Procurement
We aim to deliver socially responsible and value-for-money goods and services that will support the college’s strategy. In order to achieve this, we must work effectively and sustainably with our supply chain.
Opportunities
This coming year there will be a number of goods and services which we aim to source new agreements for. For example:
- Cleaning Services
- Internal Building Signage
- Building Services (such as electrical, plumbing, minor construction)
- Uniforms
- Office Supplies and Stationery
- AV Equipment
- End-user Client Devices
We will often use available frameworks (such as those from the SUPC, of whom we are an Associate Member, Crown Commercial Service or Crescent Purchasing Consortia), but where this isn’t suitable we will tender or obtain quotes directly.
Our tender or quote documents will explain what we want, what is most important about the requirement and any deadlines or methods for replying. It is important to follow those instructions so that bids are valid and in line with what we are looking for.
We are also an active member of procurement groups, both local and national and where we can, we will co-operate with other buying organisations to ‘pool’ our purchasing abilities.
Important Information
As with any large organisation, there are a few essential guidelines to help ensure a harmonious and productive environment for everyone involved.
We use MultiQuote for issuing larger quotes and all tenders. We ask our current suppliers and anyone wishing to be a supplier to register on it (easily and for free) so that we can quickly and easily contact them. Larger tenders can also be found on Find a Tender.
Our standard terms and conditions of purchase can be found here. These are the terms we typically expect to trade with on a day-to-day basis. The headlines are:
- Our standard payment terms are 30 days from receipt of the invoice. Note:
- Invoices should be emailed by suppliers to purchaseledger@cityofbristol.ac.uk
- Invoices must contain a valid college purchase order number
- Failure to do either of these can delay payment
We also expect all suppliers to follow our policy and procedures, especially in relation to safeguarding, health and safety and sustainability.
General advice to find ways to sell to the public sector can be found here.
Suppliers need to be aware that public procurement is changing from 24 February 2025. More information and support for suppliers can be found here.
Procurement can be contacted via: procurement@cityofbristol.ac.uk.
