1. PHILIP BALLANTINE Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) http://www

2. 1. Introduction
2. Walkthrough the portal
3. Procurement tips and questions

3. why is it relevant to you?
What does CPD do, and
why is it relevant to you?
What is procurement? We meet with the client, help them describe what they need in the Specification document, and we advise on the best way to approach the market – which is usually by an open tender, advertised on our government tendering portal eTendersNI... more of that later...

4. Who does CPD carry out procurements for?

5. Which other organisations carry out procurements for government?
PaLS (health supplies and services)
Translink
Transport NI
Housing Executive
Education Authority
NI Water
All the local councils

6. Tell me about a typical year...
More than 5,000 contracts awarded by the NI public sector
Total value of government procurement in Northern Ireland is more than £1.6bn
On average almost £5m awarded per day

7. What is eTendersNI? Trainer notes:
Trainer notes:
This is simply a screenshot of the etendersNI homepage. If you Google ‘eTendersNI’ you will find it very easily. Save the homepage into your internet favourites for next time.

8. New enterprises are welcome!
Trainer notes:
We always welcome new enterprises, as you can see on our homepage, there is a section for these organisations, to help people make the transition.

9. Which buyers are using eTendersNI?
Trainer notes:
All of central government departments use eTendersNI, and a number of our local councils.
There is still an older portal eSourcingNI – continue to check this one for a short time, as a few of the councils are still using it, and you don’t want to miss out on anything. Over time you will find the councils moving across to eTendersNI, as the Department of Finance is paying for it, on behalf of the wider public sector, to enable a ‘one stop shop’ of information for businesses wanting to compete for government contracts.

10. What does joining eTendersNI mean for a supplier?
No charge to join or use the portal
Access to information on a wide range of NI public sector opportunities
Submit tenders online (no hand delivered tenders accepted)
Trainer notes:
Some of the councils were still using printed and hand delivered tenders – but under EU law, they must now use online tendering. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find it much more convenient than printing a lengthy document and trying to beat the traffic to hand in your tender!

11. Finding the opportunities on eTendersNI
Trainer notes:
Returning to the home page, you can view a list of current opportunities, without logging in as a registered user. The red arrow shows this option on the home page.

12. Finding the opportunities on eTendersNI
Use ‘View current opportunities’
Use the advanced ‘Search’ function
Trainer notes:
Zooming in closer on this part of the home screen – the search options are along the dark blue bar at the top of the screen.
a) Select ‘Calls for Tenders’ in the drop-down option, and type in any text you like... Or
b) Use the Advanced Search function .... or
c) View current opportunities (brings up a complete list in date order)

13. Check you haven’t missed the deadline
Click on a title link to find out more
Trainer notes:
When viewing a list of the opportunities, click on a CfT Title (hyperlink) to view more information.
Check in the ‘Status’ column that it isn’t already too late to submit the tender.

14. Examples of an Advanced ‘Search’
Select either ‘Supplies, Services or Works’
Search by ‘Buyer Organisation’
Trainer notes:
The Advanced Search function offers a wide range of options – e.g. Set ‘to and from’ dates, select Status as ‘Tender Submission’ only, search by the name of the buyer, or whether its ‘supplies, services or works’
Set ‘to’ and ‘from’ dates to only find new tenders
Search by ‘Workspace Status’

15. Are suppliers using eTendersNI?
More than 17,000 tenders submitted
More than 11,000
suppliers registered
Trainer notes:
We have been delighted with the levels of activity through the portal since the launch in April 2015. 15 15

16. Key tips for using eTendersNI
Don’t wait until a tender is published, to get familiar with the tender tool – allow time to build your skills
Select your tender team now and have information ready (e.g. ISO accreditations, insurance)
Trainer notes:
Just like using Word or Excel for the first time, don’t wait until you have an urgent deadline, before learning how to use the packages you will need to complete the assignment! 16 16

17. Key tips for using eTendersNI
Aim to submit your first tender at least two hours before the deadline
New users may require assistance from the helpdesk at the point of submitting the final tender – allow enough time
This is particularly important if you find you need help from either the helpdesk or your own IT support to adjust settings on your computer to enable tender submission
Trainer notes:
As a new user, submit your first tender early, to allow time if you need to contact the helpdesk.
There is nothing to stop you submitting the day before the deadline, then re-submitting again if you want to refine it further on the final day. The evaluation panel won’t see any previous versions submitted. 17 17

18. A walkthrough of the portal

19. Understanding the abbreviations used on eTendersNI screens:
Suppliers are referred to as Economic Operators (EO) Tender opportunities are Calls for Tenders (CfT) Buyers are referred to as Contracting Authorities (CA)
Trainer notes:
If you don’t learn these, you will find the portal confusing, as the acronyms are used frequently, to save space on the screen. 19 19

20. Before registering Trainer notes:
Before you register, visit the home page and select the ‘Minimum system requirements’ link, to test if you need to download or update anything, to be able to use eTendersNI 20 20

21. Trainer notes:
The pop-up screen will show various links to test out your system – check each one works ok.

22. Have your D-U-N-S number ready
Trainer notes:
We require a Dun & Bradstreet number for all suppliers registering on eTendersNI – simply to confirm your name and address. If you don’t currently have a number, contact D&B and they will get you one (free of charge, within a few days).
You won’t be able to register on eTendersNI until you have your D-U-N-S number.
Have your D-U-N-S number ready

23. EO Administrator User Choose who you feel is best to fulfil this role
This user can edit all your organisation details on eTendersNI
Get this person to carry out the registration process
They can add / delete other users after this
Trainer notes:
Generally your Administrator is the person who initially registers your company on the portal. You can transfer the role to someone else later. 23 23

24. EO Users These users can: Express an interest in a Call for Tender
Submit a request for clarification and view responses
Prepare and submit tender returns
Accept / reject contract awards
Trainer notes:
The Administrator can add other colleagues as ‘Users’ – they can work on tenders but not edit the core information on the supplier profile. 24 24

25. During Registration Follow the link from the home page
Expect to answer basic questions about your business
e.g. Approx # of employees
Trainer notes:
To register, follow the simple link from the top left of the home page. 25 25

26. 26 26

27. Registering for eTendersNI – potential pitfall
During Registration
Registering for eTendersNI – potential pitfall
Opportunity to register interest in all tenders published by a particular Contracting Authority – skip if interested in opportunities from more than one CA.
Trainer notes:
Most of the questions at the registration stage are very straight forward. Anything with a red asterisk must be completed.
You can skip questions without a red asterisk – for example the ‘CAs of interest’ question, this is only relevant where there is only one buyer you are interested in, and you want notifications about all their tenders. Otherwise skip the question! 27 27

28. Next step: save information to your profile about relevant categories that interest you

29. Select the ‘EO management’ link from the left of the home page screen
Trainer notes:
Start by selecting the ‘EO management’ link from the left of the home page.
Then a new menu will pop-up with five options – you want the second option, ‘Edit CPV Codes’
Select the ‘Edit CPV Codes’ option from the main options on this screen

30. CPV codes are used across all the EU countries to classify contracts into categories
Most codes are 8 or 9 digits, but eTendersNI allows you to search without knowing your code – start by selecting the ‘Search’ button (magnifying lens symbol)
Trainer notes:
CPV codes are used by procurement officials across the EU, to give everything you could possibly want to buy, a specific category with a unique 8 or 9 digit code.
Use the ‘magnifying lens’ symbol to start searching for your CPV codes.

31. Selecting procurement categories: using a word search
Type in the ‘Search’ text box and select the ‘Search’ button
The results will be listed
Select a CPV category from the results and the ‘Add to List’ button
Trainer notes:
In this example, I’m doing a simple word search for ‘communication’. Then from the results listed below I just pick out the relevant ones, and save them below. Then ‘Submit’ to move on and save these categories.
There are no limits to how many word searches I do, or how many categories I select – but bear in mind, the more categories you select, the more chance of receiving a deluge of s about tenders that aren’t specific to what your business does.
Select ‘Submit’ to save your categories

32. Using the category tree to find the exact category
Trainer notes:
Alternatively you could use the category tree to find what you’re looking for.
Use the + symbols to keep drilling down within a high level category until you find relevant categories.
Use the + and – symbols to navigate through the layers
Double-click on a title you are certain you want to select

33. Categories selected will appear in the ‘Selected Items’ list
Continue to search for as many categories as relevant to your organisation, before selecting ‘Submit’ to move on
Trainer notes:
Be very specific – for example don’t just select a general heading of ‘processed food and vegetables’ – drill deeper to select peas, mushrooms, peppers etc.

34. On this screen select ‘Finish’ to save your changes, and receive a success message
Trainer notes:
Once you’ve hit Finish then you’ll get a big green tick to let you know this was saved to your profile.
Your organisation Administrator will now receive alerts about tenders published in the selected categories