Published
By Ashley Cox
May 2025 was a particularly eventful month for Crescent Purchasing Consortium, as we attended the GO Awards National, Procurex England and the AoC Finance Conference, meeting education stakeholders and sharing procurement advice. 🤝
In Loughborough on 14th May, Head of Procurement Rachel Turner and Customer Engagement Manager Jack Horton were on hand to meet Finance Conference visitors, offering expert support to institutions via our CPC stand. Meanwhile, dedicated Learning and Development Lead Mark Pearson would present a special breakout session on how to use the Procurement Act, ensuring that CPC's relentless efforts in regard to the new regime remain at the forefront of our free-of-charge L&D provisions.
In Liverpool, seven days later, Rachel, Jack and Mark were joined by our MD Darren Lowe, plus Sharia Rahman, who heads up Crescent Services, the subsidiary brand that grants access to select CPC procurement frameworks for the wider public sector.
Then, that very evening saw our consolidated CPC brand showcased amongst the likes of the UK Cabinet Office, Transport for Greater Manchester and Education Authority Northern Ireland, as part of the annual GO Awards, where CPC members Queen Mary University of London would clinch the prize of 'Procurement Team of the Year - Education & Other Organisations'. 👏
CPC MD Darren Lowe would look back on our own shortlisting with pride, remarking "I'm proud of how our procurement team has knuckled down to learning, adapting and becoming match-fit for February 2025, when the Procurement Act went live, so our customers can rest assured their procurement requirements are in safe hands".
As for the next date on the CPC calendar, Tracey Hindmarsh and Louise Ashcroft from our Regional Procurement Advisor (RPA) team will make their return to Tyneside in June, following a trip to the Schools North East Summit at the closing end of 2024.
Once again, our intrepid RPA duo will be available to help delegates with buying conundrums by imparting their procurement knowledge, only this time, at the Education Business Conference, a one-day gathering set for Newcastle's Vertu Motors Arena.
Previously known as the Schools Business Management Conference, the Schools North East event is now in its 12th year and looks to bring together relevant professionals from across the regional area, with opportunities to engage and connect with a variety of interconnected education sector stakeholders, from senior leaders and CFOs to head teachers and administrators.
With a tagline of 'Future Proofing Education', we now look forward to the Education Business Conference and hope to see you a stone's throw from the Tyne on Thursday 12th June, as our busy season of events stretches into the summer months.