Background
The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a brand-new state-of-the-art building in central London which now brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under a single roof in Europe.
Since opening, the Cricks ‘Pace of Change’ has been vast and demands on catering and hospitality have significantly altered over the years. This became very evident when the Crick decided it was prudent to retender the catering and hospitality service only to find that the current Service Specification had become unsuitable and outmoded. Coupled with the impact from Covid, the Crick concluded that it needed a specialised catering consultant for the purposes of modernising the Service Specification and directing a robust procurement process through the pandemic.
Brief
Whilst the overriding objective was to secure a new catering and hospitality contract that was both fit for purpose and well suited to meeting the Cricks future needs, our brief was more wide scope. It was important for the Crick to have a consultant who had the necessary experience to advise on the following matters:
- Deep understanding the catering industry and how Covid was affecting contracted market
- Which catering contractors would be best suited to the Crick
- What financial model would offer best value whilst ensuring service excellence
- Availability throughout to provide professional and technical advice to enable the Crick to make informed decisions at every stage of the process
Approach
Below is brief summary of the key activities that crossed through the project:
- Impart market insight to inform the Crick on the catering landscape and future direction of catering services
- Conduct senior stakeholder engagement to establish service criteria and expectations for tender
- Recommend a shortlist of suitable catering companies for inclusion in the tender exercise
- Work with Cricks project team to formulate the Service Specification and collate all necessary data and tender control documents
- Conduct detailed financial and qualitative assessment of the tender submissions
- Advise and guide the Crick with making the final contract award
- To assist with negotiations and agreed terms
Outcomes
Simon Biggs says “I’m extremely delighted that we met our client’s requirements throughout this important project and working with the Team at the Crick has been an immensely rewarding experience. Since concluding the project we have subsequently been reappointed to support the client with the ongoing operational and financial performance of the contractor”.
