The contracted Supplier for stationery, computer consumable items and paper orders is Office Depot.

All orders should be placed directly through the Office Depot marketplace (a punch-out site) via OneSource.  Paper is also now ordered by the individual rather than "bulk ordering", however this is done slightly differently and is detailed below.

Office Depot provide desktop delivery for all stocked items, meaning all goods should be delivered to your room/desk on Monday and Thursday. If you have any problems with the service provided by this Supplier, please email Procurement at procurement@abdn.ac.uk.

It is very easy to launch into the Office Depot market place through OneSource without the need for user names and passwords. In the past there have be issues with pulling back to our previous system of Pecos, we detail this here in case a similar issue appears with OneSource:

Occasionally a pop up box asking for login details might appear. When you come across such a request you should configure your internet explorer to accept cookies, as detailed below:

1. In the Menu bar, select:
2. Tools > Internet Options > Privacy tab > Advanced
3. The Advanced Privacy Settings box appears
4. In the Cookies section, choose Override automatic cookie handling
5. Under First Party Cookies, select Accept
6. Under Third Party Cookies, select Accept
7. Select Always allow session cookies
8. Click OK to close the Advanced Privacy Settingsbox
9. Click OK to close Internet Options
10. Close all web browsers
11. Open a new browser.

Paper is ordered directly from Office Depot via OneSource using subproject CF10287-15 and account 4205.  Note that the standard paper to order for the MFDs is :

5226498   -   FSC4 Recycled Bright White A4

5226489   -   Recycled Bright White A3

No other paper should be ordered for the MFDs – the spend against CF10287-15 and account 4205 will be monitored by IT Services and any other paper ordered will be charged back to Schools / Depts.

If you have any queries, please contact:

• Procurement on extension 4467

Equipment order and supply

• IT Services can provide advice on choosing and buying an approved UoA desktop, laptop or item of peripheral IT equipment, for example a printer. Further details on the standard desktop, laptop or peripheral IT equipment. Orders should be placed through IT Services. However, individuals using this service should ensure that they have the necessary authorisation at departmental/school level prior to beginning.
  
  IT Services will setup your UoA PC with the standard software library which includes email, calendaring and printing to relevant printers including Multi Functional Devices. The software provided will depend upon your College or Admin Unit, please contact IT Services for further Information.
  
  Antivirus software is included as part of the standard software and regular updates are provided automatically. Critical operating system and Microsoft Windows updates are also made available automatically.

• IT Services will come to your UoA office and unpack, connect and test your new computer for you. IT Services can also install items of approved UoA peripheral IT equipment and licensed software not on the standard list
  
  Where a new UoA PC is being supplied, IT Services will remove your old UoA PC, remove files and arrange disposal. Further information on disposal.

All furniture purchases should be co-ordinated with the University Furnishings Officer, Mrs Marilyn McIntosh in Estates. Mrs McIntosh can advise on your requirements, keeps up-to-date with current HE contract deals for furniture and can access other major public sector agreements.

She can be contacted on: m.mcintosh@abdn.ac.uk

Below are the MINIMUM number of written or verbal quotes required, or the level at which full tendering procedures are necessary. Whenever possible these must be adhered to.

Other important thresholds:

ALL: Orders placed that are not based on the least expensive quote require to have a written justification held on file.

When it is claimed there is only one supplier available for a product or service, this must be based on clear evidence (not the supplier's opinion) and authorisation sought from the Head of Procurement for all purchases over £25K.

Always use the Procurement department to manage a tender exercise if you have not used a formal procedure before, or have limited experience.  We provide a free resource, will assist you to improve your skills if you wish to operate more independently, or will handle the complete administration up to letting of contract if required.  Please remember that the team best equipped to obtain value for money within any market is one combining both technical knowledge and commercial skills.

This section provides guidance on managing a tendering exercise and includes examples of standard tender papers. These documents are available for downloading from within these pages and must be modified (particularly the contact details) for use in any project. The simple form of contract included as an example is more appropriate for the purchase of goods than services. As service contracts can take many forms it is often preferable to write a bespoke contract to fit an individual requirement.

Purchasing and Procurement Services retain model contracts which may be used for the procurement of services such as hiring a consultant. Contracts for goods or services estimated to be worth £50,000 and above over the duration of the contract, eg. £12.5k per annum over 4 years, must be subjected to a formal tendering exercise.

The aims of a formal tendering exercise are to subject the proposed supply to a competitive bidding process in order to obtain best value for the University, and ensure that procedures used in the expenditure of public funds are sufficiently fair, impartial and robust to stand up to the closest scrutiny of outside parties (such as funding bodies or auditors) or legal challenges.

With these objectives in mind it is important that we operate within a set of tendering rules. As well as the formal instructions which are issued for potential suppliers to follow, it is important for our practices to comply with principles of good commercial procedure.

• Plan the process. Agree what the significant dates will be and who will be involved at each stage. You should invite a senior member of staff from outwith your department to witness the opening of tenders.
• Establish a means of recording the tendering process from start to finish. It is recommended that departments maintain a register of all tendering exercises. An example of a tender recording form can be found here.
• Allow sufficient time and resource to manage the process. Some complex tender exercises can take 40 to 60 hours of work to complete and it is not possible to cut corners.
• Properly explore the market. In most situations it is best to ensure that all possible suppliers are given an opportunity to bid. Decide whether it is necessary to invite applications, advertise the contract notice locally, nationally, in specialist publications or in the European Journal.
• Decide on an "open" or "restricted" process. Is it necessary to invite firms to qualify to tender (restricted) or will you issue tender papers to anyone who applies for them?
• Keep a record of all of the suppliers who have applied to tender or who have been invited to tender.

• Using the examples provided in this section as the basis, prepare and issue the tender documents.
• Allow adequate time for the suppliers to respond properly. This will obviously vary with the complexity of the specification, but a minimum of three weeks is recommended.
• Once you have issued a formal notice of anything – including deadlines for receipt of tenders – you have an obligation to ensure that it is rigidly adhered to by all parties.
• Treat all potential suppliers equally.
• Control the channels of communication. Some firms will try to gain advantage over others by discussing the tender with you or your colleagues in order to gauge areas of particular interest, or even just to establish contact to talk in general about the tender. Give clear instructions to tenderers on who their contacts are. Keep communications formal.
• If valid questions are received from one firm before the tenders have closed, circulate the questions and your detailed responses to all of those in receipt of invitations to tender in the form of a "pre-tender circular".

• You will have fixed a time for receipt of tenders. Immediately after tenders have closed perform a document check so that any papers received in the mailroom, at reception or by the departmental secretary are received for consideration. Ensure all tenders are securely locked away until the opening ceremony. Late tenders should be opened, recorded, marked appropriately then returned to tenderer.
• When opening the tenders invite a senior member of staff (preferably from another department) to witness the process. Record details of the tenders received.
• The tenders submitted should not be used as the starting point for a round of negotiations. You must not use one supplier's bid as a bench-mark in discussions with other suppliers. It is permissible to seek clarification.
• Post-tender negotiation should be limited. In particular, in the event of a contract advertised under the terms of the Public Supply / Service Regulations, it is important that the selection of a contractor is made before discussing detailed terms.
• It is not just professional courtesy to brief unsuccessful suppliersof the outcome of the tender exercise: it is actually a requirement under the Public Supply / Services Regulations (where these apply) that you do so, and that you detail the criteria used in your selection in a notice to the Official Journal of the European Union.
• Always record the selection process leading to the award and include the criteria used. This is a formal record which may be used in the event of a challenge from an aggrieved supplier or may be required to complete a Contract Award Notice to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

If you have a requirement for goods and/or services with a total value of £100k or over (excluding VAT) for the period of the contract, then Procurement must be involved. If the total value (including whole-life costings, such as post warranty maintenance etc., but excluding VAT) exceeds £172,000, then the Public Contracts Regulations require a contract notice to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This process is likely to take around 100/120 days, so please allow sufficient time.

In existing legislation the University of Aberdeen is considered a public contracting authority and this brings with it a number of duties and responsibilities; we strongly recommend early Procurement involvement. 

We have to comply with international/European legislation and University Regulations and be able to demonstrate that we are obtaining best value for public money.

This is a guide through the normal stages for a high value procurement of goods or services. It is recommended that tender exercises over £100k in value involve a Project Team which might include:

• a representative of the Client, School or Section and their Line Manager;
• the Accountant for their College or Section;
• someone from Procurement and possibly a Technical Adviser (such as a representative from DIT for a software purchase).

To view the full document, click here,

What do you want to buy?

Can you satisfy your requirement by sharing, borrowing or using second-hand equipment, or purchasing jointly with another user? Can the product or service be obtained from an existing collaborative agreement?

Please contact Procurement for information on HE contracts.

If new equipment is required, develop a generic description that explains what you want and please do research the market to discover what is available, identify suppliers which might have a suitable product, and it is also useful to establish supplier contact details

What will the estimated cost be?

Please ask firms for budget prices, but don't settle on a particular item or supplier or get into detailed discussions with your favourite firm. For acquisitions over £100k you will have to go to tender anyway and all quotations received before this will have to be set aside: it is also likely that the quotes received will be out-of date by the time funding becomes available. 

At this stage it is reasonable also to request a general statement of the approximate running costs of the equipment over its expected life (this is dealt with in more detail in the section on Specification of Requirements that follows).

The information received from this stage should be sufficient for applications to funding bodies. 

What to Include in the Description of Your Requirement

When funding has become available we have to make a more formal approach to the market. A model Specification will include a brief overview of the University of Aberdeen and its activities; a section on the background to the requirement; a description of the present range of equipment or services used, then a detailed description of what is needed.

The specification should also include your award criteria and the weightings of the criteria. These will be the things which are important to you and which will allow you to make your final decision. They might include price, proposed maintenance and technical support, experience, references and delivery lead time.

There are two main elements to the specification: a brand-less, generic statement of need accompanied by a request for a "whole-life costing" for equipment offered.

3.1  The Specification should describe what is important to you and might express your requirement in terms of:

• The application: where and how the equipment will be used and what for;
• Minimum required performance: volumes, speed, magnification, data to be produced etc;
• Inputs and outputs;
• Results expected;
• Quality requirements;
• Ease of use;
• Operator requirement;
• Upgradeability;
• Physical limitations: weight and dimensions, mobility, access, floor strength, building requirements (such as for room modifications or shielding);
• Compliance with prescribed standards;
• An opportunity for the tenderer to include an alternative offer which might include joint research, use of the University as a reference site, a novel approach, application of new technology or ex-demonstration equipment etc. 

3.2 The "Whole-Life Costing" will reveal the true cost of ownership and provide a proper basis for comparison between competitive quotations; it is not unknown for a supplier to quote a low capital cost to secure the business, then uplift the cost of maintenance services to increase their margin. 

Consideration should be given to:

• Capital purchase price;
• Delivery date (does this meet your timescale?);
• Delivery to site and insurances;
• Rigging into position;
• Installation;
• Testing;
• Training for operation and local maintenance (both on and off-site);
• Number of operators required;
• Expected life of the equipment in a normal working environment;
• Anticipated running costs over the expected life, including an estimate of annual costs for utilities in a similar operation and cost of replacements and wearing arts (with a guarantee that these will remain available); 
• Product life and upgradeability – when will the model offered cease to be produced and what is the approach to upgrading? Warranties and extended warranties;
• Post-warranty service and maintenance proposals for the life of the equipment (if this is not known then request that details for a five-year period be included);
• WEEE: Waste electrical and electronic equipment legislation requires manufacturers to participate in a scheme for removal at end of economic life.  Request costs associated with the supplier/manufacturer meeting their responsibilities within the regulations;
• End of life replacement or disposal: what options are available when the equipment is no longer required, and what are the costs involved? (top)

How Will You Let Suppliers Know There is a Requirement?

As a minimum, all University of Aberdeen tenders of £50k and over will have contract notices published on a public information service (Public Contracts Scotland) to ensure that they receive appropriate visibility and give potential suppliers access to our tender processes. It is also mandatory that all tenders over £164k are advertised in the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union. Once the notices are in the public domain it is permitted to alert any firm you wish to be included (you may have noted their contact details at the "Research the Requirement" stage) to the details contained in the notices.

The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations prescribe the tendering procedures that we have to follow for tenders over £164k, and the most commonly used of these is the Restricted Procedure. This is described in detail below, and the general approach requiring suppliers to qualify to tender is one that may also be used as a "best practice" for below-threshold tenders.

The procedure is as follows:

4.1  Contact is to be made with Procurement and a meeting arranged to discuss the procurement strategy and establish whether the tender might exceed the EU Threshold of £164k.  If so, then information needs to be gathered to enable us to place an advert/contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

4.2  The information required for the advert:

• Title of the notice – this is a short statement of the goods and/or services
  required.   
• A more detailed description is also required (usually just a few lines) to provide a general summary of what you wish to purchase.  
• The place where the goods and/or services will be delivered/performed.  
• Estimated value of the contract over the whole contract period excluding VAT (this should include whole-life costings such as post-warranty servicing etc).  
• The required start date/delivery date.  
• Period of contract – more relevant for services.  
• Qualification Criteria (criteria for short-listing through to the next stage).   
• Interested parties will be asked to provide some financial, economic, legal and technical information as standard (i.e. last 3 years audited accounts, details of their main business over the last 3 years etc). However, the client department may have additional requirements that will help them to select suitable firms to tender, e.g. the tenderer's approach to sustainability, or policies on diversity and equality, corporate responsibility and health and safety, experience of HE Sector, references, particular accreditations, membership of professional organisations etc.

The request for information is normally in the form of a Pre-qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) which is made available electronically to interested firms. Procurement has a standard template which they will modify to suit your particular area of interest.

4.3  Once this information has been provided to Procurement then an OJEU notice will be placed. After publication all communications are to be formal, and via Procurement. General details from internal meetings, the number of participants, how the exercise is progressing etc. are all Commercially Confidential and not to be shared with third parties.

The Restricted procedure is a two-stage process; suppliers apply to tender, then we invite those we feel are qualified to submit tenders. The first stage is to request applications to tender from interested suppliers along with any supporting information such as audited accounts etc. We have to allow a period of at least thirty (30) days from the date the advert is placed for suppliers to provide their qualification information. During this period, if the client department hasn't already done so, then they should prepare a full specification of requirements. This has to go out to the suppliers at the next stage of the process. (top)

Invitations and Time Allowed

The Procurement Office will then issue the Invitations to Tender along with all of the tender documentation, including the specification of requirements, and this will include a date for receipt of tenders which must not be less than thirty five (35) days from despatch of the invitations. Rejection letters will also be issued to those suppliers who have not been short listed. 

Within the Regulations it is possible to reduce the process times by using electronic means to publish our contract notices and make our documents available.

Procurement has access to systems to do this and the schedule may be brought down to thirty (30) days for the notice to be advertised. 

Tender Opening Ceremony

After the thirty (30) day minimum period the tender submissions should have been received in Procurement and the tenders will then be carefully reviewed and scored against the award criteria by the Project Team.

Fairness and Transparency

It is important for the Project Team to decide as a group how the selection will proceed: they may mark the tenders individually, then discuss and agree the final scoring, or they may jointly allocate scores to each tender. Decisions and reasoning must be recorded.

The simplest way to assess each of the tenders is to rate them against the weightings allocated to the selection criteria (see Specification of Requirements).  As an example, if "Equipment Performance" carried a total weighting of 40%, then the firm which offered the best option in terms of the performance specification should receive a score equal or close to the maximum for this, with the firm in second place receiving a lower score dependent on how their performance was rated in relation to the spec. By methodically working through the criteria for each tender submitted, the end result should be a set of total scores for the suppliers expressed as percentages, leading to a logical and transparent selection. When it comes to prices Procurement use a standard formula to allocate scores. 

Note:

We may not use any reason that was not detailed within the selection criteria to either make an award or reject any submission.

The scores allocated by the Project Team are to be recorded along with narrative detailing the reasoning behind the decisions, and the results are to be forwarded to Procurement.

Final Hurdle

We have a legal obligation to inform all of the Tenderers of the decisions made and give them full details of how they were reached (i.e. their overall score, ranking, the name of the successful supplier and other relevant information).

A letter of our intention to award is accordingly issued by Procurement; the unsuccessful firms are afforded an opportunity to challenge any award made, and are allowed fifteen (15) days (the "mandatory standstill period") following announcement of selection (reduced to ten (10) days if this is sent electronically).

It is very common to receive requests for further information at this stage, and we must do our best to accommodate them: the alternative might be that these will be received as Freedom of Information Requests, or even legal challenges, so provided the information is not considered commercially confidential (and in the public sector very little is) details should generally be released, but this must always be treated as a formal matter, and all communications should be through Procurement.

After this period is over, and as long as we don't receive any challenges, we can begin discussing and agreeing the terms and conditions of contract with the successful supplier.

How to Conclude the Agreement

Once tenders are in we are not permitted to enter into further negotiations with the firm selected, and until the agreement is in place we must continue to communicate formally with the supplier. We may however work with them to clarify or refine the final content of their offer. If there are a number of communications with minor changes, one clear way of concluding matters is for Procurement to obtain a final confirmation of the requirement from the client department, then request a Full and Final Offer from the supplier containing all of the minor revisions to the specification.

In parallel with this Procurement will be negotiating the contract terms and conditions that will apply to the deal with the supplier. As a general rule we should never accept a supplier's terms as the basis for agreement, and it is normal for them to receive a draft contract along with the Invitation to Tender documents.

When the agreement is in draft, Procurement will send a copy to the client department for comment.

When the terms are finally agreed with the supplier, Procurement will confirm that funding is in place before sending the contract documentation out.

The Client, School or Section will normally raise a purchase order using the nominated budget code (note that they may have to be set up as a new supplier, if so a Supplier Set-up Form must be sent to them for completion and return) just to get the financial commitment into the system, but the order copy will not be sent to the supplier chosen, as the contract will effectively replace the purchase order. 

The contract will be printed as two originals and they must both be authorised at an appropriate level within the University before being sent to the winning firm.

• Email: h.gannicliffe@abdn.ac.uk 
  Tel: +44 (0) 1224 27 3521

Helane heads the section and oversees the work of the team. She deals with the travel, laboratory maintenance and service contracts, and any enquiries relating to these areas should be directed to her. Helane also has to approve any orders for values greater than £50,000 (apart from building work done through Estates) and any sole supplier transaction over £25,000.

• Email: leon.mouat@abdn.ac.uk 
  Tel: +44 (0) 1224 27 2821

• Email: procurement@abdn.ac.uk
  Tel: +44 (0) 1224 27 2824

Procurement are currently dealing with anything to do with Suppliers - from setting them up on the system, amending details of existing Suppliers, to carrying out credit checks. They also maintain the supplier information and product catalogues held for the OneSource system.

• Email: a.frimpong@abdn.ac.uk
• Tel: +44 (0) 1224 27 2010

Awo administers various contracts held by the University. Awo looks after the University's contract with Banner, who provide the University with stationery, paper and computer consumables.

• Email: m.phillips@abdn.ac.uk
  Tel: +44 (0) 1224 27 4057

Martin administers various contracts held by the University. Martin looks after the University's contract with Alphabet Leasing who provide the University with our leased vehicles.

• Email: procurement@abdn.ac.uk 
  Tel: +44 (0) 1224 27 4467

Aileen is the first point of contact for queries by telephone, email or post and assists the department with various administrative duties.