Powering efficient procurement in the NHS with AI
NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) face immense pressure to conduct compliant, efficient, and timely procurement processes while contending with limited resources and increasingly complex regulatory challenges. EcoVate developed Dotted Line to alleviate the procurement challenges faced by NHS procurement teams and reduce the time and budget resources needed to carry out multiple procurement processes, such as mini-competitions.
Key impacts
- Automated tender creation pack in just 10 minutes.
- Smart evaluation matrix generation in just 5 minutes and an automated moderation matrix tool in just 5 minutes.
- Multiple tender outcome letters generated in just 6 minutes.
- Huge savings in working days per mini procurement competition.
What could this look like for you?
48.45% annual return on investment for a Trust running 100 further competitions.
Overcoming limited resources to achieve compliant procurement
Overstretched procurement professionals are running anywhere between 50 – 100 further competitions each year while navigating complex regulatory requirements. They are relying on time-intensive manual processes, leading to mistakes, missed deadlines and broken budgets.
Each mini competition can cost Trusts more than £1,000 to run and over 45 hours to complete. By integrating our automation and AI-powered procurement platform, Dotted Line, you can radically reduce the time and cost of the process to deliver the best care to patients.
Putting speed, precision and accuracy at the heart of procurement
We designed Dotted Line to support procurement leaders to make faster, more efficient decisions, for a fraction of the existing cost.
The platform’s capabilities address the hurdles NHS procurement professionals up and down the country are facing, such as skills gaps, capacity constraints and high regulatory demands.
By integrating Dotted Line into your processes, Trust procurement teams benefit from:
- A single shared digital space to gather all documents and data.
- Compliant tender packs generated automatically with missing information flagged.
- Evaluation matrices developed in seconds from the tender pack.
- Evaluation scores consolidated and pre-moderation comments created.
- Accurate and error-free outcome letters written and ready to go.
Dotted Line in action – how it transformed a daunting procurement process
The platform’s potential was brought to life by our work with a Partners Procurement Service (PPS) in London. The PPS was running a mini competition that involved seven bidders and hundreds of working hours. Using Dotted Line reshaped what was possible.
Running the mini competition the traditional way involved:
- 453 questions per bidder × 7 bidders = 3,171 questions.
- 7.5 minutes per justification = 396 hours to draft compliant outcome letters.
Running the mini competition with Dotted Line:
- Fully compliant, fully accurate outcome letters delivered in 30 minutes.
- Almost 50 working days saved.
Driving savings and informing decisions
This dramatic efficiency saving demonstrates the transformative power of automation and AI when it augments human expertise
Dotted Line significantly reduces the manual tasks required to carry out procurement mini competitions, while also providing up-to-the-minute insights that enable leaders to make more informed strategic decisions.
Alongside huge time savings – almost 50 working days in the case of our PPS client – costs per competition can drop from more than £1,000 to just over £10. Factoring in the price of Dotted Line, this represents a 48.45% annual return on investment.
Automated document generation also ensures all outputs are consistent and compliant, reducing the risk of legal challenges.
Dotted Line has transformed the procurement consultancy experience and is a key element of the service we offer at EcoVate. To find out how we could support your procurement team, get in touch with us to chat more about how our solution can help you.
Connect with us:
+44 (0)207 993 2295
