Transcript Slide 1

Doing Business with
Epping Forest District Council
Dawn Jolley
Senior Finance Officer: Procurement
Email: [email protected]
What is Procurement?
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Procurement is the full range of activities related to
purchasing goods, services and works.
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from the identification of a need
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to defining our requirements
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establishing methods of financing
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seeking suitable providers and
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the eventual disposal of the asset or termination of the
contract.
What is Procurement?
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Procurement must:
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Adhere to Legal Requirements and Constitution;
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Align to / encompass Corporate and Financial Strategies
and budgetary targets;
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Generate the most advantageous balance between
Requirement, Quality, and Cost;
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Be fair, transparent and stimulate competition and
innovation;
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Be fully auditable
Opportunities
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Selling products and/or services to public sector organisations
represents a significant opportunity for all businesses;
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Public sector organisations can make good customers. They
have to employ tendering processes that are transparent,
provide essential information to potential suppliers and
ensure a fair chance for small businesses;
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They also have to be fair and honest in the way they choose
suppliers and pay promptly within agreed contract terms;
Opportunities
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Epping Forest District Council spends a considerable sum each
year with the private sector and is committed to helping small
and medium-sized businesses compete successfully for our
contracts.
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EFDC spent just under £11.5 million with SMEs during 2010/2011;
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11% of EFDC's total expenditure for 2010/11 was spent with suppliers
who had a registered address within the Epping Forest district.
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Prior to August 2008, an SME was defined as an organisation with fewer than 250
employees which had an annual turnover not exceeding €50m and/or with an
annual balance sheet total not exceeding €43m.
Post August 2008 HMRC extended this to include organisations with fewer than 500
employees with an annual turnover not exceeding €100m and/or with a balance
sheet total not exceeding €86m*
*http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ct/forms-rates/claims/randd.htm
How we buy Goods, Services & Works
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Procurement at EFDC is decentralised across the different
Directorates;
Each Directorate works within our Constitution, Financial
Regulations, Contract Standing Orders and EU Procurement
Directives;
A small procurement team provides co-ordinated corporate
support by:
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Providing an experienced skill and knowledge base;
Ensuring best value and best practice;
Managing tender exercises;
Collaborating with other procurement organisations.
How we buy Goods, Services & Works
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Up to £10,000
= 1 quote
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£10,001 - £15,000 = 2 written quotes
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£15,001 - £25,000 = 3 written quotes
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£25,001 - £50,000 = 3 written quotes obtained from
companies registered on
Constructionline, or appropriate
sources if required trade or
profession is not serviced by
Constructionline.
How we buy Goods, Services & Works
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Contracts exceeding £50,000, but below EU Procurement Thresholds =
Invitation to Tender
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EU Procurement Thresholds = Tender as per EU Procurement Directives
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Expression of Interest
Pre Qualification Questionnaire
Invitation to Tender
What are the Thresholds?
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As of January 2011:
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£ 173,934 for Supplies & Services
£4,348,350 for Works
Why?
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Ensures spending is based on value for money via transparent competition;
Ensures contracts are awarded without discrimination;
How we buy Goods, Services & Works
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EFDC does not hold Preferred Supplier Lists;
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EFDC is a member of the Essex Procurement Hub and
the Procurement Agency for Essex;
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Allows for collaborative spend and better pricing
through increased buying power which in turn
reduces costs to the public purse;
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As a Local Authority, EFDC may make use of any
Nationally awarded Framework Agreement;
What is a Framework Agreement?
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Framework agreements are set up by public sector bodies with suppliers
to provide goods, works or services according to certain requirements.
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Frameworks can be arranged centrally by one public body for itself and/or
for a number of other public bodies.
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Those bodies that are party to the framework can then order (or 'call-off')
the goods, works or services if and when required. If there is more than
one supplier, then a mini-competition may be held to identify the best
supplier.
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A contract is only formed when an order is placed for a specific
requirement. The public sector body is not committed to using the
framework.
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Framework agreements are subject to safeguards and do not normally last
for more than four years.
What does EFDC want from suppliers?
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Our main objective is to achieve value for money – we are
spending taxpayers money.
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Competition;
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Quality;
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Flexibility;
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Responsiveness;
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Innovation;
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Specialism;
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Understanding of local issues;
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Awareness of the local community.
What we are doing to assist SMEs
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EFDC amended their Contract Standing Orders in 2009:
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When tendering, the District Council will endeavour to seek at least
one quotation from a business located in the District, provided that
legal requirements are met
Trying to standardise our procurement documents and
procedures:
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Clearer instructions to bidders;
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Clearer specifications;
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Transparent selection & evaluation criteria;
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No unnecessary / irrelevant questions;
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Making them less time consuming to complete.
Suppliers wishing to Register Interest
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With regards to supplying goods, services and/or
works to EFDC, it is recommended that suppliers
register as a supplier on www.paessex.gov.uk in
order to receive contract opportunities free of charge
that match their business.
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Having registered on the PAE site suppliers will then
be able to access the BiP Select Service which will
increase the visibility of their products and services
across Essex.
On-line Procurement Course
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The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
recently launched an online procurement course,
Winning the Contract. This course will help you gain
an understanding about public procurement and
how to bid for public sector contracts, and can be
accessed free of charge.
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For more information visit:
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http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
Websites you might find useful
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Supplying products or services to government - guidance on the
Contracts Finder (registration required)
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Supplying products or services for London 2012 - information on the
CompeteFor website (registration required)
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https://www.competefor.com/london2012business//login.jsp
Winning the contract - online course for securing a public sector contract
on the learndirect business website
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http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
http://www1.learndirect-business.com/business-courses/winning-thecontract/
Tender searches on the TED website
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http://ted.europa.eu/Exec?DataFlow=hRead.dfl&Template=TED/homepage.ht
m&hpt=ALL&StatLang=EN
Doing Business with
Epping Forest District Council
http://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/business/doing_business_with_efdc.asp
Dawn Jolley
Senior Finance Officer: Procurement
Email: [email protected]