Advice to suppliers

Important Notices

There are no important notices at the moment but please look out for opportunities and on-going consultations.

Useful Information

Maximising your chances of success

How our tendering processes work

Tendering as a consortium (33kb, pdf)

On this page

Others who buy on our behalf

Systems and processes you may have to use

If you disagree with the outcome of a tender process

Our supplier charter

Compliance with our policies

Supplying the public sector in Suffolk

Others who buy on our behalf

We sometimes take advantage of contracts that have been let by other central government departments or local authorities. In particular we often use frameworks awarded by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO), West Mercia Supplies (WMS), the Black Country Consortium and other member authorities of the Central Buying Consortium (CBC), of which Suffolk is a founder member.

 
Systems and processes you may have to use

You will need to have access to a web based or other account from which you can send or receive e-mails.

We use electronic processes for tendering our requirements and placing orders. Normally we use our own electronic tendering system, but we may occasionally use other bespoke tendering systems. Orders are placed through our e-procurement system (P2P).

We may ask you to produce an electronic catalogue listing the goods we have contracted for.

Our category managers will sometimes specify an e-auction as part of the tender process. Where this is so, we will tell you in the contract advertisement. To participate in the e-auction you will need to have internet access.

 
If you disagree with the outcome of a tender process

We appreciate that responding to a tender is a lengthy and involved process. If your bid was unsuccessful, you may rightly want to know the reasons why. We endeavour to give you as much information we can about the outcome of the evaluation, your scores and the areas where your bid failed to attract maximum marks.

If you disagree with the outcome of a tender process, we would like you to tell us so and the reasons why you disagree so that we can fully investigate and resolve your concerns as quickly as possible.

You also have a right to complain using the council’s formal complaints procedure

 
Our Supplier Charter

We believe that you should know exactly what to expect in your dealings with the council and also what we expect from you. We therefore have a Supplier Charter  to evidence our commitment to fair and equitable procurement.

 
Compliance with our policies

The council has a number of policies and regulations which it takes into consideration when designing a tender process.
  

Supplying the public sector in Suffolk

As well as Suffolk County Council, there are a number of other public bodies in Suffolk which together spend significant sums of money.  The following document provides links to the web pages of these public sector organisations, a summary of what they purchase and links to where they publish their tender opportunities.

List of public sector organisations in Suffolk (pdf, 50kb)


The contents of this page are intended for general information only and should not be relied on as forming a binding commitment on the council