SAP today announces that Bristol & Weston NHS Purchasing Consortium (BWPC) has implemented SAP Ariba in close collaboration with HCLTech to modernise its procurement function, manage and standardise its supply chain spend, and better support the delivery of patient care.

BWPC supports the Bristol NHS Group, one of the largest NHS consortiums in the UK, representing over 28,000 employees across North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. With each trust working with 4,000 suppliers and having access to 180,000 products, BWPC needed a modern, scalable platform that would provide greater visibility and control over its procurement network and support its mission of providing better patient care through efficient management of the supply chain.

The programme was led by North Bristol NHS Trust Digital Programmes Team and BWPC, with support from implementation partner HCLTech, who provided technical and operational consultancy to ensure a successful go-live across two separate phases.

The first was BWPC’s transition to SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing Suite in March 2024. BWPC then migrated its operational procurement and Procure-to-Pay modules via SAP Ariba Supplier Risk and Procure-to-Pay. The new platform replaces five standalone systems with one single end-to-end solution, providing a scalable, standardised foundation to meet the needs of both individual trusts.

By transitioning to SAP Ariba, BWPC has streamlined sourcing, contractual compliance, supplier risk and procure-to-pay operations, addressing legacy technology deficits while gaining greater visibility and control over its procurement network. The platform embeds guided buying to support a user-friendly, compliant purchasing experience from requisition to order, while aggregating purchasing demand to support strategic engagement with suppliers.

By driving efficiencies across automation and invoice consolidation while strictly controlling access to purchasing systems, the platform is expected to deliver £16 million in cost savings over the next five years.

Phil Lewis, Director of Procurement at BWPC said: “This isn’t just a system change, it’s an enabler of better care for our patients through smarter, more transparent procurement. By moving to SAP Ariba, we’re unlocking significant cost-savings, and laying the crucial groundwork for long-term financial stability.  SAP and HCLTech have been with us every step of the way, ensuring our data, people and processes can deliver benefits. Working with SAP has strengthened our ability to support our ‘Healthier Together’ network across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, leading to greater value across all areas of spend.”

Leila Romane, Managing Director of SAP UKI said: “Healthcare organisations are under growing pressure to do more with less. The move to the cloud modernises BWPC’s procurement across its trusts, unlocking new levels of agility, insight and resilience. By enabling smarter, more strategic spend management, this transformation helps ensure BWPC can continue delivering high-quality patient care while navigating ever-tightening cost pressures.”

Praveen Bhat, Executive Vice President, Global Head of SAP HCLTech said: “By leading the design and implementation of a unified SAP Ariba platform, we replaced disparate legacy systems with a single, streamlined solution. This strategic migration, delivered in two phases, has provided BWPC with enhanced visibility and control over its entire procurement network. Our focus was on delivering a robust, scalable foundation that empowers BWPC to make smarter, data-driven decisions and continue evolving its digital procurement strategy.”

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