RGU Procurement Newsletter by The Robert Gordon University

RGU Procurement newsletter

Introduction I am delighted to introduce this first edition of the RGU Procurement newsletter. We intend to make this a regular publication if possible, around the start of each semester, and to use it to keep you in touch with news and developments which relate to all things purchasing. In this and future editions, we shall be discussing sector initiatives in the areas of policy & procedure, procurement systems and collaborative contracting. We shall also include other news relating to specific pieces of work that the RGU Procurement team are undertaking, which may have an impact on the suppliers or systems that staff in your School or Department use now and/or in the future. Given that this is the first newsletter, I would appreciate your feedback and comments on the content provided, and am also happy to take suggestions for any future topics you would like to see covered. You can use the contact address procurement@rgu.ac.uk for this, and of course for any other Procurement queries you may have. Thank you. Rod Strachan, Procurement Manager

APUC Client Account meetings As you may be aware, the RGU Procurement team work closely with APUC, the Scottish HE/FE sector’s centre of expertise in procurement (www.apuc-scot.ac.uk). Some of the key aims of APUC are to;

• • • • •

Identify & manage tender/contract opportunities on behalf of the sector Facilitate cross-sector collaboration Encourage compliance with procurement policy and standards Improve engagement with and management of supplier relations Develop and continuously improve procurement skills, capability and capacity

As part of this, we’ve been assigned a dedicated Client Account Manager who we meet with every two months or so – these meetings include an update on contract availability; capability development/support; update on sector and government strategies/priorities; and service support needs (including systems such as PECOS and Public Contracts Scotland among others). Up until now, these meetings have largely just been between APUC and the central Procurement team – however, we feel it may be beneficial to open these up to a wider audience if required, to enable discussions on particular contracts, or to cover a specific topic in more detail. The proposed schedule of meetings for next year is set out below, should you wish to make a note of these for the time being – please feel free to contact us at any point if you would like to attend on one of these dates or raise a point for discussion, together with an indication of the contract or issue you would like to discuss, and we can arrange for that to be included on the agenda. Wednesday 1st April (honestly!) @ 10.30am Tuesday 26th May @ 1:00pm Thursday 23rd July @ 10.30am Monday 14th September @ 1:00pm Thursday 12th November @ 10.30am

Collaborative Contracts available with Buyers’ Guides

Did you know that there are in excess of 150 collaborative Framework Agreements available for the University to make use of? These have been set up by APUC, other HE consortia, and the Scottish or UK Government; we are already utilising a good number of these, while a few may not always be appropriate for our purchasing profile, due to local contracting arrangements (e.g. catering supplies). However, if you see something from the following lists that you would like more information on, please contact any member of the Procurement team; we can provide a Buyer’s Guide, or information on what the agreement covers, how to access it, and pricelists if available.

Air Filters

Decorator Paint & Sundries

Hair & Beauty

Alcohol (Spirits, Core Wines Beer, Cider and PPS)

Diffraction Apparatus

Healthcare Student Uniforms

Direct Media Recruitment Advertising Door Maintenance, Repair, Inspection and Including Supply

Hot Beverage Dispensing Equipment and Ingredients

Apple Agreement Applications and Web Development Services Audio Visual (inc. Video Conferencing) Supply, Design, Installation, Maintenance

eBooks and eBook Collections (The supply of)

HR & Payroll Systems Industrial Gases

Audio Visual Consumables

Electrical Sundries Supply of

Audiovisual Equipment - Lot 1 Equipment Supply

Electronic Components - Lot 1 Electronic Components

Innovative Catering Concepts (ICC2009) Insurance - Framework (Focus on Colleges/Small HEI's)

Audit Services

Employee Assistance Programme

International Airmail

Banking Services (2014) Biomass Framework - Energy Supply Agreement Biomass -Supply of Wood Fuel (Pellets) Framework Agreement BlackBoard

Engineering & Design consumables and Storage & Material handling Products Executive Recruitment / Headhunters

Ironmongery & Trade Tools IT Consumables

External Print Services

IT Hardware - Mobile and Desktop

Facilities Management

IT Peripherals IT Related Accessories & Parts (ITRAP)

Boiler Maintenance

Finance Systems

Building Materials

Fine Chemicals

IT Services Managed Services

Business Travel One Stop Shop

Fire Fighting Equipment (Supply and Maintenance)

Cash & Valuables in Transit

Fitness and Sports Equipment

JANET - 3G (Mobile broadband service) JANET - Data Centre & Cloud Services (JA.net Brokerage)

Catering Disposables & Kitchen & Dishwasher Chemicals including Dosing Equipment (Supply & Distribution of) Catering Sundries - Supply & Delivery of Childcare Vouchers Scheme (The Supply and Delivery of) Cleaning Materials and Disposable Paper Products COACH HIRE SERVICES Confectionery, Snacks, Soft Drinks, Cakes and Ancillary Products ConsultancyONE

Fixed Wire Testing

JANET - Transmission Services & Infrastructure (Telecommunications)

Floor Coverings

JANET txt - SMS for Education

Fresh Bakery Products

Journal Binding and Book repairs

Fresh Butcher Meat

Laboratory Chemicals

Fresh Dairy Products

Laboratory Equipment (Purchase) Laboratory Equipment Maintenance & Repair Services Agreement (LEMS) Laboratory Plastic-ware, Glassware & Sundries

Fresh Fish & Seafood Fresh Fruit & Vegetables

Courier & Parcel Services- Same Day Culture Media Data Centre Equipment & Consultancy - Lot 1 Equipment Debt Collection Services

Frozen Food inc Frozen and Chilled Potato Chips (FROZ11) (Supply and Distribution of) Furniture (including Teaching Boards and Storage Solutions) Generic SIP and IP Handsets Grocery provisions and Chilled Foods

Laundry Cleaning Services Legal Services - General Commercial - Lots 1, 6, 11 and 16 Library General Supplies - General Supplies Liquid Fuels - Vehicle & Heating Fuels

Liquid Handling Robotics Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanners

Pan Government Vehicle Leasing 路 Solution and Fleet Outsource Framework - RM858 Paper and Specialist Printing Paper

Marketing Services (Fully Managed Service)

PAT Testing Services

Marketing Services (Multi Lot)

Pecos Integration Support

Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography Equipment Media Buying & Planning (Advertising)

Periodicals (The supply of)

Software License Reseller Microsoft Software

Microscopes & Imaging

Pest Control

Mobile Voice & Data Services

Photographic Equipment & Consumables

路 Network Equipment - Lot 1 Equipment only NMR Spectrometers Notebook and Tablet Devices Occupational Health for Staff and Healthcare Students Office & Special Moving Services INCL Storage Office Equipment & Print Estate Audit Services - Full Catalogue Office Equipment & Associated Services Office Supplies (Stationery, Paper) Office Supplies and Computer Consumables - lot 2 computer consumables Oligo Bases and Custom Made Oligo Overpayment Recovery Services

Soft Drinks, Fruit Juice Concentrate and Associated Products and Services Soft Furnishings - Lot 1 Bedding and Bathroom Software Licence Resellers

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

Natural Gas

Signs / Signage

Pension Services

Media Services

Multi Modality National Desktop and Notebook Agreement - Desktop National Education Printer Agreement National Education Recruitment Advertising & Resourcing Services (NERARS) National Franking Machines Agreement National Server and Storage Agreement (NSSA)

Sequencers

Specialist Paper (RM1078)

Plumbing & Heating Consumables

Supply of Electricity (HH, NHH and Domestic) Supported Factories and Businesses - Furniture and Associated Products Temporary and Interim Staff

Postal Services

Timber Products

Pre Paid Envelopes

Tool Hire

Print Books and Standing Orders (The Supply of)

Transmission Electron Microscopes

Professional Buying Tools

Travel Services

Promotional Goods - Lot 1 Promotional Products Provision of Lift Maintenance Services Quantity Surveying Services Radiochemicals for use in Research and Teaching Recycling Bins

Vehicle Hire and Leasing Vehicle Purchase Vending Equipment (VEND11) (Supply and Distribution of) Veterinary Supplies Washroom Services

Road Maintenance Materials

Waste Management / Multi Lot

Road Surfacing

Water & Wastewater Services

Routing and Switching Equipment

Water Coolers (900W)

Salary Sacrifice Management Service

Water Quality Management (Legionella) 3 Lots

Salt For Winter Maintenance

Web Conference Services

Sandwiches

White Goods

Scanning Electron Microscopes

Window Coverings

The Legal Framework and Policy & Procedures The aims of the University’s Procurement Policy & Procedures are to deliver maximum value and minimum risk through fair, efficient and effective purchasing processes, while ensuring compliance with EU Procurement rules. This is likely to be a challenging year in the procurement sector, as it will see the transposition of the EU Public Procurement Directive 2014 into a new set of regulations, along with the implementation of a new piece of legislation; namely the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act. Once the new Regulations and Act are live, all procurement exercises must adhere to the guidance contained therein, so clearly the central Procurement team will require to stay updated on all aspects of the changes that relate to our organisation, in order to remain compliant.

Some of the main areas are likely to cover; • • • • •

New rules & guidance on tendering below current EU thresholds A need to comply with the Sustainable Procurement Duty in the Act Greater consideration given on how to involve SMEs, third sector bodies and supported businesses within procurement exercises. A need to publish and maintain a Contracts Register for all contracts over £50k (total contract value). Consideration of Community Benefits for all major contracts

You can of course find our current Policy & Procedures on the Procurement website.

Contract Management Process Procurement have introduced a Contract Management Process in 2015. Initially this is for high value/risk suppliers but it’s hoped this could eventually be used in lower value contracts too. This allows both the contract manager and Procurement to assess how the contract is performing using a simple scoresheet. It highlights areas of concerns which then allows the contract manager to discuss aims of improving the service with the supplier. It also helps in developing supplier relationships with the aim of maximising efficiency and collaborating towards common goals.

Contracts can be considered to be running successfully when: • • • • • • •

the arrangements for service delivery continue to be satisfactory to both parties, and the expected business benefits and value for money are being achieved or exceeded the supplier is efficient, co-operative and responsive the organisation understands its obligations under the contract there are no surprises there are no disputes professional and objective discussions over changes and issues are straightforward and easily managed efficiencies are being realised.

With the introduction of the Contract Management Process, the aim is to have our contracts running with all of the above as routine.

Review of Travel Management Services The University has been using FCm Travel Solutions for its travel management requirements since 1st August 2010, and the contract has recently expired. Since then, we have been operating on an informal month-by-month arrangement only with FCm. To replace that, we were hoping to utilise the new Scottish Government framework agreement for travel services, by running a mini-competition or using the top ranked supplier. However, this framework award process has been delayed, and will not be in place until July 2015 at the earliest now. Following a review of other options open to us, and subsequent agreement by SPARG, we have decided to proceed via an alternative framework for travel services, operated by the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium. RGU can potentially call off a contract with a provider for a 4 year term under that overarching framework; Key Travel is the number one ranked provider on the One Stop Shop lot of the agreement, and we have the option to use them directly. A number of other Scottish Universities (including Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Napier & Glasgow Caledonian) currently use Key Travel, and they come very highly praised by those we have spoken with. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also had a number of meetings with Key Travel account managers, and they appear to be very switched-on and in particular have a bespoke approach to the Education sector. A trial with Key Travel has been running since 4th February with the School of Engineering, IDEAS, ABS and the International Office. This is due to run until early April, at which point and all being well, the service provision is hoped to be expanded to all Schools and Departments within the University. More detail on that will be forthcoming as the trial progresses.

PECOS Upgrade PECOS will be upgraded in late 2015. RGU has used PECOS since 2009 and this is the first upgrade which will significantly change the appearance and terminology of the system. A screenshot of the new homepage is below. It has the benefit of having relevant information as soon as the user logs in such as any outstanding orders and announcements from Procurement on any new contracts etc. System testing is still taking place and we will update when the go live date is known. Training sessions for PECOS Buyers and Hospitality Bookers will be provided on this upgrade and we also intend to put together an online training package for PECOS.

Project EDAM EDAM (Equipment Database and Maintenance) is a recent sector initiative with some exciting potential, if a rather cheesy title (a common pun in the HE sector, which we thankfully can’t take the credit for!). It came about after a UK wide strategic workstream was set up to push forward an initiative on equipment sharing. The EDAM initiative is a joint venture between APUC and SULSA (a research pooling partnership between the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Strathclyde), taking the lead on behalf of the other research groupings across Scotland. The EDAM website delivers a tool to record and track the laboratory equipment estate across HE/FE in Scotland. This tool will also allow scientists and researchers to easily find out where and what technology is available in their, and potentially other, institutions allowing expensive equipment to be better utilised by effective collaborative usage. Other benefits of EDAM; • Allows colleagues to meet conditions of grant funding in respect of the Wakeham review. • Identification of redundant laboratory equipment, facilitating re-use or re-sale. • Ability to let laboratory equipment maintenance agreements on a collaborative basis. The RGU Procurement team has recently gained access to the EDAM website, and it now only remains for the University to populate it with data. If you would like to be involved in this project, please contact us and we can arrange access for your School staff as appropriate.

Sustainable Procurement News Sustainable news in brief! For more information on any of the topics, please get in touch with procurement@rgu.ac.uk

• Procurement are getting ready to roll out WARPit, a tool allowing for reuse and recycling of University furniture,

and therefore reducing the number of furniture purchases. (See the following WARPit update)

• APUC are preparing to launch its sector wide ‘Sustain’ tool which will assess the sustainability of suppliers.

Suppliers withinthe initial assessment phase will be those with high sector spend, and where there may be opportunities for influence over processes. The tool looks to gather information on the entire supply chain to ensure transparency and sustainable behaviours are being followed. For more information, please check out the Development & Sustainability area at www.apuc-scot.ac.uk/

• New EU legislation will introduce a sustainable procurement duty, which will require public bodies to think about

how to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of its area when making regulated purchases (£50K plus). Guidance is currently being developed by the Scottish government. Expected implementation date of 11 late 2015-early 2016.

WARPit: Furniture Re-use

Potential Benefits:

WARPit is a website which allows staff to dispose of or claim furniture in a sustainable way within the University.

Easy to use, WARPit is set up like many familiar online shopping sites, like Amazon or Ebay. Once registered a user can search for items required (e.g. a desk or chair) or can upload any unused items cluttering the office for others within the University to search and claim.

•

We plan to hold training sessions on 16th April 2015, please get in touch Saves money from department if you are interested in attending. Sessions will last for 1 hour. budgets on unnecessary re-buys of furniture Less landfill charges as a result For more information, please contact Procurement, or get started by of excess furniture being registering at binned www.warp-it.co.uk/rgu Reduced impact on the environment – less to landfill, less CO2 output from the manufacture and shipment of new furniture Frees up valuable storage space Reduces staff processing time (bypasses the quote-purchase order-invoice process)