effectiveness and resilience of NHS procurement."
Jacqui Rock, NHS England Chief Commercial Officer, adds: "The NHS is one of the most efficient health services in the world, and finding further efficiencies to be reinvested into patient care remains a key priority.
"Atamis is an incredibly important tool to support procurement teams to do this, and it’s encouraging to see the progress we have made in just a year to help deliver significant savings and value for the taxpayer.
"As guardians of taxpayer money, having a unified view of the commercial data landscape is essential, so I expect the remaining NHS organisations who haven’t yet onboarded to do so as a matter of priority.
Lee Jackson, Managing Director North West London Procurement Services, says: "Atamis has been key to the development of ICS based procurement across North West London.
"We now have a robust 3rd party intelligence suite of which Atamis is the cornerstone.
In the past twelve months we have integrated all data from all nine NHS trusts into the system and also the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
This has helped us identify and track savings opportunities worth £34.8 million across our ICS.
Atamis is an incredibly important tool to support procurement teams to do this, and it’s encouraging to see the progress we have made in just a year to help deliver significant savings and value for the taxpayer.
Melinda Johnson, Commercial Director for the Department of Health and Social Care, adds: "CCS funding has been invaluable to DHSC, its Arm’s Length Bodies, NHS Providers, newly formed Integrated Care Systems, Integrated Care Boards and Commissioning Support Units."
