Customer Profile
Crossrail is one of the most significant infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the UK. The high frequency, high capacity railway is currently the largest construction project in Europe. The numbers involved are testimony to its size and complexity: 10,000 people working across 40 sites; a route running over 60 miles, 26 miles of new twin-bore tunnels requiring 250,000 tunnel segments of pre-cast concrete. This mammoth $ 21 billion spend project must ensure that all goods and services are sourced efficiently, fairly and cost effectively.
The environment in which procurement operates today has become far more complex, and Crossrail is no exception. The program is large and multi-faceted, and the supply chain long and diverse. More than 62% of Crossrail Ltd (CRL) business has gone outside London and 58% small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have secured work (directly and indirectly) on Crossrail’s new, world-class railway.
It has committed contracts worth $ 15.5 billion so far, including major tunnelling contracts and main construction contracts. Tight control over the sourcing process and pin-point accuracy of stored and disseminated information is essential to its management.
The staggering volume of goods and services to be acquired calls for a procurement system that is equally world-class, flexible, yet robust enough to handle the hundreds of interdependent sourcing projects and sub-projects that must be managed. With a successful track record in large, one-off, time-bound projects like the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, JAGGAER sourcing solutions were seen as the obvious choice. It has been an integral part of both the Olympics and Crossrail’s successful procurement processes which has led to its adoption for the HS2 project preliminary surveys and services.
Download the Crossrail case study in PDF.
The Future
Darlington has been using the software for many years, so has seen some changes and developments in the tool in his time. “A big advantage of JAGGAER is that it consistently updates its software to make it more intuitive – things like phraseology, making the buttons do exactly what they say they will, moving things around to make navigation easier. They take customer feedback seriously. ” And in terms of support, Crossrail has been happy with JAGGAER’s responsiveness and helpfulness. Upon first registration, a supplier is pointed to a help facility – even if they have difficulty loading their registration, they are fully supported.
For Crossrail’s procurement team, it’s all about efficiency. Darlington knew that making the procurement process as streamlined and standardized as possible would reap great efficiencies overall. “Sending out 4,500 documents by post is a near-impossible task,” he said. “It impacts not just cost, but time and resources. So the system has brought us time and cost savings. It speeds up the delivery dates and makes for an all-around more efficient procurement process which we can manage more effectively. ”
Crossrail is making exceptional changes to the way people will travel, and will benefit the UK economy as a whole. Businesses around the UK can seize the opportunities that the program has to offer. Many contracts throughout the supply chain are yet to be awarded, and the main contractors still need to buy a wide range of goods, works, and services from companies of all sizes. Crossrail has created some of the largest value contracts in UK construction history, providing a much needed boost to the industry and creating major job opportunities. JAGGAER is proud to be an integral part of this major development.
