Procurement
Would you like to become one of our suppliers? Are you already supplying us with goods or services? If so this page has all the information you need to help you do business with us. If you are a member of the wider procurement community, including other parts of the public sector, professional bodies and academia, you will also find it useful.
BERR will be taking immediate steps to reduce invoice payment times to 10 days and all valid goods and services invoices received at our designated invoice address from 20th October 2008 onwards will be paid as soon as they have been authorised by the BERR officials responsible for the contract. We will be applying this to all suppliers of goods and services but will not be changing our existing contractual terms and conditions.
Our objectives
Our procurement follows some key objectives:
- Obtaining maximum value for money in contracting for the goods and services that enable the department to deliver its business objectives.
- Enhancing the competitiveness of the supply base.
- 'Value for money' means the optimal combination of costs, service delivery and quality.
Open for e-business
We are particularly interested in lowering the cost of the procurement process; we are committed to doing business electronically for the benefit of all.
As a first step along this road, we use the Government Procurement Card (VISA) for low-value orders. We encourage suppliers to accept payment in this way - and it is likely to be a requirement for many future contracts.
Open for business with small firms
We are responsible for developing business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with up to 500 employees. 'Value for money' is the only deciding factor when we award contracts competitively but, given our wider responsibility, we strongly encourage SMEs to bid for the departmental contracts they believe they could fulfill.
Supply2.gov.uk is the first portal of call to consolidate access to lower-value opportunities from across the whole of the UK public sector. Supply2.gov.uk opens up the market to all types of business including small businesses, start-up companies and social enterprises to search and view open lower-value contract opportunities, typically under £100,000, and promote themselves to the UK public sector.
Supply2.gov.uk offers public sector buyers the opportunity to post their lower-value contract opportunities and access profiles of pre-qualification information created by suppliers registering on the site.
Simap Website: Access to information on electronic procurement, CPV codes and standard forms for notification. Please note that BERR policy is to use the BIP "Project" notification/submission software so forms should not be accessed or submitted directly to the Simap website. Consult the IWS Commercial Office for full details
We hope you find these pages useful. Please email your suggestions or for any procurement queries, please e-mail Procurement Policy Services: procurementpolicy@berr.gsi.gov.uk
Related Documents
(38KB)External Links
- Office Of Government Commerce: OGC news, publications, services and information for the government procurement community.
- Institute of Logistics & Transport: Formulates research and shares academic and professional views on the role of procurement in the supply-chain.
- Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) : Provides a programme of improvement in professional standards and raises awareness of the contribution that purchasing and supply makes to prosperity.
- International Purchasing and Supply Education and Research Association (IPSERA): Network of academics and practitioners dedicated to the development of understanding of Purchasing and Supply Management.
- OJEU-SIMAP
- Supply2.gov.uk