For Latest Tender and Procurement Opportunities Follow Us @Buy4nl
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2014 – 2015 For latest tender and procurement opportunities follow us @buy4nl CONTENTS Introduction 1 About Us 1 How the Councils are Structured 1 Joint Procurement Strategy 3 Category Management 3 Procedures and Regulations 4 Types of Procurement 4 What We Buy 5 Social Value and Charter for Sustainable British Steel How We Buy Supplies, Services & Works 5 North East Lincolnshire Council and Cofely 5 Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) 6 Use of Purchasing Consortia and Partnerships 6 Buy4NorthernLincolnshire 6 Advertising our Contract Opportunities 6 Understanding our Tendering Process 7 Understanding our Invitation to Tender 7 How We Evaluate Quotations and Tenders 7 E-Procurement 7 Yortender e-Tendering System 8 Tips for a Successful Approach 8 Business Development Advice and Opportunities 9 Contacts for Further Information and Advice 9 On-Line Information 11 Introduction This guide aims to help organisations access business opportunities and contracts with North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) and the wider public sector. This guide has been produced to explain how we buy supplies, services and works, and how your organisation might become a supplier. NELC and NLC have seen the benefits of working together to create a joint procurement approach called PANNEL the Procurement Alliance North & North East Lincolnshire. We seek to continually develop our procurement procedures so that they are efficient, flexible and respond to the needs of all stakeholders including suppliers. If you have suggestions on how we can improve our procedures please contact PANNEL. About Us North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire Councils came into being on 1 April 1996, following a local government re-organisation, taking over areas of the former South Humberside. Together, the two unitary councils serve a population of around 310,000 in a mix of urban and rural areas. Scunthorpe and Grimsby are the largest towns in area with populations of c.79000 and c.87500 respectively. Between them, the councils employ approximately c.10000 staff and have 85 councillors How the Councils are Structured The Councils are broadly structured in a similar way, with each Service area reporting to the Chief Executive. The service areas cover all aspects of operational business such as Adult and Children’s Social Care, Education, Highways, Environmental Services and support functions such as Human Resources, Finance and Facilities Management. NEL also work with a number of partners to deliver on the Councils behalf for example Cofely who deliver services such as Highways and Planning. 1 North Lincolnshire Council Structure North East Lincolnshire Council Structure The following charts illustrate the diversity of both Councils procurement spend and the commonality they share across similar categories: North Lincolnshire Council Spend procurement spend North East Lincolnshire Council Spend procurement spend North Lincolnshire Council North East Lincolnshire Council 2 Our procurement improvement focus targets the The categories have been allocated across PANNEL higher value categories of spend. Approximately to key officers in the team as follows: one-third of our spend is with 20 top suppliers. Half of our total procurement spend is with 50 suppliers. This is in the context of over 2,000 suppliers Key Categories of Spend currently engaged by the councils. Council Specific - NLC Joint Procurement Strategy The importance of procurement is recognised Jo Adult and Public Health through our Joint Procurement Strategy, which Ramage Children’s highlights the contribution that effective procurement can make to the achievement of our priorities, policy Nathan Construction and Waste objectives and in the provision of quality services Swinney Highways and our PANNEL approach. It is crucial to running well-managed authorities and achieving Value for Nigel Facilities Management Leisure Money objectives. Dexter Environment & Technical Services Procurement concerns the whole process of acquisition. This process starts with the identification Paula Catering & Provisions Schools Deeey of a specific need and ends with that need being Systems – KPIs & Spend Analysis satisfied. The term ‘procurement’ is used rather than ‘buying’ or ‘purchasing’ as it considers whole life Council Specific - NELC costs of the things we buy. Debbie Children’s Domestic Goods The main themes of our Joint Procurement Dales Strategy are to: Rachel Public Facilities Waste • Cost Reduction & Value for Money Devaney Health Management • Strong & Effective Governance • Economic Growth Jan Adults Financial Services & Insurance • Improved Sustainability Swan • Commercial Development Construction & Catering and Highways Provisions All officers and elected members are obliged to comply with the requirements of the strategy. Helen Systems – KPIs Leisure Norris Spend Analysis Category Management Category Management is widely used in other PANNEL – Joint Categories industries, such as the automotive and aerospace sectors but is increasingly being adopted across the Office Solutions ICT public sector. Category management simply looks at how and what an organisation buys, and structures Nigel Dexter TBC procurement resources around the key areas (categories) of spend. Our key categories include Transport Fleet construction, ICT, social care, transport and professional services. Nathan Swinney Rachel Devaney Benefits include: Utilities Professional Services and Temporary Staffing • better planning through early engagement in projects. Rachel Devaney Debbie Dales • improved supplier, market and product knowledge through closer working with internal technical, experts • improved savings • better understanding of what services/ council needs; and • improved relationships with customers and suppliers 3 Procedures and Regulations We have a legal requirement to comply with the As public authorities we have a duty to operate in an European Union (EU) Procurement Directives. open and transparent way by allowing the market These are enforced in UK law through The Public freedom of opportunity to trade with us. Our Contracts Regulations 2006. This legislation procedures for purchasing are known as "Contract governs the way in which the public sector Procedure Rules". These procedures are important procurement process must be conducted for for the following reasons: contracts over certain specified thresholds. st • they give a legal and auditable framework to As at 1 January 2014 these thresholds stood at our procurement activities; £172,514 for services and supplies and • to help us obtain value for money so that we £4,322,012 for works contracts. These thresholds may in turn provide value for money services are subject to review in 2016. to the public; • to ensure that we comply with the law The regulations are based on the following governing the spending of public money; principles: and • All potential contracts, the values of which • to protect our staff and elected members. singularly or cumulatively exceed specified financial thresholds must be advertised in the Unless the purchase is made under one of our Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) so corporate contracts or through a framework that all interested parties in member states have arrangement, officers of the council must follow the an equal opportunity to submit tenders; procurement procedures laid down in our Contract • All enquiries must receive equal treatment in Procedure Rules. A summary of our main order to eliminate discrimination on the grounds procurement procedures is set out below: of nationality of the contractor or the origin of the supplies, services or works; and For purchases No formal tendering process • All supplier selection, tendering and award under £10,000 is required. Obtain procedures must involve the application of comparable prices - a objective and transparent criteria. minimum of two quotations, Types of Procurement unless corporate contracts We tend to group procurement into three areas. are used. Strategic £10,000 and up Basic quotation process. Strategic contracts are those contracts that have a to £50,000 Obtain comparable prices - a long-term impact and / or are fundamental to the minimum of four quotations ability of the council to delivery its services. Although using the council's these contracts are likely to be of a higher value, eTendering system – they will also include contracts of a smaller value Yortender. that are critical to the councils’ business. Contracts in the higher value in this category tend to be let by £50,000 and up Obtain comparable prices - a way of formal tendering exercises. Examples of contracts are construction and waste disposal. to £100,000 minimum of four quotations using the council's Operational eTendering system – The contracts vary in value and will be for specialist Yortender. supplies or services. Contracts let in this category will typically follow a formal tender or quotation £100,000 up to Procurements over £100,000 exercise. Alternatively quotations may be sought on EU Threshold must follow a formal open a restricted basis from lists of approved contractors. tender process using the Examples of these contracts are IT requirements, council’s eTendering system agency staff and consultancy. – Yortender. Transactional These contracts or orders tend to be ad-hoc, single EU Threshold Full tender advertised in purchases of a lower value that cannot be satisfied and above accordance with the EU from either the Corporate Contracts Catalogue or Procurement