Department for Transport - Procurement Portal

Introduction top

The Department for Transport headquarters organisation is known as DfT Central, or DfT(C). DfT has seven Executive Agencies - http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/how/aboutthe. DfT(C) develops and implements departmental policy. The main role of the Executive Agencies is delivery of services direct to the public.
Procurement Directorate (PD) is responsible for purchasing policy, governance, strategy, standards and practice within DfT(C).
DfT(C) has a specialist purchasing unit in place for the purchase of printing & publicity services. All other goods and services are purchased by the end user, who will involve PD for higher value contracts.
The department also makes use of government wide framework contracts awarded by OGC.BuyingSolutions for purchasing some common goods and services.
The Executive Agencies are independent of DfT(C) in their procurement activities but are ultimately responsible to the Secretary of State.

Other Informationtop

- Additional purchasing information.

Sustainable Development Issues
DfT is committed to identifying and reducing, on a cost-effective basis, the sustainable risk associated with the goods and services it buys. Our procurement activity will reflect best sustainability practice and we will implement a programme of measures designed to improve our sustainable procurement capability and identify, and address, areas of high risk and impact.
In particular, we will:
Comply with all relevant sustainability regulations and other requirements;
Undertake a programme of training for procurement staff;
Raise awareness of sustainable procurement across the Department through specific training, information and publicity;
Develop an action plan to improve our capability against which we will monitor and review progress;
Review our procurement activity to identify sustainability risks and impacts, prioritise these and develop measures to address them;
Ensure that our suppliers and contractors are encouraged to reduce the sustainable impact of the goods and services they provide;
Measure our progress against the UK Government Procurement Action Plan "Flexible Framework".
More Information:
The UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan can be viewed at http://www.sustainable-development.gov.u.
There is also a great deal of information of interest to both purchasing officers and suppliers on the procurement pages of the Government''''s Sustainable Development website at http://www.sustainable-development.gov.u.

Opportunities for small to medium enterprises (SMEs)
It is government policy to encourage SMEs. Although we are a large department, we have many contracts suitable for smaller organisations and welcome quotations and tenders from SMEs.
Business Link is a support network that gives information and advice to SMEs. If you wish to be directed to your nearest Business Link, please contact 0845 600 9 006, or www.businesslink.org..

Suppliers employing the severely disabled
The Government introduced Special Contracts Arrangements (SCAs) in 1994. These help eligible non-profit-making suppliers and workshops, with severely disabled people making up more than 50 per cent of the workforce, within the European Union and European Economic Area, to compete for government business.
Regulation 7 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 allows public contracts to be reserved to supported factories and businesses, or to economic operators which operate supported employment programmes. See OGC''''s guidance for more information: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/guide_bi

Quality assurance
We want to place contracts with firms whose quality control and product reliability are of a high standard, so that we can keep our own quality inspections to a minimum.
In our pre-tender assessment we look for evidence of a good quality control system, such as BS EN ISO 9000. Although formal certification to such a standard is not usually mandatory, it will help if you can show that effective systems for quality control are used.
To ensure safety and reliability, some specifications may require products to meet specific international, European or British technical standards. You may be asked to produce relevant certificates.
Information on quality is available from the Office of Government Commerce website at: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/delivery_lifecycle

Electronic trading
We have an electronic ordering system, to enable us to realise the benefits of trading electronically with our suppliers. This system is an online, browser based application that provides the DfT buyer with access to electronic catalogues for the purchase of low value goods and services. The system also enables the electronic transmission of orders, order acknowledgements, delivery notes and invoices, together with online order status tracking and electronic payment.
Our business units are using the Government Procurement Card, which is a Visa based corporate purchasing card, mainly for purchases under £1,000.
Our long-term aim is to do business with all suppliers electronically, automating and integrating the whole purchase to pay cycle to maximise efficiency.
We will however, maintain alternative trading routes with those suppliers who are not in a position to trade electronically but are nevertheless still able to offer best value for money.

Prompt payment of invoices
We recognise the importance of cash flow to all companies, especially small firms and have adopted the Better Payment Practice Code, and have a clear policy to pay bills in accordance with the terms of the contract. Where no contract terms are specified, our policy is to pay within 30 calendar days of receipt of a correct invoice.
You can help to make sure invoices are paid promptly by checking that all invoice details are accurate, including the purchase order number, and that the invoice is correctly addressed. Let us know about changes of name, address or bank details as soon as possible. To help us pay quickly, we pay suppliers through Bankers Automated Clearing Service (BACS).
Our contracts now include a clause saying that if you employ sub-contractors you are expected to pay them promptly, too.

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