Following International Procurement Day, colleagues from the KFM Procurement team came together for an Away Day to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the opportunities and ambitions for the new year.

2025/26 has been a year of significant achievement for the team. A year of savings and national recognition.

Against a target of £8m in CIP and cost avoidance savings, KFM Procurement delivered an outstanding £17.6m, exceeding both targets independently.

The team also achieved an overall commercial maturity rating of “Better” through the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF). This assessment reviews performance across the full procurement lifecycle, including strategy and planning, governance, people, procurement, contract management and supplier relationship management. Achieving a “Better” rating reflects the strength, consistency and professionalism of the KFM Procurement team.

As a subsidiary, KFM is responsible not only for procurement and contract management for King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust but also for identifying wider commercial opportunities for the Trust. This creates exciting opportunities for the procurement team to broaden its exposure and experience and embrace the flexibility and ambition of the Procurement Act 2023.

Throughout the day, conversations focused on future procurement opportunities including retail offers for the Trust, stronger partnerships and supplier relationships, increased compliance, use of technology such as AI, and how procurement can move beyond a focus on price to deliver wider value and better outcomes. There was also a strong emphasis on supporting clinicians and patients through the procurement of smart, innovative technologies that improve patient care and outcomes.

David Thompson, Deputy Head of Clinical Procurement, discussed the strength of the team’s collective expertise and the difference procurement makes.

“How we work together, how we create value and how we show our standards really matters, and the ‘how’ is the environment we create as a team,” David said “If we’re engaged, we take ownership and we add value, then the results follow. The outcomes come because of how we work together.”

The day also highlighted KFM’s continued investment in staff development, including support for forums such as HCSA and NHS England learning and development programmes. These opportunities enable colleagues to learn from the wider procurement community, share best practice and continue growing as a team.

The Away Day also provided an opportunity to welcome Clara Purnell, who joins KFM as Director of Procurement on 26 May.

Speaking at the event, Clara said: "My focus over the next few months with be on listening, learning and understanding KFM. I’m looking forward to getting my feet under the table and working with the team."

Overall, it was a great day of reflection and celebration. but one clear message came through time and again: the importance of people. How we communicate, build relationships and work together is what enables us to support clinicians, deliver patient care and create value across KFM, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the wider healthcare sector.