Suppliers

Purchasing procedure for goods and services

We are always looking at ways to improve the value for money obtained from our purchases and this includes considering how we can ensure that our contracts are accessible to all businesses and social groups regardless of size or background. Wolverhampton Homes is governed by a range of procurement legislation including some which is mandated by the European Union. The overall purpose of the legislation is to ensure that we conduct our procurement in a fair, open and transparent way.  The legislation and our own internal procedures determine the approach we use which we aim to carry out in proportion to the value of the spend whilst being mindful of the need to remain within our legal and social obligations.  Regardless of the process that is used we will always keep records that will allow our auditors to examine the way we have conducted our business.

£0 – £5,000

Competitive quotations are not required, but the purchasing officer will obtain and record at least one written quotation and be satisfied that the costs are reasonable. A direct approach to a single supplier is acceptable.  A formal purchase order will be issued and this will contain the terms and conditions that will apply.This form of quotation process is continuously under review to ensure a fair distribution of work and to make sure that where there is likely to be a repeat requirement for similar goods or services consideration is given to the use of a more formal contract.

£5,001 – £50,000

At least three written quotations must be obtained and if the goods or services are required over a period of time rather than a ‘one-off’ we may conduct a formal tender process.  We expect to be able to advertise much of the work at this level on this website or Find It In Wolverhampton .

£50,001 – EU Threshold

A formal tender process will be undertaken and this requires authorisation from one of our Senior Management Team.  The way in which we undertake this will be one of the following:

• open tender (all interested contractors submit a tender in response to an advertisement);
• restricted procedure (expressions of interest from interested contractors in response to an advertisement, with a selection of those contractors being invited to submit a tender);
• where an appropriate Framework agreement exists, tenders shall be invited using the Framework agreement from capable contractors having regard to the principles of Value for Money.  A Framework agreement is a type of ‘call-off’ contract that has been awarded through a competitive process by another organisation for example Wolverhampton City Council, the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) and West Mercia Supplies (WMS)

In all cases we will evaluate the tenders using a number of different criteria to determine the Most Economically Advantageous Tender.  This is commonly referred to as ‘MEAT’ and essentially means the tender that offers the right balance between the quality of the goods & services and cost.

Above EU Thresholds

The European Union sets financial limits for all public contracting authorities above which contract opportunities must be made available potential suppliers in all EU states.  There is a formal well documented process that we must follow unless we are able to use a Framework arrangement.  

The current thresholds (valid from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013) are:

Contracts above this threshold must be advertised via a Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

The most common types of procedure are as follows:

• Open Procedure - This allows anyone to submit a tender.  The tender must be advertised in the OJEU, it can also be published in the UK press but this cannot appear before the publication of the OJEU notice.
• Restricted Procedure – A notice is published in the OJEU inviting prospective contractors to express an interest in a particular contract.  Those expressing an interest are short-listed and those on this list are subsequently invited to submit a tender.

Where do we advertise?

All of our contract opportunities can now be found on our e-procurement portal and to improve efficiency all suppliers will be expected to use this portal to respond to opportunities:

http://wolverhamptonhomes.g2b.info/

In addition we may also advertise in:

• www.finditinwolverhampton.co.uk
• Contracts Finder
• TED – Tenders Electronic Daily – for contracts above the EU Threshold

Approved Contractors - Constructionline and CHAS

Wolverhampton Homes no longer operates a list of ‘Approved Contractors’. We expect all of our suppliers offering construction and related services to be registered on Constructionline and hold a CHAS or equivalent health and safety accreditation.  Constructionline is the government’s register of construction suppliers who have already completed a pre-qualification process and CHAS (the Contractors Health and Safety Scheme) provides a health and safety specific pre-qualification.  We may take invitations to quote for contracts of this type up to the value of £50,000 from Constructionline suppliers on a rotational basis or they may be advertised on the sites already mentioned if we believe that this will provide a better way into the market place.

Tender Guidance

Tendering documentation may vary in detail but we will:

• avoid over specifying a requirement
• invite a sufficient number of tenderers to ensure fair competition but remove barriers to participation by small suppliers without discriminating against larger suppliers
• provide clear and standard documentation
• give all tenderers equal opportunity
• provide feedback to unsuccessful bidders

You may seek clarification on any of the points contained in the tender documents, by contacting the named person, at any time prior to the closing date of the tenders. Tenders that are received after the deadline for submission will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.  An example of this might be where the e-sourcing portal is unavailable at the time of submission and we are able to verify this. The award criteria used for assessing bids will be detailed in the Tender documents.

What will be expected of you as a supplier/contractor

• To be reliable and provide a dependable service
• Promote good and open communication
• Be willing to advise and suggest alternatives to reduce cost or wastage and minimise our impact on the environment whilst maintaining or improving overall quality of the product/service
• Conduct any business ethically, honestly, professionally and with integrity in order to support our own policy statements
• Inform us of any instances of fraud or malpractice you become aware of while working on its behalf.
• Be customer focused - work closely with our tenants, respect their property & that of their neighbours and keep them informed about the progress of work.

What you can expect from us

• We will promote good and open communication
• We will advise and suggest alternatives to reduce cost or wastage whilst maintaining or improving overall quality of the product/service
• We will act ethically, honestly, professionally and with integrity   
• We will ensure prompt payment of your accounts and aim to pay all undisputed invoices within 30 days.  Our method of payment is electronically by BACS.  .
• We will provide appropriate feedback on all tendering procedures
• We will investigate, promptly and thoroughly, all concerns raised and will take appropriate action.

Procurement Collaboration

We actively seek out opportunities to collaborate with our partners in Local or Central Government and other social housing organisations.  For example, we are registered with Procurement for Housing, OGC Buying Solutions and use purchasing consortium such as ESPO and WMS Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) and Black, Asian and Minority Enterprises (BAME). We are committed to helping profit and non-profit SME’s, and the voluntary and community sectors to promote economic growth within the Wolverhampton area.

For further information please email us at procurement@wolverhamptonhomes.org.uk or contact us.