1. working in partnership
working in partnership
Technology Products RM1054
Customer and supplier toolkit guidance
4192-14 (Nov 14)
working in partnership
working in partnership
working in partnership
working in partnership

2. contents
01. Purpose 03
02. Key information when reading this document 04
03. Collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and Pro5 05
04. Benefits 06
05. Contract duration, value & eligible customers 08
06. Agreement scope and lot structure 09
07. Supplier matrix 11
08. Pricing 13
09. How to use the agreement 13
10. Pre-market engagement 14
11. Timescales 15
12. Award options 16
13. Procurement routes and tools 20
14. Award criteria 21
15. Finalising the call-off 23
16. Terms and conditions 23
17. Key tips when managing a further competition 24
18. Feedback and contact details 26
Note: To access the Annex information, please use the WinZip folder located in the Documents tab on the website here

3. 1 Purpose
1.1 This guidance document is intended to
serve three purposes:
1.1.1 It provides customers with guidance on
how to utilise the Technology Products
agreement and associated catalogue. Its
main purpose is to help those who have not
previously used our agreements, although
experienced procurement professionals
may still find the guidance useful;
1.1.2 It sets out actions that customers are
required to take in order to enter into call-off
agreements under this agreement; and
1.1.3 It informs agreement suppliers of the various
processes that customers will follow to
obtain goods and/or services under the
agreement.
03

4. 04
2 Key information when reading
this document
2.1 Frequently asked questions (FAQs) –
As we developed the agreement we
collated a number of FAQs which we have
provided a detailed response to. Should
you have a question on the agreement
please read the FAQs document (Annex
G) in the first instance.
2.2 Further competition process – we
have developed draft further competition
documentation (Annex D) that you
can tailor to suit your organisations
requirements.
We have developed call-off contracts
specific to the agreement that include
standard clauses that all suppliers have
agreed to. The text highlighted in yellow
and in square brackets[ ] needs to be
considered by the customer. Should
you wish to amend these you will need
to detail what elements you wish to
amend within your further competition
documentation.
2.3 Timescales – it is important that
you allow suppliers sufficient time to
respond to your further competition. For
a recommended timetable and notes,
please see section 11.

5. 305
3 Collaboration with the
Ministry of Defence and Pro5
3.1 Rather than having separate competing
agreements we pooled resources with
the Ministry of Defence and Pro5 and
worked collaboratively on the Technology
Products agreement. This agreement is a
direct result of that collaboration. The key
drivers for the partnership are:
3.1.1 To aggregate requirements and
spend to exert maximum leverage
on the market, with the aim of
delivering efficiencies and cost
savings to customers;
3.1.2 To reduce procurement process
costs for customers and suppliers
by providing a quick and efficient
route to market s in line with EU
regulations;
3.1.3 To provide a robust product/service
offering to all customers;
3.1.4 To share and increase knowledge
across the collaborative partners;
and
3.1.5 It makes sense.
3.2 Further information on our role can be
found here
3.3 Pro5 is a collaborative procurement
hub of consisting of the North East
Purchasing Organisation (NEPO), the
Yorksire Purchasing Organisation (YPO),
the Central Buying Consortium (CBC), the
Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation
(ESPO) which are all public sector
purchasing consortia governed by local
authorities. Further information on the role
of Pro5 can be found here

6. 06
4 Benefits
4.1 The benefits of using the agreement
to procure your commodity hardware,
software and/or services include:
4.1.1 Reduced timescales – Customers do
not need to run a full OJEU procurement
if procuring via this agreement, as this has
already been undertaken by the Crown
Commercial Service, Ministry of Defence
and Pro5. Customers will simply need to
identify their requirements, present these
to the market and award a contract.
For lower value purchases the suppliers to
this agreement will be providing content to
the Technology Catalogue.
Suppliers will also benefit from these
revised timescales, as they only need to
complete one OJEU procurement process.
4.1.2 Ease of use – The agreement is
simple to use, with expert procurement
advice available.
The catalogue is a simple self-service
method of purchasing.
4.1.3 Choice of supplier –. The
agreement offers an excellent choice
in suppliers (36) ranging from large
multinationals to British SMEs.
Having selected the relevant lot for your
procurement, you should, initially, invite all
suppliers within that lot to bid. See Section
12 for further information on running a
further competition or Direct Awarding.
The number of suppliers within a lot
should not be a deterrent. You may not
receive quotes or proposals from all
agreement suppliers. Experience shows
this is highly unlikely.
Agreement suppliers are required to
provide a response to calls for further
competition (though are not obliged to
bid). This provides you with the necessary
audit trail showing compliance with
procurement law.
Suppliers responding in the negative play
no further part in your procurement. If
you are concerned that you may receive
more bids than you have the resources to
deal with you are able to issue a Request
for Information (RFI) prior to running
the further competition and this allows
suppliers to opt out of bidding. Please
note only those suppliers who respond
negatively to the RFI should be eliminated.
A non-response to the RFI does not
constitute a negative. Please see ‘Section
10 Pre-Market Engagement’.
Suppliers who choose not to bid do so for
a number of reasons. These may include
your risk profile, not allowing sufficient
timescales for your further competition,
specialist markets
or preferential reseller pricing. Early
pre-market engagement (see section 10)
will help increase choice in supplier.

7. 07
4.1.4 Legality – The agreement is fully
legal and in line with EU regulations, as
EU procurement rules introduced in 2006
specifically recognise agreements as a
legitimate route to market. This reduces
procurement risk for customers, and
reduces bureaucracy in the procurement
process.
4.1.5 Template documentation –
Standard templates have been developed
and are available for customers to utilise if
they wish, which again reduce timescales
and procurement risk. These can be
found in Annexes E, F and I.
4.1.6 Assured supplier standards
– Suppliers appointed onto this
agreement are ‘pre-qualified’ as to their
general suitability. This means when
buying services from them, customers
are assured that they can meet the
appropriate standards in the provision of
goods and/or services.
4.1.7 Aggregation of spend –
Customers will receive the benefits of
an aggregated volume of spend and the
benefits associated with an increased
leverage on the market. Customers
can also work together to group their
requirements and submit these together
as one further competition. Crown
Commercial Service has an Aggregation
Team that will be happy to help you
with this.
4.1.8 Pre-defined Terms and
Conditions – Terms and conditions of
contract have been established for each
lot. For Lots 1, 2 and 3, where solutions
can be procured, there are Goods and
Services call-off terms. For Lot 4 and
commodity only procurements under
Lots 1, 2 and 3, use the Goods Only
call-off terms. All agreement suppliers
have signed and accepted this agreement
and terms and conditions of call-off. Only
comments in square brackets [ ] can be
amended and this is to be agreed by the
chosen supplier and customer.

8. 308
5 Contract duration, value and
eligible customers
5.1 The agreement will cover the period from
17/11/2014 to 16/11/2016.
5.2 While you can enter into long term
agreements (LTAs) under this agreement
for their specific requirements, you should
consider the business impact, benefits
realisation and risks when structuring
an LTA.
5.3 The OJEU value for this procurement
was set at £6,000,000,000 therefore
customers can procure anything included
within the scope of the agreement up to
this value. The OJEU can be found here
Customers who anticipate their
procurement requirement value will be
very high are asked to engage with the
relevant contact named in Section 22 of
this guidance document to discuss the
procurement further.
5.4 The agreement is available to all
public sector bodies, including central
government and the wider public sector,
social housing organisations, and
voluntary and community sector bodies.
5.5 If you have any questions, you are able to
contact the Crown Commercial Service
helpdesk for further clarity. Please email
info@ccs.gsi.gov.uk, stating your
organisation name and explain your query.

9. 309
6 Agreement scope and lot structure
The Agreement has the following lots, each
with its own scope:
6.1 Lot 1: Technology Hardware
6.1.1 The purpose of this lot is to provide
a route for requirements involving
hardware goods, associated software for
service/solution delivery, and service wrap
(i.e. the hands-on services associated
with installations and other ‘close to the
box’ services). This lot may be used for
volume requirements and anticipated
savings will be achieved through supplier
competition where suppliers offer different
solutions against an output based
specification generated by a customer.
Suppliers will be ‘vendor neutral’ and
offering a wide choice of technologies.
‘Off-the-Shelf’ products may be
purchased via this lot either in volume
or in low numbers providing for access
to a wide range of products. This lot will
also allow customers, via competition,
to appoint a single supplier for a defined
range of goods over a given period to
reduce time and cost associated with
regular requests for quotations (this is
particularly a wider public sector need
for smaller organisations with limited
resource).
6.2 Lot 2: Packaged Software
6.2.1 The purpose of this lot is to provide
a route for purchasing commoditised,
packaged software requirements through
specialist channel partners. This will allow
customers to purchase commoditised
software and associated hardware (where
the hardware is intrinsically linked to the
requirement) with the main focus being for
packaged software.
This lot may be used for volume
requirements and for the supply of
the full range of commercial and open
source off-the-shelf software, software
licenses and associated software services
including software asset management.
We anticipate savings will be achieved
through supplier competition where
suppliers offer different solutions against
an output based specification generated
by a customer.
Low volume/value requirements will
be available through the Technology
Catalogue.

10. 310
6.3 Lot 3: Secure Technology Products
and Disposals
6.3.1 This lot is aimed at suppliers of
commoditised technology products that
are capable of meeting specific protective,
Information Assurance requirements.
This lot is required by the Ministry Of
Defence (and other parts of government
concerned with high levels of security at
product level and in the supply-chain).
In some cases the products will be similar
to those purchased under lots 1 and 2
but in these instances the goods may be
deployed in an environment that requires
a high degree of supply-chain security
protection.
Cryptographic materials and CESG
‘Claims Tested Mark’ products will be
purchased primarily from these suppliers.
Secure data destruction and disposal
services (including ‘Accredited’ facilities
to ensure secure data destruction and
disposal facilities, both on and off-site) will
be included.
The suppliers under this lot will be
accredited to List-X status following
award of the agreement where they do
not currently have this accreditation.
6.4 Lot 4: User Devices
6.4.1 The purpose of this lot is to provide
a route for customers to procure (high)
volume client devices (including: desktop
PCs, laptops, tablets, thin clients)
with minimal service wrap. Service are
primarily limited to those available on the
equipment production line and as part of
the standard build).
This lot will be used (but not exclusively)
by us to provide a Managed Procurement
Service for commonly purchased
commodity hardware devices,
delivering aggregated requirements
and standardised specifications (where
possible), in particular supporting greater
use of eAuctions. The User Devices lot will
deliver the greatest savings through this
agreement with evidence from previous
eAuctions demonstrating savings in the
region of 16%. Savings of 20% can be
achieved through committing volumes.
This lot will remove distributor/reseller
margin and simplify the purchasing
process by allowing most requirements
to come straight off the equipment
production line. This will, therefore,
remove the costs associated with the
standard UK supply chain (involving
distributors and resellers).

11. 11
7 Supplier matrix
7.1 The supplier matrix is a live document
that provides customers with detailed
information on the agreement suppliers,
including:
7.1.1 The name of each supplier on each
lot under the agreement;
7.1.2 Whether they are an SME;
7.2 The information listed in the supplier
matrix can then be used to pre-select the
group of suppliers that you invite to your
further competition.
You will only need to invite suppliers that
can meet your full requirements, i.e. only
those on the lot that you will be running
the procurement under.

12. 12
7.3 Customers must access the supplier matrix before issuing their further competition
documentation to ensure all eligible suppliers are include
Lot 1 Lot 2 Lot 3 Lot 4
Supplier
Technology
Hardware
Packaged
Software
Secure
Technology
Products
User
Devices SME?
Acer P
Akhter P P 1
ANS Group PLC P 1
Bull Information Systems P
Bytes Software P
Centerprise P P P 1
Comparex P 1
Computacenter P P P
Dell P
Ergo Computing P 1
Esteem Systems P 1
European Electronique P P 1
Fujitsu Services P
HP Enterprise Services P
Insight Direct P P
Kelway International P P P
Lenovo P
Logicalis P
Maindec P 1
Misco UK Ltd P
Novatech P 1
Novosco P 1
Pervasive Networks P 1
Phoenix Software P 1
Probrand Ltd P 1
Samsung P
SCC P P P
Softcat Ltd P P P
Software Box P P P 1
Stone Computers P 1
Storm Technology P
Supplies Team Ltd P
Toshiba P
Trustmarque P 1
Viglen P P
XMA Ltd P
Total 36 20 15 7 10 16
Total SMEs 16
Total SME as % 44%

13. 13
8 Pricing
8.1 For lots 1, 2 and 3 suppliers have
submitted maximum day rates which
are available on demand from CCS.
Please contacts the CCS help desk
info@ccs.gsi.gov.uk
8.2 The pricing information provided is only a
maximum baseline. Customers that run
a further competition might obtain lower
prices specific to their requirement.
9 How to use the agreement
9.1 This agreement can be accessed in
a number of different ways, based on
different factors including customer
requirements, customer size, customer
drivers and targets, customer market
knowledge, and customer preference.
Please use the Procurement Decision Tree
tool in Annex H for help accessing the
agreement.
9.2 Customers must procure their
requirements in accordance with the
procedures in this guidance and the
requirements of the regulations.
9.3 All customers must undertake the
following steps:
9.3.1 Review this guidance
documentation, the further competition
guidance (Annex D) and the Procurement
Decision Tree (Annex H);
9.3.2 Determine your requirement (this
can be for commodity goods, a number
of support services, or any combination of
the above); and
9.3.3 Determine the best route for your
procurement, and action this in line with
the parameters outlined in the sections
below.

14. 14
10 Pre-market engagement
10.1 Pre-market engagement (i.e. engaging
with the agreement supply base
prior to issuing further competition
documentation) is permitted under the
agreement. Indeed, this pre-market
engagement is welcomed by the supply
base and is a useful tool for customers to:
1. determine the best procurement route
2. ask suppliers questions to help you
define your requirement
3. allow for innovation and supplier
expertise to help you refine your
requirement
4. assess suppliers interested in
competing for your requirement
When running a further competition,
pre-market engagement is also useful to
determine exactly what information needs
to be included in your requirement to
obtain the best proposals from the
supply base.
10.2 If engaging with the market prior to
awarding a contract, you should ensure
that you complete this exercise on a fair,
open, and transparent basis (i.e. allow
the opportunity for engagement with all
suppliers on the agreement, and provide
all suppliers with the same information
during the pre-market engagement
exercise.
10.3 To engage with the market via a Request
for Information (RFI), you can either email
the suppliers directly using the contact
details available on the supplier matrix, or
utilise the free Crown Commercial Service
eSourcing tool.
10.4 We recommend the following format for
engaging with the market:
1. Call a plenary meeting with all
interested suppliers
2. Present your initial requirements
along with all available due-diligence
information
3. Have a question and answer session
4. Invite suppliers to one-to-one meetings
to explore your requirement further.
10.5 Pre-market engagement is not necessary
when purchasing via the catalogue route.

15. 15
11 Timescales
11.1 Allowing sufficient time for suppliers to
consider and respond to your further
competition is imperative. This section
provides some hints for your further
competition. Please note these are a
guide and should be amended to reflect
your requirement. Some helpful hints are:
11.1.2 During peak times (for example the
quarterly financial periods with the main
one being March) of the year you may
wish to bring forward or delay your further
competition process;
11.1.3 Allow sufficient time for bidders to
consider your response, should further
clarifications be required on your response
you may wish to extend your closing date;
and
11.1.4 You should include a standstill
period for above OJEU purchases
11.1.5 There is no requirement to place
a Contract Award Notice in the European
Journal following call-off from a framework
agreement. Please see section 15.

16. 16
12 Awards options
12.1 Direct ordering without a further
competition
12.2. If a Contracting Body can determine that:
12.2.1 its Goods and/or Services
Requirements can be met by the
Agreement Supplier’s catalogue/
description of the Goods and/or Services
and is in scope of the agreement as set
out in Section 6); and
12.2.2 all of the terms of the proposed
Call Off Agreement are laid down in the
model contract and the Template Call
Off Terms do not require amendment or
any supplementary terms and conditions
(other than the inclusion of optional
provisions already provided for in the
Template Call Off Terms);
12.2.3 then the Contracting Body may award
a Call Off Agreement in accordance with
the procedure set out in paragraph 12.2.4.
12.2.4 Subject to paragraph 12.2 above any
Contracting Body awarding a Call Off
Agreement under this Agreement without
holding a further competition shall:
12.2.4.1 develop a clear Statement of
Requirements;
12.2.4.2 apply the Direct Award Criteria
to the catalogue of the Goods and/
or Services for all Suppliers capable of
meeting the Statement of Requirements in
order to establish which of the Agreement
Suppliers provides the most economically
advantageous solution.
12.2.4.3 on the basis set out above,
award its Call Off Agreement to the
successful Agreement Supplier.
12.2.4.4 Further details on how the use
the catalogue can be found here LINK
12.2.5 When direct awarding customers need
to ensure that the procurement has
been carried out within EU procurement
regulations. If there is any doubt
customers are advised to seek their own
legal advice.

17. 17
12.3 Further Competition
12.3. If all of the terms of the proposed Call Off
Agreement are not laid down in the model
contract and a Contracting Body:
12.3.1 requires the Supplier to develop
proposals or a solution in respect of such
Contracting Body’s Goods and/or Services
Requirements; and/or;
12.3.2 needs to amend or refine the
Template Call Off Terms to reflect its
Goods and/or Services Requirements to
the extent permitted by and in accordance
with the Regulations and Guidance;
12.3.3 then the Contracting Body shall
award a Call Off Agreement in accordance
with the Further Competition Procedure
set out in paragraph 12.3.4 below.
12.3.4 Any Contracting Body awarding a
Call Off Agreement under this Agreement
through a Further Competition Procedure
shall:
12.3.4.1 develop a Statement of
Requirements setting out its requirements
for the Goods and/or Services including
Service Levels and Performance
Monitoring (as defined in the Call Off
Agreement) and identify the Agreement
Suppliers capable of supplying the Goods
and/or Services;
12.3.4.2 amend or refine the Template
Call Off Form and Template Call Off
Terms to reflect its Goods and/or Services
Requirements only to the extent permitted
by and in accordance with the requirements
of the Regulations and Guidance;
12.3.4.3 invite tenders by conducting
a Further Competition Procedure for its
Goods and/or Services Requirements
in accordance with the Regulations and
Guidance and in particular:
12.3.4.4 if an eAuction is to be held the
Contracting Body are advised to contact
the Crown Commercial Service for
guidance on carrying out said eAuction ; or
12.3.4.5 if an eAuction is not used, the
Contracting Body shall:
12.3.4.6 invite the Agreement Suppliers to
submit a tender for each proposed Call Off
Agreement to be awarded by giving written
notice (by email or electronic means such
as on line tendering systems or by using
the Crown Commercial Service eSourcing
tool) to the relevant Supplier Representative
of each Agreement Supplier;
12.3.4.7 set a time limit for the receipt by
it of the tenders which takes into account
factors such as the complexity of the subject
matter of the proposed Call Off Agreement
and the time needed to submit tenders; and
12.3.4.8 keep each tender confidential
until the time limit set out for the return of
tenders has expired.
12.3.4.9 apply the Further Competition
Award Criteria to the Agreement Suppliers’
compliant tenders submitted through the
Further Competition Procedure as the
basis of its decision to award a Call Off
Agreement for its Goods and/or Services
Requirements;
12.3.4.10 on the basis set out above,
award its Call Off Agreement to the
successful Agreement Supplier.

18. 18
12.3.5 customers are advised to provide
as detailed and accurate information as
possible, and should ensure a level playing
field through the actual procurement
period, and provide all suppliers with the
same information.
12.3.6 As a minimum you should give
suppliers enough working days to turn
a tender bid around. For more complex
procurements and at peak times (for
example, the quarter periods with the
main one being March) during the year
this time may need to be extended and it
is recommended that you speak with the
suppliers;
12.3.7 Suppliers can opt to decline to bid
if they wish; and
12.3.6 Guidance on the parameters for
running a further competition under a
agreement can be found in Annex D.
12.4 Advantages of Direct Award include:
12.4.1 Contracts may be entered into
more quickly than when competitions are
conducted.
12.4.2 No need to re-engage the market
and subsequently evaluate suppliers again.
12.4.3 A specification doesn’t need to
be written – the core output specification
can be used coupled with suppliers ITT
responses.
12.5 Advantages of Further Competitions
include:
12.5.1 Customers can add to the
core specification if they have varying
requirements.
12.5.2 Only need to evaluate suppliers on
their service delivery and price – qualifying
criteria has already been evaluated.
12.5.3 Weightings can be varied to reflect
the customer’s particular circumstances,
see section 14.2.
12.5.4 The call-off terms and conditions
can be modified appropriately (but not
substantively), including the use of Special
Terms. (You should seek your own legal
advice when modifying or adding to terms
and conditions).

19. 19
12.6 What happens once a supplier has
been awarded?
12.6.1 You must complete the award by
sending (including electronically) a signed
order form substantially in the form of the
Template Order Form set out in Annexes B
and C (Template Order Form and Template
Call Off Terms). The Parties agree that any
document or communication (including
any document or communication in the
apparent form of a Call Off Agreement)
which is not as described in this paragraph
shall not constitute a Call Off Agreement
under this Agreement.
12.6.2 Technology Products has two
model order forms that can be used; one
for ordering goods and/or services (Form
A) and one for ordering goods only (Form
B). Please ensure the correct Model Order
Form or terms are used for the appropriate
procurement. These can be found in the
Model Contract.
12.6.3 On receipt of an order form as
described above from a Contracting Body
the Supplier shall; (a) accept the Call
Off Agreement by promptly signing and
returning (including by electronic means) a
copy of the order form to the Contracting
Body concerned.
12.6.4 On receipt of the signed order form
from the Supplier, the Contracting Body
shall send (including by electronic means)
a written notice of receipt to the Supplier
within two (2) Working Days and a Call Off
Agreement shall be formed.

20. 20
13 Procurement routes and tools
13.1 You can make contact via email, via the
eSourcing tool, or via any other portal.
13.2 The eSourcing tool:
13.2.1 When running a further
competition under our agreements, you
are able to utilise our eSourcing tool. This
is a free online procurement tool to help
you manage your further competitions,
creating a clear audit trail and supporting
the delivery of the further competition
in line with the EU regulations. Further
information and access to the eSourcing
tool can be found here
13.2.2 If you run a further competition
via the eSourcing tool include your
organisation name in the title for example
Council ABC as this will allow a supplier to
identify which messages relates to which
project.
13.2.3 If you wish to find out more about
the system, its capabilities, and the
benefits of using this, please contact the
eEnablement team at
eEnablement@ccs.gsi.gov.uk
13.3 Technology Catalogue
13.3.1 The catalogue offers two methods
of searching for your product
• Primary search by product type
(e.g. notebook)
• Category search by UNSPSC code
13.3.2 Results can be filtered – default is
lowest price order
13.3.3 Results can be compared to check
product details against requirements
13.3.4 Select product to be purhcased
and proceed to checkout

21. 14 Award criteria
14.1 When running a procurement, customers
should award on the basis of the most
economically advantageous tender
and must provide suppliers with the
methodology behind the evaluation,
including the evaluation criteria and
the weightings that are applied to
each criterion.
14.1.1 Items listed on the catalogue are
likely to be similar in terms of quality and
consequently achieve a maximum quality
score. The determining factor, in practice,
is therefore likely to be a price driven
decision within the 40% maximum that
can applied in direct award.
14.2 Under this agreement, the following
weighting criteria should be applied:
Part A: Direct award
The following criteria and weightings shall be applied to the Agreement Suppliers' compliant tenders
submitted through direct award. The criteria are in no particular order of importance.
Criteria
Number
Criteria - ranked in order of importance
Percentage Weightings (or rank order of
importance where applicable) - to be set by the
Contracting Body conducting the direct award
1
Price (life cycle costs, cost effectiveness & price;
price and running costs)
10-40%
2
Quality (including delivery time, sales service, good
value, accessories, service fitness for purpose)
60-90%
21

22. Part B: Further Competition Award Criteria
The following criteria shall be applied to the Goods and/or Services set out in the Suppliers’
compliant tenders submitted through the Further Competition Procedure. The criteria are in no
particular order of importance.
14.3 Customers are able to split the price and
quality scores within the parameters set
out in 14.2, ensuring that they equal 100%.
14.4 On all documentation you will need
to include the agreement reference of
RM1054.
14.5 Typical examples of sub criteria within price
and quality that customers may opt to utilise
when drafting their further competition may
include (but is not limited to):
14.5.1 Quality - delivery time, sales
service, good value, accessories, service
fitness for purpose.
14.5.2 Price – life cycle costs, cost
effectiveness & price; price and running
costs
14.6 The procurement process adopted at
tender stage was based upon the Open
tendering procedure as detailed in the
European Communities Combined
Directive (2004/18/EC).
Developing your market presentation
14.7 Customers must provide the suppliers
with a minimum set of information that
can be used to help to calculate your
price effectively.
14.8 This minimum dataset is by no means
the complete suite of information
that suppliers will require. As each
procurement is different, suppliers may
ask for further information.
eAuctions
14.9 Electronic reverse auctions can
be undertaken as part of a further
competition under all lots.
14.10 Our eAuction team can support you in this,
and even run and manage the eAuction for
you, completely free of charge.
14.11 Please contact the Technology Products
team via the helpdesk in the first
instance if you wish to find out additional
information (info@ccs.gsi.gov.uk or call
0345 410 2222).
Criteria
Number
Criteria
Percentage Weightings (or rank order of
importance where applicable) - to be set by
the Contracting Body conducting the further
competition - examples below (which in total
should add up to 100%):
1
Quality (including delivery time, sales service, good
value, accessories, service fitness for purpose)
60-90%
2 Price 10-40%
22

23. 15 Finalising the call-off
15.1 Once you have made a decision to award,
for further competitions above the OJEU
threshold, customers should run a ten
day standstill period. Customers should
send out an intention to award letter to
all suppliers that submitted a tender.
The letters to unsuccessful suppliers
should provide a debrief of the scores
awarded for each weighted criteria
compared to the successful supplier and
a rationale for each score. The rationale
should be objective, and care needs to
be taken to ensure that the scores and
rationale is in line with your original tender
documentation. Template letters can be
found in Annexes E and F.
15.2 Once the ten day alcatel period is
complete, without challenge, customers
must instruct the supplier. This should be
done by completing the order (Annexes B
and C).
15.3 Advice on this can be obtained by the
contact named in Section 22.
16 Terms and conditions
16.1 We have developed call-off contracts
specific to the agreement that include
standard clauses that all suppliers have
agreed to (Annexes B and C). The text
highlighted in yellow and in square
brackets[ ] needs to be considered
by the customer. Should you wish to
amend these you will need to detail what
elements you wish to amend within your
further competition documentation.
16.2 Please note that when calling off via the
agreement, Technology Products has
call-off contracts each with a model order
form that can be used; one for ordering
goods only (Annex B) and one for ordering
goods and/or service (Annex C). Please
ensure the correct Model Order Form
or terms are used for the appropriate
procurement.
16.3 Additional and alternative clauses can be
found in Annex J
23

24. 17 Key tips when managing
a further competition
17.1 Before issuing the further competition
documentation
17.1.1 Review the agreement lots found
in section 6 to establish whether your
requirement is covered by this agreement;
17.1.2 Contact the technology products
team, using the contact listed in Section
22; we are here to provide you with
procurement advice as required;
17.1.3 Ensure you have provided
sufficient timescales to enable suppliers
to evaluate your requirement. Further
information on indicative timescales can
be found in section 11;
17.1.4 Engage with the supply base to
help shape your requirement and ensure
you have provided all relevant information.
This will support you in delivering greater
value for money. Further information
on pre market engagement via the
agreement can be found in section 10;
17.1.5 Develop the statement of
requirements that suit individual special
terms, e.g. specific to the particular
services that will be provided to meet
a particular requirement under the
agreement;
17.1.6 Meet with the suppliers, where
appropriate;
17.1.7 Specify realistic levels of
service and understand a customer’s
responsibilities throughout;
17.1.8 Vary the weighting of the criteria
to suit local priorities, in line with the
weightings provided in section 14.2;
17.1.9 Use output-based specifications to
encourage innovation;
17.1.10 Involve key individuals and
stakeholders as appropriate in the
process;
17.1.11 Develop your invitation to tender
documentation and provide suppliers with
upfront information and criteria explaining
how the tenders will be evaluated. Standard
template documentation is available in
Annexes D to support you in this.
24

25. 17.2 During the further competition
17.2.1 If contacting suppliers via email,
ensure you inform them that you wish to
procure under the Technology Products
agreement – RM1054;
17.2.2 Invite all capable suppliers within
the appropriate lot of the agreement.
Capability can be determined by
assessing the supplier matrix;
17.2.3 If contacting via email, only use the
email addresses provided on the RM1054
Web Page here.
17.2.4 Allow sufficient time for a full and
professionally prepared response from
suppliers;
17.2.5 Treat all participating suppliers
fairly and equally throughout the entire
competition process;
17.2.6 Issue timely clarifications to
questions and publish them in line with
your further competition documentation
to all participating suppliers. Ensure
suppliers have sufficient time to consider
your responses;
17.3 Awarding the further competition
17.3.1 Award to the supplier offering best
value for money based on the award
criteria based on the qualitative and
commercial scores at further competition;
17.3.2 Award in line with your further
competition evaluation criteria;
17.3.3 Provide feedback to all bidders.
See Section 15 for further information;
17.4 Don’t:
17.4.1 Set unrealistic expectations.
Undertake your pre market engagement
to identify appropriate levels of service
that the suppliers can actually deliver
upon;
17.4.2 Aim the specification at a particular
supplier or their product range;
17.4.3 Arbitrarily choose a reduced
number of suppliers to receive tenders;
17.4.4 Create specifications that are
unfairly restrictive;
17.4.5 Treat any supplier differently from
the others.
25

26. 18 Feedback and contact details
18.1 If you have any queries, or wish to discuss your requirement or the agreement in further detail,
please contact
Crown Commercial Service
E: tecnologyproducts@ccs.gsi.gov.uk
T: 0345 410 2222
Pro5
Central Buying Consortium (CBC)
E: cbc-staff@hants.gov.uk
W: www.hants.gov.uk/cbc
Eastern Shire Purchasing Organisation
(ESPO)
Angela Course
E: ICT@espo.org
T: 0116 265 7946
North East Procurement Organisation
(NEPO)
E: enquiries@nepoportal.org
T: 0191 261 3940
YPO
E: IT.Services@ypo.co.uk
Ian Summerscales
T: 01924 885907
Richard Ullyott
T: 01924 836986
18.2 If you would like to provide feedback relating to this agreement please get in touch with your
preferred organisation using the details provided. Your query and feedback will be logged and
discussed at the monthly performance meeting. Where required, your preferred contact will
inform you of any changes that have been made in relation to your feedback.
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