Procurement contracts list

Procurement

We provide a wide range of vital services for approximately 250,000 people in the city of Derby, ranging from the maintenance and upkeep of roads to providing goods and services to schools, social service homes and centres. We aim to provide the highest level of quality in all the services we provide and as all of our services are delivered to the residents of Derby, we require that our suppliers meet the standards that we set for ourselves.

There is a statutory duty for us to ensure that the procurement of these goods, works and services, represents the most cost-effective solution and that the best possible value-for-money has been achieved.

Our contracts

To make sure suppliers are kept aware of current contract opportunities, we advertise open supply opportunities. Depending on their value, they may be advertised on the Contracts Finder and the Find A Tender Service. Specialist contracts may also be advertised within the trade and national press.

You may also find it useful to review our contracts register, along with registers for many other authorities in the East Midlands.

We provide snapshots of our contracts register amongst our Open Data and Transparency information.

Works contracts

Contracts for building or highway works are awarded using:

• frameworks
• approved list systems
• the Find a Tender Sevice (when the contract value is over £4,733,252)

The regular and repetitive nature of these services means that the internal department gather quotes or tenders from organisations that have already met the pre qualification standards needed by us. Application to approved lists will require companies to supply information to us on which they can be assessed as having satisfactory resources and procedures to undertake the work on behalf of us. Further information is available from the approved suppliers page.

Our tender process

A tender process will be required for all contracts valued £100,000 or above.

There are a number of different tender process options available to us.

Open Tender process

Where there is no pre qualification stage to the tender and all companies who request the tender documentation are able to submit a tender.

Restricted (2 Stage) Tender process

Companies who express interest in tendering are required to complete a pre qualification process to ensure that they have sufficient experience and resources to meet our needs. A short listed number of companies will be invited to submit a tender.

Competitive Dialogue Tender process

Similar to the restricted process in using a pre qualification stage but this process allows the tendering authority to enter into a dialogue stage before tendering, as we are unable to define the financial, legal or technical elements of the project. It is only intended for complex procurement exercises.

Tender documentation

Tender documentation will in general contain the following items:

• Letter of invitation and instructions to tender
• Pricing document and form of tender
• Specification and/or schedule of rates
• Special Conditions of Contract or conditions of purchase
• The City Council's General Conditions of Contract
• Relevant supporting information
• Tender return label

The instructions will detail the method for return (electronic and / or manual), and deadline time and date for submissions. Failure to return tender responses in the format specified and by the deadline will result in the tender being excluded from the evaluation process.

We have adopted an electronic tendering system as part of our e-government programme.

Companies will be informed as to whether or not they have been successful in the tendering process. If a company is not successful they may request feedback as to which aspects of their tender were assessed as being inferior to the winning tender.

Supplier information requirements

Depending upon the nature of the contract a company is bidding for, information may be requested of the company, to enable the assessment of the organisation against our requirements.

There are certain areas of information that will be required from all suppliers.

Company details

Details required range from basic information including company trading status, registered address and contact names to more detailed information on the company's organisational structure and activities.

Competence

This will be used to assess whether a company has the necessary skills, knowledge, technical and practical experience for carrying out the requirements of contract applied for. The specific format for this information will be contract specific and for certain categories of work, accreditation to trade bodies will be required.

Financial

Potential suppliers will be asked to submit audited accounts for at least the last two years. If you are submitting a bid as a group of companies, the accounts must be for the company who will be the primary contracting company. We may also undertake a credit check to establish financial viability.

For works and services contracts you will be asked to provide information on your insurance cover. Your company must carry Employers' Liability and Public Liability insurance. The level of insurance required will be specified in the contract documents. For some specialist contracts you may be required to carry Professional Indemnity insurance, Product Liability insurance or Fire/Contract works insurance.

Awarding contracts

We aim to usually award contracts to the contractor or supplier who offers the most economically advantageous tender based on a combination of price and quality. The contract award criteria will be stated in the tender documents.

Tips for tendering

Should your company decide to respond to an advertisement and express an interest in bidding for our work, here are some brief tips which you should bear in mind.

Companies should be aware that there is a significant level of competition for the contracts offered by us and that following the information provided does not provide a guarantee to your success but is there to enable you to tender effectively

Be on time

Make sure information is provided by the deadline dates. If the information does not arrive promptly, we will be unable to consider it. We must be seen to be acting fairly and transparently and by giving everyone the same chance.

Understand what is required

The initial advert is your chance to decide whether or not your business can undertake the contract. Every advert will contain a contact person from whom further information can be obtained. If you have questions that need answering before you can decide whether or not to bid, take this opportunity to seek clarification.

Provide information for pre-qualification

There may be a number of pre-qualification stages to go through before being invited to tender. If you have expressed interest in a contract, you will generally be asked to submit information on your economic and financial standing, technical capacity and ability, equal opportunities, environmental and health and safety policies, previous experience and references. You must provide all the information requested, as this will be evaluated against that provided by other applicants and will dictate whether or not you reach the next stage.

Provide evaluation information requested in the invitation to tender

If you receive an invitation to tender you are being invited to make an offer, which we may accept. You must ensure you comply with all requirements at this stage because the decision on who is chosen will ultimately be based on criteria listed in the contract notice or invitation to tender. Make sure you provide all relevant information requested in respect of the price and quality criteria. If you are unsure, ask. As well as the quality criteria, make sure your offer is also competitive and offers value for money.