Information about tenders, including Requests For Quotations, Invitations to Tender, and how we award contracts
Procurement thresholds
We have procedures in place on how we gain quotations. The process we use will depend on the cost of the order.
Our internal rules (Contract Standing Orders) requirements are as follow:
| Minimum Quote process (one quote) | Multiple quote process (to seek three quotes) | Advertised Tender below statutory threshold (include VAT) | Advertised Tender above statutory threshold (include VAT) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goods and services | Up to £20,000 | £20,000 to £75,000 | £75,000 to £214,904 | £214,904 and above |
| Works contracts | Up to £35,000 | £35,000 to £250,000 | £250,000 to £5,372,609 | £5,372,609 and above |
| Concessions contracts | Up to £35,000 | £35,000 to £250,000 | £250,000 to £5,372,609 | £5,372,609 and above |
The Statutory thresholds referred to in the table above are set by the World Trade Organisation. The UK is a member of its Government Procurement Agreement and this means we as a public body must conduct our tenders above these thresholds in accordance with Legislation, known as the Procurement Act 2023.
Details of all advertised tenders can be found on our current tender opportunities page.
Request for Quotations (RFQ)
If the anticipated value is between £20,000 and £75,000 for goods and services, or £35,000 and £250,000 for works contracts the department with the purchasing requirement will send out an RFQ document. They will send this by email or the Delta eSourcing portal to at least three organisations that they believe are able to meet their requirements.
The RFQ will include:
- a specification of the goods or services required
- details of the criteria that will be used to decide which is the best quotation received
Factors used, as well as cost, may be:
- delivery time
- guarantees
- other quality considerations
Those receiving the RFQ must submit their quotation, by email or on the Delta eSourcing portal, by the deadline specified in the RFQ. They must direct this to the officer or department that has sent them the RFQ.
RFQs are conducted under certain Legal Formalities. More information is available in our Legal Formalities for Requests for Quotations document.
Electronic tendering
We manage all of our formal tender processes online. We use an electronic tender portal called Delta eSourcing.
Tenders
Below Statutory thresholds our tenders will be conducted under the "open" procedure as follows:
- You are encouraged to download the tender documents from Delta eSourcing, and read them carefully
- You will need to register on Delta if you have not done so already
- You will then need to compile your bid in accordance with the instructions contained in the Invitation to Tender document
- Submit your bid on Delta eSourcing before the deadline
- Bids will be evaluated and all bidders will be informed of the outcome at the same time
We will require bidders to provide information to satisfy us that it:
- is financially secure
- is adequately insured
- has satisfactory health and safety procedures.
Bidders who cannot provide satisfactory information at this stage, or earlier in the process, may be disqualified from the tender.
For tenders above the Statutory threshold, we may use the open procedure above, or the new competitive flexible procedure, which allows us to create a process of different stages. This will be similar to a restricted process, where some bidders are selected on their suitability to perform the contract before being invited to tender.
Invitations to Tender (ITT)
For purchases/contracts over £75,000 the ITT will include the following:
- Introductory information such as the background to the contract, criteria to be used to select the winning company, date and time by which the tender must be submitted via Delta, information on how and deadline to submit queries and a contact point for any site visits (if appropriate)
- A Procurement Specific Questionnaire with questions around the bidder’s suitability to perform the contract
- A specification which clearly describes our requirements in enough detail to allow the submission of competitive and readily comparable offers
- Either a draft contract document (terms & conditions) or we will state the form of contract to be used (see our Terms and conditions of working with us page)
- A response form on which the tender must be submitted, and a non-collusion/ prevention of corruption certificate which must be signed by the company and returned with their tender
Tender returns, evaluation and award of contract
For purchases/contracts over £75,000 the following applies:
- After the closing date and time, tender documents are all opened on Delta, at the same time. (We are unable to accept any late tenders because once the deadline passes the tender is locked on Delta and submission of tenders becomes impossible. It is therefore vital that you submit your tender on time.)
- Submissions will be evaluated in accordance with pre-determined criteria detailed in the ITT (normally we will award the contract based on the most advantageous tender, which means that the award criteria will include non-financial matters such as method statements for delivery, technical merit, aesthetic and functional characteristics, after-sales service)
- Once the award decision has been made, the winning company and the unsuccessful bidders will be informed at the same time (the unsuccessful firms will receive copies of our assessment summaries for their bid and that of the winning bid to help them understand how their scores compared)
Invoicing and payment terms
We will accept invoices by email in pdf format. We will make payments by BACS direct to your bank account. If the invoice is accurate and includes a valid purchase order number we will pay within 30 days of receiving the invoice.
If the payment address is within our area we'll aim to pay within 10 daysInvoices must be sent to accountspayable@west-norfolk.gov.uk.
Our formal contracts require contractors to commit to pay their sub-contractors on the same terms that we agree with the main contractor.