1. Office Supplies Ref: PS/07/002/Office Supplies ITT Information 2 nd April 2008 www.procurement.scotland.gov.uk

2. Background to Procurement Scotland and CoE’s

3. Goods or services are standard or of a similar nature across the largely common requirements of users in the public sector in Scotland. Where the utilisation of contracts established by a single central organisation would offer: –improved cost through consolidated procurement volumes and value –optimised use of scarce procurement resources and skills and to concentrate market intelligence information Where a single contracting interface facilitates the efficiency and competitiveness of suppliers. Category A Definition

4. Procurement Scotland has Ministerial endorsement to manage the procurement of a specified range of common goods and services across all sectors Established to deliver sustainable best economic value for money (VFM) solutions in line with national targets, through effective collaboration throughout the procurement cycle and compliance to national contracts. An estimated £1 billion of the c£8 billion Public sector spend on goods and services across Scotland relates to ‘Category A’ goods and services.

5. PPRB (Public Procurement Reform Board) Collaboration Sectoral Leadership Policy CoE Landscape ePS MI People & Skills Comp. Supply Best Practice N P (National Procurement) P S (Procurement Scotland) C G C O P E (Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise) POLICEPOLICE A P U C (Advanced Procurement Universities & Colleges) E X C E L (Scotland Excel) FIREFIRE Steering Group NSS Steering Group ACPOSBoard Joint Committee CEFOA CAT A Local Govt CG, Agencies & NDPBs Health HE/FE Education

6. Category A Category B Category C1 National Strategies & Contracts: Goods or services of a similar standard or nature Where a single interface with the public sector facilitates efficiency and competitiveness of suppliers. E.g. IT HW, Telecoms, Office Equipment & Supplies Sector Specific Strategies & Contracts: Commodities and Services that tend to be unique to a specific sector, yet common within that sector Local/Regional Strategies & Contracts: where it is appropriate to consolidate requirements on local/regional basis General Strategies & Contracts: Commodities not categorised as A or B. Establishment of contracts will be conducted as the remit of a single organisation. e.g. niche IT applications. Where interface coordinated via a sector CoE. E.g. Wheelie bins, Medical Equipment Category C Where interface coordinated via regional hub or local organisation

7. CoE Role To deliver collaborative national/sector procurement strategies & contracts that deliver best value for Scotland/sector To enable and drive procurement capability & expertise To facilitate and drive best practice: –Adherence to Legal, EU & Policy –Benchmarked & Consistent Strategic Procurement Processes (Toolkit) –Responsible Procurement –Process Efficiency & eEnablement –Performance Management –Supplier Engagement / SRM / Supply Chain Management

8. Key Messages/Commitment to Suppliers To deliver supply chains that represent best economic value to the public sector and which focus on total lifecycle costs and quality; To stimulate the marketplace, and ensure an equal playing field, for all suppliers by: –engaging proactively with supplier community; –developing an environment that fosters competition, innovation & continuous improvement, with strategies aligned to supply markets; –working collaboratively on a cross-sectoral basis using best procurement practice techniques; –streamlining and simplifying interfaces and processes for potential suppliers throughout the procurement cycle; –advertising opportunities for contracts accessible to all Scottish public sector bodies on a National Supplier Portal; –leading the full strategic procurement cycle in a fair and transparent manner, complying at all times with relevant public sector procurement regulations;

9. Key Messages/Commitment to Suppliers (Cont’d) –Defining requirements and specifications for goods and services that encourage creative solutions from suppliers; –Championing opportunities for eEnablement such as those offered by the eProcurement Scotl@and programme (www.eprocurementscotland.com), including e-invoicing;www.eprocurementscotland.com –Securing up-front volume commitment so that suppliers can be confident of minimum demand levels; –Offering meaningful feedback to suppliers on the evaluation of their proposal at the end of the tendering process; –Managing and monitoring transition and compliance to national contracts, via active promotion of agreements across the Scottish public sector; and –Maximising value from these contracts via supplier relationship management and continuous improvement projects.

10. Office Supplies specifics

11. Process supported by the National Category Forum (NCF) NCF is a dedicated cross sector group of individuals tasked with developing Category A Strategies. The NCF for Office Supplies consisted of representation from Excel, NHS National Procurement, Advanced Procurement for Universities & Colleges (APUC), Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise (CGCoPE), Local Authorities and Scottish Local Government Procurement Forum (SLGPF) The forum was developed in May 2007, bringing in cross sector experience and sector idiosyncrasies to ensure that standard and non-standard requirements are included within the strategy.

12. Scope Office Supplies consists of: General Stationery IT Consumables Paper In this instance, Office Supplies does not include: Office Equipment (Fax Machines, Photocopiers) Catering Supplies Cleaning Materials Furniture; and Electrical Equipment (including white and brown goods) Contract Duration: –3 years with an option to extend for a further year Each lot is evaluated on a separate basis, therefore each lot will have separate in/out of scope product groups

13. Objectives The Strategic Sourcing process is intended to address four key objectives: To leverage the £40+ million, spent annually, to realise improvements in the value for money obtained in the sourcing of office supplies, including reductions in product prices, enhancements to product quality and improvements in service levels, where appropriate; To increase the take up of leading processes and practices across the sector, including increases in the efficiency of key transactional processes including order, delivery and payment; To release valuable ‘local’ and sector procurement resources to enable them to allow them address other areas of spend, increasing the range and depth of third-party expenditure influenced by procurement across the public sector; and To reduce the negative environmental and social impact of the use of office supplies. Development of Partnerships and/or consortia’s within the supply chain for office supplies focussing on the SME agenda: Indigenous suppliers have local knowledge; and Relationships developed over a period of time; and Regional geographical understanding and expertise

14. What do we Expect from Suppliers? In order to help us do business with you in a mutually beneficial manner suppliers can contribute by: For both existing and new contracts, providing best value goods and services across the Scottish public sector; Sharing your plans for technology or service development and your ideas and opportunities for improvement in the way the public sector procures these requirements and manages supplier relationships; Embracing e-technology opportunities such as those offered by eProcurement Scotl@nd (ePS); Respecting the outcome of contract award decisions, by refraining from trying to bypass them via approaches to individual organisations; Engaging in continuous improvement programmes, proactively; Offering cost reduction and other efficiency and/or service initiatives that deliver best value to the Scottish public sector; and If successful when bidding for Category A contracts, being fully engaged and supportive of our structured supplier management process that will be used to measure all suppliers on a periodic basis, including provision of relevant management information. Providing feedback on tender processes and any perceived barriers to business; Last but not least, ensuring that the best value offer for both parties is available