The distributor, whose biggest client is its parent company, Compass, will assume responsibility for providing the central resource for food procurement across the NHS as part of the deal.
The contract was awarded as part of the Department of Health’s ‘Future Operating model’, which sets out the design of a new NHS supply chain service that will deliver improved procurement support to its services.
Working closely with the Intelligent Client Coordinator (ICC), which will be the management function for the Future Operating Model from April 2018, Foodbuy says it will work to optimise the supplier base for NHS customers and help it unlock cost saving opportunities.
Also as part of the contract, Foodbuy will take on the procurement for the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, a government programme that entitles every child in England, aged 4-6 and in fully state-funded schools to a piece of fruit or vegetable each school day.
Oliver Cock, managing director of Foodbuy said: “This is a very significant contract win which step-changes the value of our managed procurement spend.
The contract was awarded based on the quality of our response against set criteria, which included having competitive pricing and the credibility of our forecasts for improving food procurement across the NHS. We’re really excited and can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Foodbuy and the ICC are set to work together for the next six months to ensure strategy is in line with NHS requirements before the contract goes live in July.