Understanding the world of consultancy

Is Consultancy+ a company or a brand name?

Consultancy+ is a trading name of Reed Talent Solutions.

Please can you explain the contractual set up and who it is with?     

As standard, the contract is between the contracting authority and Consultancy+. This is to give the contracting authority the confidence that contract management is through one provider. Should you require a direct relationship with the provider then three-way contracts and collateral waivers can be agreed.

Do you complete the standard checks e.g. insurance/ health & safety/ financial stability or is that down to the contracting authority? 

Consultancy+ have a standard set of on-boarding checks that covers insurance checks, Companies House checks, credit checks and eligibility to work (where required), and referencing. They can then undertake additional checks on top of this as required by the contracting authority to cover enhanced areas of vetting (such as DBS checks etc.)

Why is this better than other frameworks on offer for similar procurement services?

There are several differences between this and other frameworks available, including:
• Lower cost
• Wider access to skilled consultants
• Ability to partner with Consultancy+ to deliver as well as procure services
• Specialist in consultancy and contract management rather than simply procurement
• More focus paid to best value dependent upon delivery model and benchmarked rates
• Flexible approach to IR35
• Support from both YPO and Consultancy+ throughout the journey

How many suppliers do you have in your marketplace?

Currently the marketplace contains just over 1,000 contracted specialist consultancies.

The Consultancy+ marketplace is dynamic and so the size changes. We also take care to ensure only trusted and engaged suppliers are included - less is often more in this space. 

How fast is it to sign-up a known supplier? 

As little as 24 hours providing contracts can be agreed. The easiest way to do this is by contacting YPO or Consultancy+.

Once a contract is awarded how does the management work i.e. is it through a system? If it is, once contract award is completed can the named contact be changed easily? i.e. from procurement team to contract management/project team.

The management can be both through the system (where you can see what is happening with the project in 'real-time') and it can be via the Consultancy+ PMO team, who will support the delivery of the project with you to give full project reporting on progress, spend, risks, change management and knowledge transfer. They can also be engaged to manage the delivery of the project on-site as an additional service if required.

The system allows changes to contact names. There can be multiple users in the system or attached to the project. Each can undertake different activities and have different views in the system. This means procurement can have an overall view of all projects by category, whereas service users can just see activity assigned to them and be tasked with approving work completed and progress.

If the call off agreement is with Consultancy+ are the suppliers who deliver the requirements contracted on a subcontracting basis by Consultancy+, or are all services delivered by Consultancy+?

Services are contracted to Consultancy+ and then subcontracted as required. This means all contractual negotiations are managed via Consultancy+ through the standard terms set-out in the YPO framework. In addition, services can be delivered directly by Consultancy+ if this is the most effective route determined by the contracting authority.

What is the rebate paid by Consultancy+ to YPO?

It scales down from 1% depending on the size of the project. This is shown in the user guide.

What costs and percentage fee do Consultancy+ charge? 

The pricing is available from YPO upon request. The pricing shows a category rate card to provide an idea of cost and a target benchmark for Consultancy+.

Each project may require different levels of consultants and the rates heavily depend on market demand, so the pricing can vary based on consultancy knowledge, geographical location, scope of the project and demand.

The pricing also provides the managed service fee which is the fee payable by the contracting authority as a mark-up on the cost of the consultant/professional. This is variable depending on size of project.

Part of the service Consultancy+ will provide to contracting authorities is to advise on the best type of engagement and delivery model to suit the requirement of a contracting authority.

Can you give an example of the savings you have made?

Consultancy+ target savings for new clients of around 20% against historic rates. This is achieved through several different vehicles including increased competition, more flexible delivery models and detailed market benchmark rates.

We recently saved a local authority around £2m through initiatives linked to Qualified Social Care.

Is everything through here deemed as ‘Outside of IR35’?

No, the process is set-up to be non-prescriptive and ensure controls are there to manage and keep things ‘Outside of IR35’ if that's how you want to manage your engagement, but to maximise cost savings and value it is important to facilitate inside engagements where they are the best options commercially and operationally.

Can we get a demo of the system?

Yes, please contact Lauren Grainger, Managing Consultant at Consultancy+ in order to set up a call or meeting to discuss the service in more detail.
 
For more information on how Consultancy+ can help your procurement needs, view our Managing Consultancy and Professional Services framework or contact [email protected].