Turning blue light procurement complexity into greater visibility, control, and value

How Matrix Milestone helped Seven Force Strategic Collaboration improve consultancy spend, supplier access and outcome-based project delivery 

The client

Seven Force Strategic Collaboration (7F) brings together Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Kent Police, Norfolk Constabulary and Suffolk Constabulary, supporting more joined-up, efficient ways of working across policing. 

Through 7F Commercial Services, the collaboration operates a single commercial function across the seven forces, using their collective buying power to improve value, efficiency and interoperability across the police service. 

Working within this complex blue light procurement environment, 7F needed a clearer and more consistent way to manage consultancy and project-based requirements across multiple regions. Matrix Milestone provided a compliant, outcome-based procurement solution that improved visibility of spend, strengthened supplier access and reduced pressure on the commercial team.

The challenge

The 7F commercial team was supporting stakeholders across multiple regions, each with different consultancy and project-based requirements. As demand increased, the team was being contacted frequently by stakeholders across the forces, creating significant resource pressure and making it harder to maintain a complete, centralised view of procurement activity. 

A range of category-specific frameworks were being used to meet requirements, alongside ad hoc single tender actions. While these routes supported delivery, they also created challenges around cost, consistency and visibility. Without a single, transparent route for managing consultancy requirements, reporting was fragmented and the true picture of spend was difficult to establish. 

This was particularly challenging for projects below £50,000. Lower-value work was often managed outside the business without appropriate commercial input, meaning spend could be harder to track, reporting was less complete and opportunities to demonstrate value for money were more limited. 

For 7F, the priority was not simply to find another procurement route. The team needed a solution that could bring all consultancy requirements into view, regardless of value, while giving stakeholders access to the right suppliers through a legally compliant and outcome-focused model. 

Our solution

Matrix Milestone was selected for its simplicity, clear allocation of responsibilities, single channel of control and dynamic supply chain. 

The solution gave 7F a consistent way to manage consultancy and project-based requirements across the collaboration. Instead of lower-value projects sitting outside central visibility, Matrix Milestone enabled requirements of all sizes to be captured, reported and managed through a structured commercial process. 

Through Matrix Milestone, 7F gained access to a broad supplier network covering consultancy disciplines, project-based requirements and delivery partner solutions. Suppliers were onboarded through a process designed to assess quality, financial robustness, legal complianceand relevant experience, giving the commercial team confidence in the organisations available to support policing requirements. 

Matrix Milestone also helped 7F move towards a more outcome-based approach to procurement. Rather than defaulting to traditional day-rate models, stakeholders were supported to define work against clear deliverables and milestones. This helped create stronger accountability, reduce the risk of scope and budget creep, and make it easier to demonstrate value for money across project delivery. 

The model also gave 7F the flexibility to run mini-competitions or make direct awards where appropriate, while maintaining transparency, control and compliance throughout the process. 
 

The impact

Since going live in 2022, 7 Forces has awarded 150 contracts through Matrix Milestone, with a combined value of £16m. 

Monthly management information has given the commercial team a clearer view of consultancy and project-based spend across all values. This has improved reporting transparency and helped bring lower-value requirements into a more visible and controlled procurement route. 

Matrix Milestone has also enabled significant resource savings for 7 Forces, estimated in the region of £160k. By creating a single, structured route for managing consultancy requirements, the solution has reduced pressure on the commercial team while giving stakeholders a clearer and more efficient way to access specialist support. 

Supplier access has also improved. Through Matrix Milestone, 7 Forces has access to a network of over 1,000 organisations, ranging from large consultancies to sole traders. This has helped diversify the supplier base, support investment in local economies and build stronger community relationships. 

For 7 Forces, the partnership has created greater control over consultancy spend, better visibility across projects, and a more consistent way to manage outcome-based procurement across a complex blue light environment. 

Key outcomes

• 150 contracts awarded through Matrix Milestone  

• £16m in contract value managed through the solution  

• £160k estimated resource savings  

• Improved reporting across consultancy and project-based spend  

• Greater visibility of projects below £50,000  

• Access to 1000 supplier organisations  

• More consistent outcome-based procurement  

• Stronger supplier diversity and local economic impact  

• Reduced pressure on the commercial team  

Supporting better blue light procurement outcomes 

Blue light organisations are under constant pressure to deliver value for money, maintain compliance and protect front-line services. For policing, procurement is also about operational resilience, supplier confidence and making public funds work harder. 

The 7 Forces partnership demonstrates how Matrix Milestone can support complex public sector and blue light organisations with a more visible, compliant and outcome-focused approach to consultancy procurement. 

By combining structured supplier access, milestone-led delivery and clear management information, Matrix Milestone gives commercial teams the control they need to manage project-based spend more effectively, while supporting better outcomes for the services and communities they serve. 

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