We help educational institutions to buy products and services whilst making time and cost savings!
Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) provide purchasing frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems (DPS) and procurement consultancy services for schools, academies, colleges, universities and other educational organisations.
CPC frameworks/DPS
Our purchasing agreements make procurement quicker, easier and safer as the lengthy tender process has already been done for you in compliance with the UK procurement law. You can get quotes from the fully-vetted suppliers by using our online quote tools and 24 of our frameworks are recommended by the Department for Education.
CPC procurement consultancy
If you need help running a tender or require a managed procurement service try our expert education sector procurement consultancy. Our dedicated team provide onsite and offsite procurement services.
A charity which invests in the education sector
Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) is the trading name of Crescent Purchasing Limited a not-for-profit charitable organisation. CPC is here to support the education sector with its income being generated via a small percentage value of sales resulting from suppliers providing goods and services for CPC members utilising frameworks and consultancy services.
CPC is a registered charity and each year our Board of Trustees review the level of reserves our charity has and any surpluses are reinvested into the education sector. We have designated over £2 million for a range of projects in the education sector through our 'Giving Back' initiative which provides funding for grants for student events and activities, CPD accredited procurement training and so much more.
You can rely on CPC suppliers
Each of our 1,372 framework suppliers has been fully vetted and has been through a full CPC tender process to gain a place on our frameworks. If your business would like to be on a CPC procurement framework, you need to become a CPC supplier and go through a CPC framework tendering process.
Our people are here to help you
We offer specialist advice on spending practices and provide support to help our 11,405 educational institution members get the best value for money.
The CPC team is made up of over 80 experienced and dedicated professionals. Our procurement experts can provide support and guidance to you:
Helpdesk Team for general enquires
Contract Managers for technical enquiries across our portfolio of 87 frameworks
Procurement consultancy services offering support on tenders, remote and onsite support
Regional Procurement Advisors for onsite or remote 1 to 1 procurement framework support
Crescent Services is part of Crescent Purchasing Limited. Crescent Services provides a one-stop shop for the public sector (non-education) and private sector. Offering free-to-access frameworks and a range of procurement consultancy services.
Collaboration
CPC works in collaboration with the Department for Education (DfE) and United Kingdom University Purchasing Consortia (UKUPC).
Constitution
Crescent Purchasing Ltd is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its memorandum and articles of association. The registered charity number is 1130461 and the company number is 06774578.
Our history
CPC was formed in 1999
CPC started as an arm of the purchasing team at The University of Salford to provide reliable and best-value frameworks for the education sector.
We became a registered charity
Our services proved to be extremely useful in the education sector and in 2009 CPC achieved charitable status.
CPC acquired Tenet
Crescent Purchasing Ltd acquired procurement services provider company Tenet Education Services, providing an end to end procurement solution.
CPC brand harmonisation
Tenet Education Services and CPL Group join together with the CPC brand, offering frameworks, procurement consultancy and support all in one place.