August 09
New Director for Scottish Procurement Directorate
Alastair Merrill has been appointed as the Director of Scottish Procurement Directorate. Alastair said, "I am thrilled to be joining the Procurement Directorate at this time. In the current economic climate, the successful delivery of the Procurement Reform Programme is even more important than ever to achieving the Government's Purpose. A huge amount has been achieved in recent years to transform the procurement landscape, and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead as we take the Programme into its next phase.
Nick Bowd (CBE), who has done such a terrific job in leading work on public sector procurement since 1999, is moving into an adviser role so that we do not lose his vision and experience."
People and Skills Update
Please review the People & Skills August Update
May 2009
Microsoft
A new Microsoft Agreement for the public sector, which will replace the Memorandum of Understanding, has been under negotiation between Buying Solutions (supported by Procurement Scotland) and Microsoft over the last few months.
The new agreement has now been finalised and was signed on Tuesday 5th May. Procurement Scotland will be hosting a number of open days to provide organisations with the opportunity to hear about the new agreement, ask any questions and review the new pricing and licence models. To read more, please visit the IT Software Webpage.
Oracle
On 9 April 2009 Procurement Scotland entered a new agreement with Oracle UK Ltd. The agreement is for new licences and support and also includes existing support - it will be known as the Oracle Unlimited Licence Agreement (ULA). To read more, please visit the IT Software Webpage.
Strategic Plan
Procurement Scotland's Strategic Plan sets out our key objectives and priorities for that period and some summarised material on future Category A contract delivery and targeted savings. The plan has been considered in detail by our Supervisory Board, and is aligned to the Scottish Government's internal corporate planning process. Please feel free to offer feedback on the structure and content. Please review our Strategic Plan.
Newsletter
Please review our latest Procurement Scotland Newsletter - May 2009
April 2009
Contract Award - Electricity
Procurement Scotland can announce that a national agreement for the supply of electricity has been awarded to Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy.
The contract will commence on the 1 October 2009 until 30 September 2012 with the option to extend for a further year. The contract is available to nearly all Scottish Public Bodies. Organisations who have signed an Agency Agreement with Procurement Scotland will migrate to the contract throughout this period as their current supply arrangements end. Over 95% of the Scottish Public Sector volume is committed to this national agreement. To read more, please visit the Utilities web page.
Nurturing Talent to Deliver Procurement Reform
The 'Nurturing Talent to Deliver Procurement Reform' event is taking place on Tuesday 16 June at Hampden Park, Glasgow. You will hear from colleagues about the practical use of tools and techniques that are driving Procurement Reform. You will also have the opportunity to hear how C.I.P.S., the sectoral Centres of Expertise, the Scottish Procurement Directorate and others across the public sector are working collaboratively to nurture the talent that already exists within the profession and promote procurement as a career of choice.
January 2009
People and Skills January update
The people and skills section of our website has been updated to provide you with an update on various projects within the people and skills workstream, including updates on the public sector faculty, national training contracts, skills analysis and various other areas of the workstream. To find out more information, please review this at the attached link. Please review the People and Skills January 2009 update.
December 2008
IT Hardware 2009 Contract - New
Following the recent IT Hardware eAuction which took place on Tuesday 16 December, we are pleased to offer the new prices for 2009. Review the IT Hardware - eAuction Dec 08 - Contract Details
Reforming Public Sector Procurement - Get Your Voice Heard!
If you are involved in Small or Medium sized Enterprise (SME) or a Social Enterprise (SE) in Scotland, you are involved in the backbone of the Scottish economy. Scottish Government wishes to understand how to assist SMEs and SEs to collaborate in order to access more effectively the £8bn spent by the Scottish public sector per year.
Consequently they have commissioned a partnership of two independent consultancies, Wood Holmes Group and Accelerate, to listen to SMEs' and SEs' views, experiences and attitudes towards bidding for public sector work through working collaboratively with other businesses.
If you would like to take part, please contact Chaitanya Bal on 0191 2112990 or cbal@woodholmes.co.uk. You can choose between giving a highly focused confidential interview (face to face or by telephone, as you prefer) in January/ February 2009 and/or attending a workshop event in early March.
Through understanding your experiences of working with other businesses and the opportunities and barriers you may have encountered, we aim to provide the Scottish Government with strategies to enhance the effectiveness of existing procurement processes and support more generally for businesses like yours in Scotland.
October 2008
IT Hardware & IT Software Category A Workshops - January 2009
Procurement Scotland will be hosting a series of stakeholder workshops across Scotland during January 2009. The cross-sector workshops will be open to all organisations to attend, and provide an additional outlet for organisations to feedback on the commodities and share best practice.
The workshops are an open invitation to allow IT and procurement specialists, the opportunity to provide their thoughts on an collaborative agenda.
Professional Services - Business & Management Consultancy and Related Services Supplier Event
On the 15th of October in the Macdonald Holyrood Hotel Procurement Scotland held a supplier-engagement meeting which was attended by over 70 suppliers. Please visit the Professional Services section to find out more information and to see a copy of the slides.
People & Skills
An Autumn update has been posted on the People & Skills section of our website on 16 October, please review these pages for more information.
Graduate Fair - 2008
The 2008 Scottish Graduate Recruitment Fair was held on 14th and 15th October at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow. Scotland's procurement Centres of Expertise worked together to represent Scottish Public Sector Procurement, manning a joint stand and producing a collaborative information leaflet for graduates. Further information can be found here.
September 2008
Office Supplies - National Contract(s)
On the 1st September the Office Supplies contract went live. This contract is open to public sector organisations across Scotland. Organisations should contact their Sector Centre of Expertise for further details, those organisations not affiliated with a Centre of Expertise should contact Procurement Scotland directly -
ps-enquiries@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Review the Corporate Services section to find out more.
August 2008
Office Supplies - National Contract(s)
Procurement Scotland has concluded its tender for the supply of Office Supplies and has awarded to the following companies:
Lot 1 General Stationery - Lyreco UK Ltd
Lot 2 IT Consumables - Spectrum Computer Supplies Ltd
Lot 3 Paper - Lyreco UK Ltd
Review the Corporate Services section to find out more.
June 2008
Office Supplies - National Contract(s)
The Tender was issued early in April 2008 with a national agreement being in place by September 08. Procurement Scotland are currently working with stakeholders across Scotland to determine Evaluation Criteria and to obtain the Intention to Participate from public sector organisations. Review the Corporate Services section to find out more...
IT Software - Request for Supplier Information
As part of the strategy development process for the IT Software Portfolio, Procurement Scotland is seeking views and information from the market place regarding the requirements set out in a Request for Supplier Information. To participate in this process please review the IT Software section to find out more...
Official Launch of Procurement Scotland
Procurement Scotland was formally launched on Thursday 6 March 2008 by John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth. The NPCoE (National Procurement Centre of Expertise) was the working title that was being used during the organisations establishment and early work. Please read the Post Launch Newsletter (March 2008).
February 2008
Procurement Scotland saves taxpayers over one million pounds
On 14th December 2007, Procurement Scotland held its first on-line e-auction for IT Hardware. Along with significant savings of up to 55% on previous prices, uplifts in the specification of hardware and improved energy efficiency will also bring additional business benefits to public sector buying organisations. This project is the first demonstration of the benefits to be gained from collaboration at a Category A national level. Please review the IT Hardware section to find out more
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