PURCHASING EXERCISE

1. PURCHASINGEXERCISE Establishing your Requirement EXISTING CONTRACTS NEW REQUIREMENT CONSOLIDATE SUPPLIER SPEND COMPILE ESTIMATE OBTAIN APPROVAL IN-HOUSE / EXTERNAL What is the estimated whole life spend of your procurement ? Under £4000 £4001-£49999 £50,000 Tender Lead Buyers Two written comparisons (letters/email/fax/catalogue) – keep with copy of purchase order for minimum of 2 years Minimum of three written competitive quotes from suppliers in accordance with Financial Regulations Formal Tender as per EU Regulations (contact Purchasing Department) Any requirements for furniture, computer items, stationery and advertising must go through the Lead Buyer - info can be found on the Purchasing website Consider terms and conditions e.g warranties, payment terms Consider specification / environmental issues / risks Consider references / approved suppliers Add requisition and await approval/purchase order no. GRN and pass invoice for payment Above £50,000 subject to full Tender Process. High value projects – contact Procurement Manager. Above £154,477 subject to European Procedures in Tendering. See Contracts Procedure Rules Appendix B

2. PURCHASING EXERCISE – GLOSSARY OF TERMS EXISTING CONTRACTS NEW REQUIREMENT CONSOLIDATE SUPPLIER SPEND If there is already a contract or arrangement for the supply of goods or services that you require, this can be the basis for the quotation enquiry. Check Purchasing website for framework agreements/contract. Check that what you are ordering is a new requirement and not already included in an existing contract or supplier arrangement. Genuine new requirements must be procured by obtaining quotations (check with Finance Officer) Are you going to be placing a number of orders with this supplier over a period of time? If so, you should be able to negotiate better terms than for one-off orders. Also, are other Depts ordering from the same supplier? The same principle applies. COMPILEESTIMATE OBTAIN APPROVAL IN-HOUSE / EXTERNAL Before committing any of University money, you must gain approval. Orders must not be placed before obtaining Budget Holder’s approval checking the department has sufficient funds. IT, stationery, furniture and advertising go through lead buyer. From previous experience of contracts or from preliminary research, calculate an approximate cost of the goods or services you require. That way you will know which procurement route to take, the budget you will require and what is a good price. Do we need to buy in the goods or services or will we obtain better value for money by ‘making our own’? What is the estimated whole life spend of your procurement ? This question asks you to consider what the total cost implication of your purchase will be. For example, if you are considering a 3 year contract and the cost is £2,000 per year, then the contract value is £6,000. If there is no set number of years, then the annual sum must be multiplied by 4 to give the value for this assessment. Alternatively,if you are considering ordering, say, a printer, then you should also be considering the cost of the ink cartridges.For example, if the printer costs £600 and will be used for 3 years, and the cartridges cost £500 a year then the whole life cost of your order is £2,100 (£600 plus 3 x £500). Approved Suppliers Warranty Payment Terms Specification References Don’t forget to ask about warranties and guarantees when considering where to place your order. The more extensive (for free) the better! Getting the specification right first time helps avoid extras that the supplier may add and charge for later. Working with the supplier can help here. If you can obtain satisfactory references about your supplier from other depts, Universities or colleagues, it will increase your confidence. The University terms are end of month following month of invoice unless previously agreed by Finance There are now a number of SUPC/University approved suppliers Ordering through these suppliers reduces risks and avoids the quotation process. NEED HELP? – Jane Spendley Ex 3391 Tracy Wilson Ex 3315 Risks Delivery Environmental Issues It is critical that you are aware of potential risks and that you have a plan to address them. Contact the A Kingston if you have any concerns. Check delivery costs, special arrangements, chargeable containers, delivery instructions etc Consider the environmental implications of all of our purchases.