Doing Business with the Council Commercial & Procurement Somerset County Council

Mark Brown – Service Manager – Place

Housekeeping

• Welcome

• Please switch your phones off/silent

• Fire alarm – evacuation procedures

• Facilities

• Refreshments – tea, coffee, water

• We encouraging networking

• Commercially sensitive matters

• No current or past tenders are being discussed

Agenda

10:00 Welcome – Housekeeping and Introductions

10:05 Part 1 – Rules, Principles

10:30 Break

10:40 Part 2 – Processes

10:55 Part 3 – Hints & Tips

11:05 Questions & Answers

11:30 End

Introductions

Why these bite-sized sessions?

• To help you achieve a better understand of how ‘Procurement’ works

• To enable Local businesses to be in the best position to compete for local authority contracts

• To help us understand your needs and how we can help to meet these

The Team

Commercial and Procurement is the recently established group within the Council providing the link between suppliers and the councils services. The team has three groups specialising in different service areas – People, Place and Business.

People

Adults, Children’s, Public Health

Place

Highways, Transport, Economic & Community Infrastructure, Traded Services, Waste

Business

ICT, Facilities Management, Professional Services, Utilities

Rules

• EU Directives (Public Sector Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU)

The below came into force 26th Feb 2015

• UK Legislation (Public Contracts Regulations 2015 SI 2015/102)

• Local Authority Contract Standing Orders (SCC Feb 2015)

• Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Acronyms • CSO Contract Standing Orders

Principles of Procurement

• Fair

• Equal

• Transparent

• Non-discriminatory

• Proportionate

• Most Economically Advantageous Tender

• Best price-quality ratio (Value for Money)

• Competition

• Aggregation

• Lotting

Acronyms • BV Best Value • VfM Value for Money • MEAT Most Economically Advantageous Tender

What we procure

• Goods (Supplies) – products that are bought or hired – Furniture – Snow ploughs – Emergency Equipment e.g. sandbags

• Services – an activity carried out over a period of time – Park & Ride bus service – Conducting a marketing campaign – Professional Services - legal advice, recruitment

• Works – the outcome of building or civil engineering – Renovating a bridge – Building a new hospital – Constructing flood defences

Where we advertise opportunities

• SCC uses an eTender portal www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk

• Allows us to treat suppliers equally and show our audit trail.

• Gives visibility of quotation exercises and alerts to formal tenders.

Supplying the South West

Opportunities – each advertised contract will have:

• A description of what the Council wants

• Details of the deadlines for responses

• Tender documents and submission requirements

• The criteria to be used to select the successful supplier

• If sub-contracting or consortia tenders are acceptable

Contract Store – you can:

• View current contracts with each authority

• Identify opportunities to sub-contract or collaborate

• Identify contracts that are expiring

Hints and tips – the Portal • Monitor portal throughout a tender process

• Ensure contact information is kept up to date

• Use appropriate email address – it is good to use a general or team email address

• Arrange cover for staff absence if a single user email is used

• Ensure your company is registered against the correct CPV codes

• Allow time to upload documents – the server time-stamps submissions

• Contact the help number listed on Supplying the South West if you experience any difficulties

Acronyms • CPV Common Procurement Vocabulary

Where we advertise opportunities – cont’d

• From 1st April 2015 – contracts are also duplicated on Contracts Finder www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Where we advertise opportunities – cont’d

• SCC is in the process of rolling out a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) called Proactis for Passenger Transport services – https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com/Account/Login

Processes The process we follow relates to the estimated value of the contract – falling into 3 general types:

• Quotation Process

– Up to £25,000

• Formal Tender Process – Request for Quotation

– Between £25,000 – £130,000

• Formal European Process – OJEU

– Over £130,000 for Goods and Services

– Over £3,750,000 for Works

Acronyms • RFQ Request for Quotation • RFP Request for Proposal • OJEU Official Journal of the European Union

How Submissions are Assessed • Principle - Most Economically Advantageous

Tender • MEAT is the best price-quality ratio

– For example a price vs quality ratio may be: • Price 60% Quality 40% • Price 30% Quality 70%

– May also be called Commercial vs Technical

• Types of Questions – Information Only – Pass/Fail – Scored – numerical scale, Risk based – Documentation and instructions will state the

weightings, methods and scoring systems to be employed.

Acronyms • MEAT Most Economically Advantageous Tender

Price Assessment

Also called Commercial Assessment Usual methods: • Comparison between bids to achieve a percentage ratio

on the lowest price • Points assigned according to a scoring table • A threshold may be applied to keep prices under a certain

level – any price over this level may be considered non-compliant and rejected

Price £10,000 £11,000 £12,000

Score 100% 90.9% 83.3%

Quality Assessment

Also called Technical Assessment

Questions cover:

• Technical Aspects – Health and Safety, Certifications

– to demonstrate you meet minimum requirements

• Method statements

– to demonstrate how you will deliver the requirements

• A cross-cutting panel of experts assess responses and give scores

• The scoring system used will be stated in the documentation - usually a table with scores of 0-5 or 0-10

Scoring Table - Example

Risk Level Score Definition

High 0 No answer, or an answer which does not address any of the criteria

Medium-High 1 Demonstrates little achievement of the criteria; the answer is incomplete or poor quality

Medium 2 Some achievement of the criteria, but to a level that is incomplete or of poor quality

Low-Medium 3 Meets majority of criteria, demonstrating work of an acceptable quality with minimal omissions

Low 4 Fully meets criteria, demonstrates work / supply of good quality

Very Low 5 Exceeds the expectations of the criteria, demonstrates high levels of quality and innovation

How Submissions are Assessed cont’d

• Submissions may be excluded for several reasons – Not economically viable or sustainable – if the

price is abnormally low – No response received to clarification requests – Documentation not complete or not in

accordance with instructions – Late submission – bids received after the

deadline cannot be assessed – Undisclosed interests are later identified – Canvassing or solicitation of Council staff has

taken place

Hints and tips – Don’ts • Miss deadlines – we cannot accept late submissions • Submit bid documents in incorrect format or to wrong contract listing • Canvass Council staff – this could lead to exclusion of your bid • Phone with clarification questions – we will refer you to the portal • Alternative bids (unless requested) • Conditional bids (unless requested) • Qualify bids (unless requested) • Assume, leave gaps or give ambiguous information – we can only

assess the information or responses provided • Promise what you can’t deliver – responses to RFQ and ITT form part

of the final contract • Give misleading or incorrect information – see above • Rely on previous contracts – we can’t use prior knowledge • Use generic and stock responses – show that you are addressing the

contract requirements • Insert marketing material

Hints and tips – Dos • Answer honestly, concisely and unambiguously

• Read the entire tender documentation – collate clarification questions

• Address the exact requirements of the contract – specification, evaluation criteria and weighting.

• Give correct information in the format requested

• Be realistic in what you can do or deliver

• Demonstrate skill

• Demonstrate capacity

• Demonstrate your strengths and advantages when asked

• Explain and demonstrate evidence when asked

• Tailor responses and show added value when asked

• Give relevant references

• Respond to clarification questions

• Allow sufficient time to complete bid – it is advisable to have someone else check through before submitting

Identifying Opportunities • Direct

– SCC advertises on Supplying the South West – Other SW Council opportunities also visible to registered

Suppliers. – SCC collaborates with other City, District and County Councils on

joint contracts – one Council will ‘Lead’ and advertise on the portal

– *From 1st April Contracts will also be advertised on Contracts Finder – the Central Government contract site.

• Sub-contracting & Consortia – PIN – Engagement Events – Award Notifications

• Other Networking events – Industry Specific – Associations and Groups – e.g. FSB, Chambers of Commerce

Questions & Answers

• Your Questions

• Any feedback or ideas you would like to share

Thank you

Further sessions are scheduled:

• 25th August 2015 10:00 – 11:30

• 21st September 2015 10:00 – 11:30

Further sessions are planned for 2015:

• Dates, Times and Locations to be confirmed

Additional Information

• Information on OJEU Procedures

– Open

– Restricted

– PQQ and ITT stage

• Contract Options

• Resources

• Conclusion

Full Procurement Process

• For Goods and Services over £130k and Works over £3.75m

Acronyms • PIN Prior Information Notice • PQQ Pre-Qualification Questionnaire • ITT Invitation to Tender

Procedures – Open & Restricted

Routes Available

• There are a number of procurement routes available, called Procedures, the most common being:

– Open Procedure

– Restricted Procedure

• Each procedure has its their own timeframe and requirements, however they share the following:

– Requirement to be advertised through OJEU and are listed on Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)

– Process (documentation and communication) managed through the procurement portal

– A Standstill (Alcatel) period is applied

– An award Notification is posted through OJEU/TED

Acronyms • OJEU Official Journal of the European Union • TED Tenders Electronic Daily

PQQ Stage – can you do it? To assess potential suppliers commercial, technical and financial capabilities to perform the contract.

Suppliers must meet the minimum qualification criteria to be selected for the next stage.

• Process

1) Advert placed in OJEU

2) Suppliers register Expression of Interest (EOI)

3) PQQ documentation available through portal

4) Complete the PQQ documentation

5) Submit completed PQQ before the deadline

• Notes

– Selection criteria are only applied at this stage

– The online PQQ allows responses to be stored and reused

• Timeframe

– Minimum of 30 days following OJEU advert * new rules PCR2015

Acronyms • EOI Expression of Interest

ITT Stage – how will you do it? For suppliers to demonstrate how they propose to deliver the requirements of the contract.

• Process

1) Successful and unsuccessful suppliers informed of PQQ results.

2) Shortlisted suppliers are invited to tender.

3) ITT documentation available through portal

4) Complete the ITT documentation

5) Submit Tender before the deadline

• Notes

– The award criteria state how the Most Economically Advantageous Tender will be identified.

– Assessed on price, technical specifications, proposals

• Timeframe

– Minimum of 10 days following invitations – by agreement with all invited tenderers *new rules PCR2015

• The Open Procedure combines all of the information from the PQQ and ITT into one stage - minimum 30 days following OJEU advert

Contract Options

The more commonly used approaches: • Single supplier contract – commitment to purchase • Framework agreement:

– call off from approved suppliers over 4-year term – may have lots, with 1 or more supplier per lot – direct awards or mini-competitions can be used

• Collaborative procurements: – Devon and Cornwall County Councils – Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership – Police, Fire Services – County, District and City Councils in the South West

Resources

Somerset County Council • Procurement page (WIP) www.somerset.gov.uk/business-and-

economy/dobusiness-with-the-council/do-business-with-the-council/ • SCC Contract Standing Orders

www.somerset.gov.uk/organisation/keydocuments/the-councils-constitution/ Contract Information • Supplying the South West www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk • Contracts Finder www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search • TED www.ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do • Framework Set-up Organisations: YPO www.ypo.co.uk, ESPO www.espo.org,

NEPO www.nepoportal.org, CBC www.cbconline.org.uk Central Government Information • Central Government Procurement Information www.gov.uk/tendering-

forpublic-sector-contracts • Crown Commercial Service www.gov.uk/government/organisations/crown-

commercial-service • Guide to consortia www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-in-

aconsortium

Conclusion

If not already done so please register on the portal www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk • The Council advertises contract opportunities through the eTender

portal - this is to ensure that we are being fair to all potential suppliers and to keep a clear audit trail of our communications on specific contracts.

• The Council uses the portal to identify suppliers by their industry area or specialism.

• The portal also provides information on upcoming engagement events and information useful for networking and sub-contracting opportunities.

This presentation will be made available to those attending or interested in these sessions.

Disclaimer - Somerset County Council makes every effort to keep the information in this presentation up to date and correct, we disclaim any warranty or representation, express or implied about its accuracy, completeness or appropriateness for a particular purpose. Thus, you assume full responsibility for using the information, and you understand and agree that neither Somerset County Council nor any of its employees is responsible or liable for any claim, loss or damage resulting from its use.