25 November 2010 | Angeline Albert  

The Museum of London's newly appointed procurement adviser has signed up to a collaborative buying group to generate savings.

Marko Riezebos, who joined the museum on 4 October, has obtained board level agreement for the museum to join the Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) to benefit from the purchasing power of its 591 members, made up of further education and sixth form colleges.

His efforts mean the Museum of London can now benefit from 42 framework agreements used by the CPC. For example, the museum spent £35,000 last financial year on 21 separate stationery suppliers, but by joining the CPC’s stationery agreement, Riezebos expects the museum to save around £10,000.

Riezebos, who was former purchasing supervisor at Brooklands (FE) College in Weybridge, said: “I come from the education sector and was used to several purchasing consortiums.

“When I started in my current role I was surprised to find that there was no purchasing consortium specifically for museums. So, instead of re-inventing the wheel, I submitted a proposal to the CPC, in which I asked for museums to be considered as members.” 



He is now hoping more museums will become members of the consortium, which is free to join. He said: “We want this news to reach as many museums and their procurement professionals as possible.”