SCF’s core motivation is to increase value to the public sector through intelligent and responsible management of construction projects. During the four generations of the framework, we’ve made and exceeded progressively ambitious targets for employment and skills, apprentices, trades and graduates, but more recently we’ve concentrated on being closer to our supply chain, to support those people delivering the work on the ground, and deliver greater transparency – from inception, right through to the completion and operation of a development.
We’ve worked hard to increase our supply chain intelligence, but more work needs to be done. We’ve launched an online training module for users and suppliers on the framework, increasing value for our clients. It is our ambition for the whole supply chain to be more involved in the design and de-risking the project, to better understand the priorities of the client and the needs of the project, to be protected from unfair practices, and to more equitably share in the risks and rewards of public construction works.
We also appreciate that most of the social value delivery ‘on the ground’ is delivered in the supply chain. With this in mind, we want to work directly with those SME’s to deliver long-term legacies in the local economies. The Social Value Act dictates that clients take into consideration the wider social value of all public sector procurements, but traditionally the main contractors are the only ones asked to demonstrate this value when bidding for a project. We think greater value can be realised by developing a more intelligent relationship, supporting the SMEs at a framework level, to recognise their achievements in the community, and to provide a more cohesive social value legacy.
We recently carried out a survey of all our sub-suppliers, in its third-generation data on around 2000 sub-contract packages was collected, these suppliers were invited to have their say on the future of supply engagement at SCF. You can read this survey at https://scfsolutions.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Supply-Chain-Survey-Report.pdf
