Single brand unveiled as CPC celebrates 25th Anniversary

Single brand unveiled as Crescent Purchasing Consortium celebrates 25th Anniversary

We are delighted to announce we will be merging our current brands, CPL Group, Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) and Tenet Education Services (TES) into one united single brand and will be known solely as ‘Crescent Purchasing Consortium.’ The 2nd of April marks the harmonisation of brands only with the physical consolidation of functions and assets taking place on the 1st of August 2024. If you are currently utilising Tenet Education Services, please note you will continue to receive invoices until the 31st of July from Tenet, after that date they will switch to Crescent Purchasing Consortium.

The rebrand coincides with the 25th anniversary of CPC being established and, on this date, not only will we unveil our new brand but will also launch our new harmonised website. The new website will provide our members with a newly streamlined one stop procurement shop for all their day-to-day buying, consultancy, and training needs from one trusted charity.

This is an exciting new era for CPC, but rest assured our core purpose remains the same, to be your ‘Procurement Partner of Choice,’ whilst continuing to ‘Give Back’ to the education sector via our charitable objectives. The harmonisation of our brands will further strengthen our market positioning, building on the existing strengths of our organisations as we continue to evolve an already impressive portfolio of services, whilst eradicating any brand confusion for our customers.

What will change?

The FREE benefits you receive as a CPC member will remain untouched, ensuring your membership remains a high value yet low risk proposition for all your buying needs.

Member benefits include;

• Permanent free membership.
• Access to 86 compliant framework agreements covering a wide range of goods and services with 17 currently approved by the DfE.
• Free access to professional purchasing advice via our fifty strong Regional Procurement Advisory, Contracting and Consultancy team of procurement experts across the UK.
• Access to funded procurement training courses, resources, templates, and guidance via Crescent Learning.
• Downloadable policy documents, which can be used to comply with DfE governance requirements, which is currently under construction to support the new reforms.
• Free attendance at our Procurement Advisory Groups (PAG) and FE Facilities Management Network (FEFMN) Groups held quarterly regionally and nationally, to discuss new ideas share procurement best practice and networking opportunities.
• Access to free PAG presents monthly webinars, featuring a different topic each month hosted by our team of RPA’s and facilitated by varying suppliers across our 1,400 strong CPC supply chain.
• Monthly CPC newsletter which provides you the very latest in procurement news.
• Comprehensive and easy-to-use one stop shop website.
• Access to proven value for money on all arrangements.
• No obligation to use CPC arrangements - although we hope the savings and user friendliness designed for the education sector, our offering will be difficult to resist.
• Dedicated Helpdesk in place to assist you throughout your membership and provide you with continued support as you navigate your procurement journey.
• The only national purchasing consortium dedicated to the entire education sector.
• Transparent, auditable purchasing processes and full compliance with procurement regulations.

In addition to a wide-reaching portfolio of benefits you will now have the added value of having access to a dedicated procurement consultancy team under the brand of CPC, (formerly known as Tenet Education Services). With a team of experts spanning a 28-year track record since being founded, you are in safe hands to support you when you just don’t have the time to fulfil your own procurement obligations.

Our procurement consultancy service provides a specialised offering of expert end to end procurement solutions that can save you time, money, and effort, so whether in need of a swift, one-off tender acquisition or a recurring, long-term procurement plan, our experts are ready to help.

For more on our move to a single, united brand, visit the full launch article on the Crescent Purchasing Consortium site.