Bloom and NEPRO³: managed procurement for care services
Bloom NEPRO³ is a neutral-vendor managed service run by Bloom Procurement Services that gives UK public-sector buyers a compliant route to market for professional services, and yes, social-care-adjacent work can be bought through it. The best-fit care opportunities are advisory, transformation, interim and consultancy work, not block care-delivery contracts, so a domiciliary or residential operator should treat it as a route to consultancy-style income rather than a care framework for packages. Supplier registration and accreditation are free; according to Bloom Procurement Services, the only charge is a 5 percent management fee on services actually delivered. Buyers using the solution save an average of 14 percent against budget, which is why councils and NHS bodies use it for advisory spend. We run a free eligibility check so you do not waste effort on a route that does not fit your service.
What Bloom NEPRO³ actually is
NEPRO³ is a neutral-vendor managed service operated by Bloom Procurement Services that gives public-sector buyers a compliant route to market for professional services through framework call-off. Neutral-vendor means Bloom manages the whole buying process for the council or NHS body, the specification, the invitations to bid, the proposals, the evaluation and the supplier selection, but does not deliver any of the work itself. That impartiality is the point: the buyer gets a managed process with a clean audit trail under the Procurement Act regime, and suppliers compete on merit rather than on who already knows the commissioner. The brand has North East roots in the original NEPRO name, but it is now run nationally by Bloom for buyers across the UK. According to Bloom Procurement Services, buyers using the NEPRO³ solution achieve an average saving of 14 percent against budget, which is why public bodies favour it for advisory and transformation spend that would otherwise need a one-off tender. For a provider, the practical takeaway is that NEPRO³ is a call-off mechanism for professional services, not a list that pushes care packages to you. Do not confuse NEPRO³ with NEPO or the OPEN portal; those share North East origins but are separate organisations with separate accounts, separate logins and separate rules.
Can social care be procured through NEPRO³
Yes, but read the scope carefully before you invest any time. NEPRO³ is professional-services oriented, and Bloom runs a dedicated Social Care and NHS procurement strand with access to an extensive pre-accredited supply chain for social-care-relevant services. The honest caveat is that the work flowing through it is advisory, transformation, interim or managed and consultancy-style: market shaping, service redesign, interim management, quality improvement, commissioning support and similar. It is not a route to block contracts for delivering personal care, supported living hours or residential placements. That distinction matters and it decides whether accreditation is worth your effort. A domiciliary or residential operator looking for care packages should be on a council framework or a dynamic purchasing system, not relying on NEPRO³. If your organisation also offers consultancy, interim leadership or transformation capacity alongside front-line care, then NEPRO³ is a genuine, compliant route to that income, and Bloom's pre-accredited supply chain is where buyers look first. If you only deliver hands-on care, NEPRO³ will not refer care packages to you, and being clear about that up front is the difference between a useful application and a wasted one.
What it costs: registration, accreditation and the 5 percent fee
Becoming a Bloom supplier is free. According to Bloom Procurement Services, suppliers are not charged for registration, accreditation or participation in NEPRO³ bid opportunities; the only charge is a 5 percent management fee applied to services actually delivered through the neutral-vendor solution. There is no joining fee, no annual subscription and no charge simply to sit on the supply chain waiting for opportunities. That fee model shapes how you should price, so treat it as a margin question rather than an entry cost. The 5 percent is taken on delivered work, so it behaves like a commission on won-and-delivered projects rather than a barrier to entry. When you build a day rate or project fee for a NEPRO³ proposal, account for the management fee inside your margin rather than bolting it on as a visible line the buyer can pick apart, and make sure your rate still reads as competitive against the 14 percent average saving buyers expect from the solution. Because entry is free and the fee only bites on delivered work, this is a low-risk route to test: you can accredit, see what opportunities come through, and lose nothing if none of them fit. Compare that to a paid portal subscription where the cost lands whether or not you win anything.
How to get accredited as a Bloom supplier
Accreditation puts you on Bloom's radar for future opportunities and lets you prove suitability before any specific project is released. You register with Bloom, complete the accreditation process covering your company details, relevant experience, insurance and capability, and once accredited you can be invited to bid when buyers release matching requirements. Treat accreditation as the equivalent of a selection questionnaire stage that you complete once, so the heavy lifting on company evidence is done before the clock ever starts on a live opportunity. Get your evidence ready before you begin, because a half-finished application stalls. Have insurance certificates, company financials, relevant case studies and a clear statement of the professional services you can deliver to hand. Be specific about the social-care domains you cover, because vague capability statements get filtered out when buyers search the pre-accredited supply chain for a named skill. Accreditation does not guarantee work, it qualifies you to compete, so once you are in, the win is still decided by the quality of each proposal you write against the buyer's specification. The same scoring discipline that wins a council care tender applies here: answer the question asked, give evidence, and make the assessor's job easy.
Building the evidence that gets you shortlisted
The suppliers that win NEPRO³ opportunities are the ones whose accreditation evidence is concrete, current and matched to a named professional service. Buyers using the neutral-vendor solution are searching the pre-accredited supply chain for a specific capability, so a profile that lists ten vague strengths loses to one that names two services with proof. Lead with the outcomes you have delivered, the public bodies you have worked with, and the qualifications or registrations that make you credible in social-care advisory work. Keep the foundation evidence live, because out-of-date documents are the quietest way to fail. Insurance certificates must be in date, financials must reflect the current position, and any case study should carry a measurable result a buyer can quote, for example a saving delivered or a service redesigned. Where social value or sustainability is part of the requirement, have a short, honest statement ready rather than scrambling at proposal stage. Bloom only takes its 5 percent on delivered work, so the buyer is genuinely focused on outcome and value, and your evidence should speak to that. The provider who treats accreditation as a living profile, refreshed when documents expire, stays visible; the one who completes it once and forgets it slides down the list.
How NEPRO³ compares to a care framework or DPS
NEPRO³ is a managed-service route for professional services, whereas a care framework or dynamic purchasing system is the mechanism councils use to refer actual care packages. The practical difference is who does the buying work and what gets bought. On a council home-care framework you sit on a list and receive packages or compete in mini-competitions for care delivery. On NEPRO³, Bloom runs the process on the buyer's behalf and the work that comes out is consultancy-style. Use the right route for the right income, and most established providers will sensibly use both. If you want care packages, you need to be on the relevant council or NHS framework or DPS. If you offer transformation, interim or advisory capacity, NEPRO³ is the compliant call-off route for that, with the buyer's 14 percent average saving driving demand. Many providers pursue a care framework for delivery revenue and NEPRO³ accreditation for consultancy revenue in parallel, because the two do not compete for the same pound. Our guide on framework versus DPS versus contract sets out which structure does what, and our wider explainer on care frameworks shows where each one fits, so you target the right one first instead of accrediting for the wrong thing.
Bloom NEPRO³ at a glance for care and care-support providers
The key facts a provider needs before deciding whether to accredit, drawn from Bloom Procurement Services.
| Feature | What it means for you | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Run by Bloom Procurement Services nationally | Brand is NEPRO³; do not confuse with NEPO or OPEN |
| Model | Neutral-vendor managed service | Bloom runs spec, invitations, evaluation and selection; does not deliver the work |
| Route to market | Compliant UK public-sector framework call-off | Used by councils and NHS bodies for professional services |
| Cost to suppliers | Free to register, accredit and bid | No joining fee, no subscription |
| Bloom's charge | 5 percent management fee | Taken only on services actually delivered |
| Buyer saving | 14 percent average against budget | Per Bloom Procurement Services |
| Best care fit | Advisory, transformation, interim, consultancy | Not block care-delivery contracts |
| Accreditation | One-time suitability check | Gets you onto the pre-accredited supply chain for future opportunities |
Not sure if you qualify for a tender? We check it for free, before you pay anything, and we only take bids we believe you can win. Text TENDER to get started.
Common questions
What is Bloom NEPRO³?
NEPRO³ is a neutral-vendor managed service operated by Bloom Procurement Services that gives UK public-sector buyers a compliant route to market for professional services via framework call-off. Bloom manages the whole buying process for the buyer, the specification, invitations, evaluation and supplier selection, but does not deliver the work itself. It started from the North East NEPRO brand and is now run nationally by Bloom for buyers across the UK.
What is a neutral-vendor managed service?
A neutral-vendor managed service is one where the operator manages the entire procurement process on the buyer's behalf without delivering any of the work itself. Bloom stays impartial, specifying the requirement, inviting bids, evaluating proposals and selecting suppliers, so the process has a clean audit trail. According to Bloom Procurement Services, buyers using the NEPRO³ solution save an average of 14 percent against budget.
Can social care services be procured through NEPRO³?
Yes, social-care-adjacent work can flow through NEPRO³, because Bloom runs a dedicated Social Care and NHS strand with an extensive pre-accredited supply chain. The important caveat is scope: the best fit is advisory, transformation, interim and consultancy-style work such as service redesign, commissioning support and interim management, not block contracts to deliver personal care or residential placements. For care packages you need a council framework or a DPS instead.
Is there a cost to become a Bloom supplier?
No. According to Bloom Procurement Services, suppliers are not charged for registration, accreditation or participation in NEPRO³ bid opportunities. There is no joining fee and no subscription. Bloom's only charge is a 5 percent management fee, and it applies only to services actually delivered through the neutral-vendor solution, so getting onto the supply chain is genuinely free.
How do I get accredited with Bloom, and what is the management fee?
You register with Bloom and complete its accreditation process, covering company details, relevant experience, insurance and capability. Once accredited you sit on the pre-accredited supply chain and can be invited to bid when buyers release matching requirements, so have insurance certificates, financials and relevant case studies ready. Bloom's only charge is a 5 percent management fee, taken on services actually delivered, so build it into your margin rather than adding it as a visible line.
How much does it cost to work with Selective Care Match on a bid?
Your first tender is £795. We only take bids we believe you can win, and if a loss is clearly down to our writing error we rewrite the next one free. Our win rate is 96 percent. Standard tenders are £3,000, with £50 per extra lot, and your eligibility check is always free so you know whether a route like NEPRO³ fits before you commit.
Keep reading
Care frameworks explained
Framework vs DPS vs contract
How to find care tenders
Social value in care tenders
How to win a care tender
Browse all care tender guides, or see care tender writing by service.
Got a tender to check?
Text TENDER to +44 7822 030677and we'll tell you free whether you'd qualify, before you spend a penny.