Supplier Opportunities
Peterborough Regional College has been providing education and training on our Park Crescent Campus for over 60 years and during that time have forged links with many SME's that have helped towards achieving the strategic objective of procuring goods, works and services that provide the best value for our students, in fact, it is not unusual for our local suppliers and their staff to have attended the college themselves to acquire the skills needed to run successful businesses. Further information about our apprenticeship programme can be obtained by following the link below:
www.peterborough.ac.uk/courses/apprenticeships/apprenticeships.html
PRC purchase a wide range of goods and services to obtain the learning materials needed to service our range of courses and engage contractors to maintain and enhance our premises. We recognise that SMEís provide an invaluable contribution and actively encourage their involvement.
The way in which we approach procurement is driven by the anticipated value of the contract as we need to fully comply with both EU procurement regulations and our own internal financial procedures.
EU Procurement Thresholds
As an FE College we are legally required to comply with EU tendering directives, the purpose of the directives is to encourage open and transparent competition throughout the European Union. Where it is anticipated that procurement will reach the threshold we will either purchase via a pre tendered framework agreement or advertise our requirement in the Official Journal of the European Union ourselves. A link to the applicable thresholds and further information is as follows:
www.ogc.gov.uk/procurement_policy_and_application_of_eu_rules_eu_procurement_thresholds_.asp
The Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC)
PRC may also choose to purchase through a consortiam, such as The Crescent Purchasing Consortium which boasts a membership of 585 Colleges throughout the U.K. CPC has a range of EU tendered contracts for us to access, and carrying out a further competition exercise within the framework is an efficient way of obtaining best value and complying with our legal obligations.
CPC appoint both national and regional suppliers for many of their contracts. Businesses interested in becoming a supplier to the CPC can register their interest and/or view details of current and forthcoming tenders on the CPC In-Tend website. For further details about the Crescent Purchasing Consortium their website is: http://www.cpc.salford.ac.uk/
Other consortia used by PRC are:
East Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) www.espo.org/index.asp?CMD=SUP
Buying Solutions www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk
Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) http://supc.procureweb.ac.uk/
Below Threshold Opportunities (Sub OJEU)
Depending on the type of requirement and value of the contract if there is not a suitable framework agreement in place we may choose to investigate the market and invite quotes or tender bids, or advertise the contract. Suitable opportunities will be advertised on www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk which is a dynamic service managed by Business Link and supported by the Government to give small businesses within the UK easy access to contracts (typically below £100,000) offered by the public sector. Suppliers can register free of charge.
Contact with PRC
Potential suppliers should, in the first instance, provide an introductory e-mail or letter to the Procurement Manager, Barbara Grange (e-mail: barbara.grange@peterborough.ac.uk), outlining the goods or services you are able to provide. Your introduction will be forwarded to the appropriate department or Faculty for their information and also retained by the Procurement Manager for future reference.
Thank you for your interest.