Met Office & OneAdvanced: A Partnership built on trust and transformation
“What has really stood out to us is how invested OneAdvanced is in our success. It hasn’t just been about delivering a product - it’s been about working together as a team.”
Client:The Met Office
Sector:Government
Location:United Kingdom
The Problem
The Met Office faced challenges in managing contracts due to lack of transparency and reliance on manual assurance checks, time-consuming processes that resulted in compliance reporting, audit preparation, and visibility across departments sometimes being difficult and resource intensive.
The Solution
Source to Contract
The Result
With streamlined contract management, the Met Office has significantly reduced administrative burden, improved audit readiness, enhanced data transparency, and built a strong, trusted partnership with OneAdvanced, which aligned to Government Commercial Functional Standards and Met Office contract management assurance parameters.
About the Met Office
As one of the UK’s most recognised public institutions, the Met Office has been at the forefront of weather forecasting, climate science, and public safety for over 170 years. Every day, they provide critical data that helps individuals, businesses, and governments prepare for and respond to severe weather events - ensuring public safety, economic stability, and environmental protection.
In the last 18 months alone, the Met Office has achieved significant milestones, including:
- Royal Meteorological Society Recognition: In 2023, the Met Office Space Weather Research Team received the Group Award in Geophysics for their outstanding contributions to space weather research.
- Royal Meteorological Society Awards: Again, in 2023, multiple Met Office scientists were honoured for their exceptional contributions to meteorology and climate science.
- Revolutionising Forecasting with AI: Implementing artificial intelligence-driven weather prediction models, increasing forecasting accuracy and response times for severe weather events.
'We needed a partner'
Behind the scenes, the Met Office manages a complex network of contracts and supplier relationships to support its operations, from high-performance supercomputing technology to essential corporate services. To maintain compliance, efficiency, and transparency, the organisation needed a solution that would modernise and standardise its contract management practices and provide
assurance against the Government’s Commercial Functional Standards.
That’s where OneAdvanced came in.
The Met Office’s journey with OneAdvanced wasn’t just about procuring a contract management system- it was about finding a trusted partner who could
support their long-term transformation and goals. Marie Stretch (Head of Commercial) said that: “We have a high standard of requirements - we needed a system that satisfies the Contract Management Assurance Framework (CMAF) and Procurement Act 2023 but also be flexible enough to fit the way we work. We weren’t sure if any supplier could deliver everything we needed against our criteria, but OneAdvanced didn’t just meet our expectations - they exceeded them. They’ve been open, transparent, and collaborative from day one. From the very first conversation, you took the time to understand the Met Office’s unique contract management challenges, ensuring that the system would not only provide compliance assurance but also empower contract managers across the business”.
Making the complexed, clear
Before working with OneAdvanced, the Met Office relied on manual, time-consuming processes to track and report on contract management assurance and
compliance standards.
- Contract managers across departments often had to evidence their compliance with government standards for managing contracts in a manual and time-consuming manner.
- Audit preparations were burdensome, often requiring months of effort to gather the necessary information from individual contract managers.
- There was limited visibility over how contracts were being managed across different teams, and if suppliers were delivering against contractual obligations.
Now, with OneAdvanced’s Contracting Software, the Met Office has:
- Automated Compliance & Reporting: Instead of spending weeks preparing for audits, the Met Office can generate real-time compliance reports at the press of a button, which are aligned to Government’s Commercial Functional Standards.
- Centralised Contract Data: All contract-related information for the Met Office’s gold and silver tiered contracts is now stored in one system, improving transparency and reducing risk.
- Live Performance Insights: The Met Office can identify trends, gaps, and training needs to continuously improve contract management practices across departments.
Jodie Potter (Senior Commercial Manager) adds, “Previously, preparing for a government assessment or an internal audit took weeks of work. Now, thanks to OneAdvanced, the data is already there - we can evidence our compliance instantly. That’s an absolute game-changer for us.”
Proactive, professional and genuinely interested in our success
For the Met Office, this project was about more than just software. It was about finding a long-term partner who could support their evolving needs. Sophie Brookes (Strategic Partnerships Manager) adds “What has really stood out to us is how invested OneAdvanced is in our success. It hasn’t just been about delivering a product - it’s been about working together as a team. From the very start, they’ve been proactive, responsive, and genuinely interested in making sure we get the most value from the system. We never feel like we’re chasing them in fact, it’s often the other way around!”.
OneAdvanced’s approach to collaboration and customer service has been a major factor in the project’s success. Whether it was making small tweaks to align with the Met Office’s terminology, providing on-site training, or ensuring that contract managers felt supported throughout the rollout, the OneAdvanced team has been there every step of the way.
One step ahead
With Source to Contract live, the Met Office is already seeing a return on their investment - but they’re not stopping here. The next phase of their journey will focus on:
- Expanding system capabilities: The Met Office is exploring additional functionality within the OneAdvanced platform, to further support contract management good practice.
- Benchmarking and best practice sharing: Using the system’s data insights, they plan to refine their training programs and continuously improve contract management standards.
- Staying ahead of procurement legislation: With new public sector procurement laws now in effect, the Met Office is already ahead of the curve, exploring various options to ensure compliance.
Marie concludes: “We never wanted this to be a ‘tick-box’ exercise. This system isn’t just about compliance - it’s about empowering our people, making better decisions, and driving transparent and continuous improvement which aligns to Government Standards and best practice – this is important to us. With OneAdvanced, we have a partner who understands that.”
“Our journey with OneAdvanced has been nothing short of excellent” adds Jodie.
After working together for six months, the Met Office and OneAdvanced have built a strong, trusted partnership - one that goes beyond just technology.
- A seamless, on-time implementation that met the Met Office’s ambitious deadlines.
- A customer-first approach with proactive, hands-on support from the OneAdvanced team.
- A solution that delivers real results, from time savings to improved compliance and risk reduction.
At OneAdvanced, we’re proud to support the Met Office - and ultimately, their mission to keep the UK safe through world-leading weather forecasting.