A Guide for Suppliers Contract Strategy The DTI's overall strategy is for procurement to be carried out by those Management Units best placed to act as the Intelligent Customer. This means that common specialist requirements are dealt with by the centres of expertise; general items such as stationery, travel etc. are purchased through framework arrangements which are placed by those management units that have responsibility for that activity; specific goods and services are purchased directly by the Management Unit as the Intelligent Customer. Some of these units will keep lists of potential suppliers and may ask you to send in details of any services that you might be able to provide. You might be required to provide financial details as well, as details of your experiences both home and overseas. This mixture of centralised and de-centralised procurement enables the Department to take advantage of economies of scale without the need for a centralised bureaucracy. The main tenet of government procurement is competition. For small scale requirements under £250 usually a single quote will suffice. Up to £10,000 we would expect to invite at least three written quotations. Above £10,000 formal tendering procedures would apply. Where the total estimated cost of the requirement is in excess of the EC/WTO thresholds the relevant EC rules on public procurement are followed. There are further details of this later on in this guide. Each management unit or centre of expertise will decide which suppliers to invite to submit a quotation or tender. As mentioned earlier, some may maintain a list of potential suppliers. Others may send you a supplier appraisal form to complete in order to establish those requirements you could be suitable for. Tendering procedures will vary in detail between the various management Units within the Department . Nonetheless all management Units will generally adhere to a policy that will: avoid over-specifying a requirement. write specs as far as possible in terms of output and not input. invite a sufficient number of tenderers to ensure a fair competition but giving those tenderers a reasonable chance of winning provide clear documentation and, give all tenderers equal opportunity. Contracts let by DTI may fall into one of several categories Framework or Call off Arrangement. This is an arrangement to provide goods and services as and when required over a fixed period . There is no prior agreement to purchase a specific quantity of goods or services, although normally an indication will be provided of estimated usage. Call off Contract. This is an agreement for a fixed quantity of goods or services at agreed prices with an agreed timescale. Fixed price or Firm Price Contract. This is a contract whereby the contractor agrees a price in advance for the goods or services Measured Term or limit of liability. This is a fixed period of contract for a fixed amount of goods or services from the supplier. This will be a calculation of contract price based upon the tenderers rates multiplied by the number of days or volume of goods