Procurement centre of excellence launched in Wales

The Home Office has targeted savings of £15 million this year after launching a purchasing hub in Wales.

The Procurement Centre of Excellence (PCoE) was officially unveiled last month and will manage £500 million of the department's £1.8 billion annual purchasing spend. It was set up in Newport to take advantage of lower labour costs and brings together spend categories such as travel, so buyers can share best practice.

"We had all these people doing indirect spend in London and Croydon at a higher grade and costing us more money.

We moved it Newport and it's cheaper to run," said PCoE director Gavin Foxall. The PCoE has been operating since September and has already saved the department more than £1 million.

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