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For a newcomer to the world of bids and tenders, the language and jargon can be confusing at the start. This glossary is intended to help with some of the more common terms, acronyms and phrases that you will encounter.

Glossary of Common Tender and Procurement Terms

©Bid Perfect Ltd. 2006 – 2008

www.bidperfect.co.uk

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A

ABC - Authorities Buying Consortium The largest non-profit making purchasing agency in Scotland, serving the buying needs of the public sector, charities and voluntary organisations. Accelerated, Restricted or Negotiated Procedure For high-value public sector contracts – the length of time of the tender or procurement response process may be shortened to accommodate special circumstances and/or emergencies.

Added Value Services Often referring to additional services ‘over and above’ the basic contract specification. Added Value Services may be driven as a direct result of the basic contract specifications and may be either free or chargeable. Aggregation Adding together the value of separate contracts for the same supply contract, works or service Appraisal A detailed assessment of the general capacity of a contractor, supplier or service provider to meet certain pre-determined criteria or standards. Approved List A list of approved suppliers, contractors or service providers who have been pre-selected (usually through a tendering process) and from whom goods and services must be procured. See also Preferred Supplier List. Award The issue of an order or contract to a supplier as a result of a competitive tendering/bidding process.

B

BAFO – Best and Final Offer The detailed and fully priced offer submitted by a respondent for a contract, which represents their lowest price.

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Benchmarking A process of continuously measuring and comparing an organisation's processes against comparable organisations to gain information to help performance improvement e.g. ‘best-in-class’ achievement.

Best Practice / Good Practice Proven and documented working practices that provide optimum operational performance within a specific business environment e.g. ‘best in field’.

BME or BAME Black and Minority Ethnic or Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (EMB means Ethnic Minority Business)

BQS - Better Quality Services The guidance for central government departments on the creation of public/private partnerships through market testing and contracting out. BV - Best Value The Government’s alternative to the old Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) system. The principles make clear that the duty of best value applies to all local authority services. The framework to put it into effect should promote local accountability and continuous improvement in service performance.

C

Call Off Contract A contract made following a formal tendering process with one or more contractors, suppliers or service providers for a defined range of works, goods or services covering terms and conditions (including price) which users ‘call off’ to meet their requirements.

See also Framework Agreement

CBC - Central Buying Consortium The Central Buying Consortium is the largest local authority purchasing consortium in the UK. It has seventeen local authority members and represents most of the major authorities from the midlands to the south-east, outside London.

CRE - Commission for Racial Equality Set up under the 1976 Race Relations Act, it receives a grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government, but works independently of government, to remove discrimination and help racial harmony.

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CPV - Common Procurement Vocabulary (Codes) Codes used throughout the European Union to generically describe products or services. The use of CPV codes by public sector purchasers to define their requirements in a Contract Notice is mandatory. CPV codes can also be used in Non-OJEU Contract Notices as a means of classifying expenditure. Competitive Contract Addendum Notification showing changes, amendments or cancellation of a published Competitive Contract Notice. Competitive Dialogue A variation of the negotiated process, now available under new European Union Rules, that allows different options to be discussed before a particular solution is selected. It can be used in complex contracts where technical solutions are difficult to define or where the buyer needs the best solution to be developed.

Consortium An unincorporated group of firms or individuals which has been formed with a view to pooling their strengths and resources to win contracts that they would not be able to in their own right. Contract Notice or Competitive Contract Notice OJEU public sector contract opportunity advertised via TED, OJEU, Supply2.gov etc (see other definitions). These are classified by one of four 'Nature of the Contract' categories: Works, Services, Goods or Research (scientific).

Contract Documents Documents incorporated in the enforceable agreement between a public sector body and a contractor, including contract conditions, specification, pricing document, form of tender and the successful tenderers responses (including method statements), and other relevant documents expressed to be contract documents (such as correspondence, etc.)

Contract Notice Award or Competitive Contract Notice Award Published details of the company(s) which have been awarded a public sector contract subject to Competitive Contract Notice (see above).

Constructionline For public sector contracts in construction – the UK's register of local and national construction and construction-related contractors and consultants www.constructionline.co.uk.

The subscription involves pre-qualifying and so is used by many public sector buyers to select suitably qualified (local) suppliers.

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Consortium for Purchasing and Distribution – CPD A national procurement and fulfilment business focussed on meeting the needs of its many customers in the Education, Training and Social Care Sectors. They are leaders in the school supplies market and are very strong in the South West of England & Wales.

Contract Notice Opportunities These are formal calls for competition for public sector contracts and are classified by procedure type: Open Procedure / Restricted procedure / Negotiated Procedure (see relevant term).

Core competencies What an organisation does well – its key business – as opposed to other products or services that it can or could offer.

Corporate Governance An organisation’s system of rules, procedures etc used to manage and fulfil its legal, financial and ethical obligations.

Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR The Government sees CSR as the business contribution to our sustainable development goals. Essentially, it is about how business takes account of its economic, social and environmental impacts in the way it operates – maximising the benefits and minimising the downsides.

Cost Plus The method of payment for contracts for which tenderers quote a lump sum or % addition (margin) to their costs.

Culture An organisation’s management, ethics, style and values.

D

Daily Rates The method of payment for contracts for which tenderers quote rates per chargeable day. Dayworks The method of payment for contracts for which tenderers quote rates per attendance hour. DBFM (design, build, finance and manage) A contract (as used for the PFI) in which the service provider is responsible for all four aspects of the provision and management of a service. DBFO (design, build, finance and operate) A contract (as used for the PFI) in which the service provider is responsible for all four aspects of the provision and operation of an asset.

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Debriefs Giving positive, constructive feedback to competing suppliers on their performance at certain stages of the procurement process. It affords an opportunity for a supplier to improve performance in the future. In public sector procurement, a debrief is a legal obligation from the public body. There is no such obligation in private sector procurement. Default A breach of a contract condition, e.g. a delay in the promised delivery. Deliverables A collective name for the tangible goods and/or services that the supplier or contractor is required to supply under agreement. DECS - Defence Electronic Commerce Service Ministry of Defence and Capgemini committed to a ten year Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the provision of e-commerce and e-business services, which are made available to the Defence community via DECS.

DE - Defence Estates Responsible for the properties and lands owned by the MOD.

DELTA - Direct Electronic Links for Tender Administration BiP’s modular internet based electronic tendering suite of applications, DELTA is in daily use across much of the UK public sector. It is based on the EU Procurement Directives and best practice in public sector procurement, providing open competition and transparency and reducing discrimination through simple, user-driven processes.

Diversity Promoting equality and diversity is a duty the entire UK government take very seriously, and is a responsibility shared by all government departments. Also see Equal Opportunities.

E

e-Procurement/e-Tendering The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) defines e-Procurement as "The term used to describe the use of electronic methods in every stage of the purchasing process from identification of requirement through to payment, and potentially to contract management." OGC specifically identifies that electronic enablement of the purchasing process can include e-Sourcing, e-Procurement and e-Payment (including e-Invoicing).

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Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation – ESPO A joint Committee of Local Authorities which operates within the Local Government (Goods & Services) Act 1970. It acts as a purchasing agent for its member authorities and other customers and provides a professional cost effective procurement and supply service.

Electronic Tendering Online – ELTON A system to issue tenders electronically and allow companies to submit bids and proposals via email.

Empowerment Giving employees the necessary skills, knowledge, information and authority to enable them to produce the specified outputs in the most effective and efficient way.

Estimate A genuine and realistic price that represents an estimate for defined works, goods or services, as required by EU rules or standing orders for the purposes of determining the procurement process and ensuring adequate budget provision. This should not be confused with an estimate from a contractor, supplier or service provided for a defined piece of work.

Expression of Interest See Initial Expression of Interest.

Equal opportunities The practice of ensuring that all employees and users of services receive fair and equal treatment. Also see Diversity.

External Customers The external customers of the organisation e.g. your customer’s customers.

EU Rules The Public Contract Regulations 2006. Evaluation Detailed assessment and comparison of contractor, supplier or service provider offers, against financial and quality criteria.

F

Firm Price A price which is not subject to variation

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Framework Agreement A formal agreement with selected (or short-listed) suppliers. The purpose is to establish the terms of contract – in particular with regard to price and quantity. In other words, a framework agreement is a general term for agreements with a number of suppliers which set out terms and conditions under which specific purchases (call-offs) can be made throughout the term of the agreement. Freedom of Information Act The act creates a general right of access, on request, to information held by public authorities (Schedule 1 of the act sets out a long list of the authorities covered by the act). However, there are numerous exemptions. Some of these are absolute; some are qualified, which means the public authority has to decide whether the public interest in disclosing the relevant information outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption. An applicant for information who considers that a request has been wrongly rejected may apply to the Information Commissioner, who has the power to order disclosure. However, such orders can be appealed to a specialist tribunal (the Information Tribunal) and in some circumstances the Government has the power to override orders of the Information Commissioner.

Any person can request information under the act; this includes legal entities such as companies. There is no special format for a request. Applicants do not need to mention the act when making a request. Applicants do not have to give a reason for their request.

G Goods The physical products provided by a supplier, e.g. stationery, computer consumables, construction materials, IT equipment. Governance The framework of authority and control within an organisation.

H

HSE - Health and Safety Executive Government body responsible for health and safety regulation in Great Britain.

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I

IEO - Initial Expression of Interest High value public sector contracts are advertised via OJEU and usually start with asking parties interested in bidding to write and express their interest in bidding. This is different to a Periodic Indicative Notice (or Prior Information Notice). See also PIN.

Innovation Genuinely new ideas for products, services, processes, systems and social interactions – typically giving benefits to the contract.

Intellectual Capital The value of an organisation that is not shown in its traditional financial accounts – the intangible assets of an organisation and is the difference between market and book value e.g. know-how, people, structure etc.

ISO - International Standards Organisation An international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards bodies producing world-wide industrial and commercial standards. IIP - Investors in People The Investors in People Standard is a recognised (audited) standard showing the use of the IIP business improvement tool designed to advance an organisation's performance through its people.

ITT - Invitation to Tender The paper or electronic documentation issued to organisations invited to tender for a contract. Typically it includes a background, rules of tender, contract specification, questions or information required and a draft contact.

J

Joint Ventures – JV A formal or informal partnership created to achieve a specific aim – typically to win a tender or PFI, PPP etc.

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K

Key Performance Indicators - KPIs Specific measurements of service delivery within a Service Level Agreement.

See SLA.

L

Liquidated and ascertained damages A genuine pre-estimate of the loss that the Authority will suffer if the contractor defaults when performing the contract. This may form the basis of deductions from payments, which will be calculated according to the specific circumstance relating to each type of contract. Letter of Acceptance A letter that creates an immediate binding contractual relationship between the Council and the successful tenderer prior to entering into a formal contract. Letter of Intent. A letter informing a successful tenderer that it is the Council’s intention to enter into a contract with them in the future but creates no liability in regard to that future contract.

M

Market Testing The process of comparing the efficiency of in-house (or incumbent) services against tenders from outside companies MIS - Management Information System The mechanism for measuring and reporting information relevant to the management of service delivery; typically information that assists both the supplier and customer.

Materials, Buildings and Equipment Physical items in all their forms including stocks of raw materials and finished products, material in progress and fixed assets.

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Master Vendor The primary supplier who will manage the project using a range of sub-contractors or sub-suppliers and who is accountable to the end client for the overall performance of the contract.

Method Statement The document used in a tender process which sets out questions for the suppliers to answer which helps the purchaser or procurement officer to understand how the goods or services will be delivered. Mission Statement A short statement that describes the purpose of an organisation, why it exists and its aims. Also see Vision.

MEAT - Most Economically Advantageous Tender – The optimum combination of whole life costs and benefits assessed against pre-determined evaluation award criteria which will normally be detailed in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) or equivalent documentation.

MSP – Managed Service Provider

N

NAO - National Audit Office Its role is to audit the financial statements of all government departments and agencies, and many other public bodies. They report on how well the expenditure of public money achieves value for money (VFM) and improvements in the delivery of public services.

NSV - National Supplier Vocabulary (Codes) – CPV numbers have been specially developed by the European Union for public procurement. Their main purpose is to provide a standardised vocabulary to help procurement personnel properly classify their contract notices (in the Official Journal of the European Union – OJEU) and to aid suppliers find the notices which are of interest to them.

NDA – Non-Disclosure Agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement, confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to. It is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or a trade secret.

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As such, an NDA protects non-public business information. NDAs are commonly signed when two companies or individuals are considering doing business and need to understand the processes used in each other’s business for the purpose of evaluating the potential business relationship. NDAs can be "mutual", meaning both parties are restricted in their use of the materials provided, or they can restrict the use of material by a single party.

In rare cases, the contract may state that the existence of the NDA itself cannot be disclosed.

Negotiated Procedure For high-value public sector contracts (see OJEU) – only chosen suppliers are invited to negotiate for a contract(s). This has limited use only e.g. extreme urgency, failure of open/restricted procedures or repeat of similar contract.

NUTS - Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units A hierarchical classification of administrative areas, used across the European Union for statistical purposes e.g. Northern Ireland is one of 12 “NUTS 1” areas in the UK.

O

Official Order A pre-printed form, which incorporates the Council’s terms and conditions of purchase, used to place an order with a supplier OGCbuying.solutions – OGCbs The Government's leading procurement services organisation for the UK; it is a non-profit Executive Agency of the Office of Government Commerce in the Treasury.

Official Journal of the European Union (formerly OJEC) – OJEU The publication in which all high-value public sector contracts in the EU must be advertised. (Also see TED)

Open Procedure For high-value public sector contracts (see OJEU) – suppliers can apply without prior selection ie going through a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (see PQQ). The EU Directives lay down the type of criteria which can be used to eliminate unqualified or unsuitable suppliers.

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P

Parent Company Guarantee A parent company guarantee binds the guarantor (the ‘parent company’) to fulfil and complete a subsidiary company’s obligations and liabilities in the event of a failure by that subsidiary to fulfil and complete its obligations and liabilities under a contract Partnering Contracts Contracts in which prices and specifications are not decided until after contracts are let, usually to enable contractors to contribute to design solutions and other aspects of the work (as proposed by the Government’s Construction Task Force, the Egan Committee). Performance Bonds Bonds or guarantees given to clients by specialist insurers, on behalf of contractors and at their expense, binding the insurers to compensate clients (up to the amount of the bond obtained) in the event of a default. PFI - Private Finance Initiative. A form of partnership between the private and public sector which is normally used for high risk/high value contracts, principally to raise money for higher value projects. PPP - Public Private Partnership. Very similar to a PFI arrangement, but the aim is centred more on service delivery than finance. Preferred Suppliers List A list of organisations preferred by public sector bodies to undertake certain works, supplies or services, following a competitive tendering exercise. Procurement The process of acquiring goods, works and services, covering acquisition from third parties and from in-house providers. The process spans the whole life cycle from identification of needs, through to the end of a services contract or the end of the useful life of an asset. Partnerships A working relationship between two or more parties either creating added value for the customer or as a means to win contracts that individually they may not be successful with. Partners can include suppliers, distributors, joint ventures, and alliances. Note: Suppliers may not always be recognised as formal partners. (Also see Joint Ventures.)

Periodic Indicative Notice, Prior Information Notice – PIN An advance warning of a public sector contract to be tendered at some time in the future. The issue of a PIN does not guarantee that a contract will be placed. This is different to an Initial Expression of Interest (See also IEO).

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PIN – Prior Indicative Notice Used in OJEU to indicate a buyer’s intention of going to tender on a proposed contract in the near future. Use of a PIN allows a buyer to use a shorter timeframe for the actual tender notice.

Pre-qualification Questionnaire - PQQ A set of questions designed to help buyers select the most suitable bidders to be invited to tender.

PSA – Preferred Supplier Agreement An arrangement between a corporation and supplier in which, in return for discounts or other advantages, the corporation requires its employees to source goods and services directly from that supplier only.

PSL – Preferred Supplier List A list of suppliers maintained by an organisation from whom they will procure goods and services and which excludes all suppliers that are not on that list. Placing on the list will normally be as a result of completing a tender process.

PPP - Public Private Partnership – Similar to PFI (above).

Public Sector, The Specifically, the term ‘public sector‘ refers to all bodies that are governed under public law. For member states of the EU (European Union), this means, primarily, central government and all its associated departments, regional and local authorities, state owned utilities, the National Health Service, the police service, the armed forces (MOD), universities and colleges, prisons and devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The term also covers all European institutions including the EC (European Commission) and its related projects and programmes Providing goods or services to the public sector represents a vast opportunity to businesses of all sizes and composition. The value of the spend by local government alone in 2008 will exceed £40 billion.

Moreover, there is now a specific focus in public accounting to show that equal opportunity has been afforded to small and medium-sized businesses, businesses owned and managed by minorities and start-up concerns. Providing that a business can securely and demonstrably meet the terms and conditions of the tendered contract, and has the logistic and internal infrastructure to carry out the services to the levels demanded by the SLA (Service Level Agreement), then it is usually assured of equal participation rights. All public sector authorities are subject to European public procurement rules which are intended to ensure an open and fair market for suppliers, a visible and auditable contracting process and equal access to contract opportunities for all suppliers.

Public procurement rules are defined in a series of EU directives implemented at national level through regulations and other forms of legislation.

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Apart from the provision of a consistent set of procurement rules across the EU, the principal aims of the regulations are to eliminate discriminatory and uncompetitive practices that run counter to the public interest and to ensure the good stewardship of public funds.

Variations to procurement regulations at local level are acceptable as long as they do not contravene existing UK or EU rules, accounting principles or the requirements of statutory legislation. It is also possible to have varying applications of the rules within a single contract, by different purchasing officers or departments.

Q

Quality The level of fitness for purpose which is specified for or achieved by any service, work or product. Quality Assurance (QA) A discipline to assess quality standards, covering all activities and functions concerned with the attainment of quality. Quotation A written or verbal price given by a contractor, supplier or service provider, after being requested either orally or in writing. A quotation may be the written confirmation of an earlier, oral offer.

R

RFI - Request for Information An alternative term for PQQ.

See Pre-qualification Questionnaire.

RFP - Request for Proposal A formal request for a proposal – can range from a simple proposal to a complex tender.

RFQ - Request for Quotation Similar to RFP (above).

Restricted Procedure For high-value public sector contracts (see OJEU) – suppliers are selected by an open first-round invitation eg a PQQ (see Pre-qualification Questionnaire). Any prospective supplier can apply to be included in the restricted list for the contract. Those suppliers who then meet the required criteria or ‘qualify’ will then be invited to tender. NB This is the most common type of tender for high-value contracts.

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S

Schedule of Rates Lists of jobs, like those in bills of quantities except that they contain no quantities. Rates may be inserted by tenderers, or by clients. In the latter case, tenderers specify their overall percentages on or off these rates. SLA - Service Level Agreement - A mechanism for helping a service provider and its customers achieve a shared understanding about services and service delivery. An SLA is a tool that helps manage the expectations, clarify responsibilities, and provide an objective basis for assessing service delivery. See also Key Performance Indicators. Shortlist A list of suitable prospective suppliers that has been drawn up through a preliminary evaluation exercise for a particular contract or procurement activity SMEs - Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Official term – SME’s are firms that employ less than 250 people and have a turn over of less than €50m.

Society of Procurement Officers in Local Government – SOPO With over 2,500 members, SOPO engages in a range of activities to promote its strategic purchasing, contracting and supplies functions. It is also a platform to share best practice and influence the national agenda on how "Best Value" is to be achieved.

Specification A description of requirements and standards to which the goods, works or services should conform. Also known as a statement of needs, a statement of requirement, an operational requirement, or a brief. Its purpose is to present prospective suppliers with a clear, accurate and full description of the organisation’s needs, to enable them to propose a solution to meet them. Stage Payments An agreed percentage or part of the contract price, which is payable when specified stages of completion/delivery have been reached. Stakeholders Individuals, groups or organisations that are affected by and/or have an interest in a particular issue or organisation eg customers, partners, employees, shareholders, owners, government, and regulators.

Standstill Period Once the buyer has announced who it intends to award the contract to, a “standstill peiod

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will follow. This is when suppliers can ask for feedback on the award decision and also challenge the decision if they wish to.

Storyboard A technique for outlining the contents of each section of a tender response, bid or proposal. There are several organisations, such as Sant, Concurrence and Pragmatech, who provide software specifically for the purpose of producing tender responses quickly and effectively. Sub-contracting The process where a contractor assigns part of the contract to another contractor(s)

Supplier Engagement In simple terms, working with suppliers to achieve mutual goals – as opposed to ‘them and us’.

Supply2.gov The website for accessing low-value public sector contracts www.supply2.gov.uk. You can register for free and get free notification of opportunities in your local area for your business (if you want to get notifications outside of your local area or detailed alerts, you need to pay to upgrade).

Supply Chain The flow of resources into and out of the enterprise's collective operations eg an IT supply chain is the flow of resources into and out of its IT operations. The chain can be said to start with the suppliers of your suppliers and ends with the customers of your customer.

Sustainable Development A widely-used and accepted international definition is: 'development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' e.g. the environmental and social impact of today’s actions that may affect the ability of future generations.

Sustainable Procurement The application of sustainable development principles to procurement (see above).

T

Tender / Tendering A formalised process of bidding for work or contracts. See ITT.

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Tenders Electronic Daily – TED The official website for EC tender information http://ted.europa.eu and publishes the Official Journal of the European Union (see OJEU).

Tier 1 Supplier An organisation at the top of the supply chain providing goods or service directly to the end client – also known as the Main Contractor. Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) – TUPE These regulations are designed to protect the rights of employees in a transfer situation e.g. when there is a change in supplier (often when contracts are tendered) or when a facility is first outsourced. This enables affected employees to enjoy continuity of employment keeping the same terms and conditions. TUPE 2006 entirely replaces the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (SI 1981/1794) which have often been referred to as the TUPE regulations.

V

Values Represent the beliefs within an organisation and are demonstrated through the day-to-day behaviours of its employees.

Value for Money The provision of the right goods and services from the right source, of the right quality, at the right time, delivered to the right place and at the right price (judged on whole life costs and not simply initial costs) Vision A statement describing how an organisation wishes to be in the future. Also see Mission Statement. Whole Life Costs The systematic consideration of all relevant costs and revenues associated with the acquisition and ownership of an asset. Works or Programme of Works Definition of the tasks and elements to be supplied under (usually) a construction or building services contract.

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Appendix One:

Glossary of Terms & Abbreviations used specifically in the NHS

Agenda 4 Change National guidelines for pay and working conditions for all NHS staff (excluding doctors).

Call Off Order

An order number raised by a Buyer which can then be used by the end user department each time they wish to replenish stocks of the same product. The goods can be ordered at any interval and at any quantity within the confines of the Purchase Order.

Capital Expenditure related to land, premises, equipment, and vehicles etc which exceed £5,000 – the provision adaptation, renewal or replacement.

Cash Releasing Savings

A genuine reduction in unit cost, for which there is an identified budget.

CIP

Cost Improvement Programme. Each Divisions plan of how they will achieve annual savings against existing budgets to work towards the Trust’s overall FRP (Financial Recovery Plan).

CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (qualification).

Clinician A health professional that is directly included in patient care – e.g. Doctors, Nurses, Therapists etc.

Comprehensive Maintenance

A maintenance engineer will not only provide planned preventative maintenance checks at regular intervals but the maintenance contract will also cover emergency call out situations (this often includes the provision of spare parts).

Cost Avoidance A saving made on what would have been spent but with no existing budget available to link this saving to.

eProc The new purchase order system from 1st April 2006.

Front Line Maintenance

In house engineers will have had the necessary training to deal with routine checks and problems with the equipment before a service engineer from the maintenance contractor is called out.

FRP

Financial Recovery Plan. (The Supplies Department as part of their remit within the Finance Division has a joint responsibility with each Division to contribute to the Trust’s FRP by ensuring priority is given to negotiating areas of spend with the potential to make large savings).

GRN Goods Received Note. Confirmation by Receipts and Distribution that the goods have arrived on the Trust

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premises. Invoices will be paid once the goods have been booked in on the purchase order system.

KSF Knowledge and Skills Framework – each post has pre agreed definitions of the knowledge and skills required by all post holders to review and develop staff.

LOL Logistics on Line. The on-line catalogue for all NHS Logistics items.

Master Indemnity Agreement

National certification issued by the Purchasing & Supply Agency which confirms that the Supplier has adequate insurance to indemnify themselves against all risk of harm from their product\service, when is use by the Trust.

MDMC

Medical Devices Management Committee, chaired by the Medical Director to agree the purchase of all replacement medical devices over £5K and to discuss and agree recommendations for medical devices which have contentious issues surrounding their use. There are also 6 subgroups which feed into the main Committee. For more information refer to the Trust’s Medical Devices Policy.

ME Form Medical Equipment Form for all medical devices. For further details refer to the Trust’s Medical Devices Policy.

Medical Equipment

Disposals Form

A form used to confirm the method and cost of disposing a piece of Trust owned equipment. For further details refer to the Trust’s Medical Devices Policy.

Non Stock Purchasing

Items which cannot be purchased from NHS Logistics or automatically via the Oracle System. Likely to be one off requirements or non standard items required by all Trusts.

NSV National Supplies Vocabulary Code for all items raised on the purchase order, individually raised each time a new product code is added to the system.

OJ \ EU (Formally OJEC)

Official Journal of European Union. Journal in which all prospective tender exercises need to be advertised if total contract value is likely to be more than £100K.

Oracle

The new purchase order and finance system which will be fully implemented by 1st April 2006. Customers can buy off all agreed catalogues which will be maintained by the Supplies Department.

PASA Purchasing and Supply Agency. Part of the Department of Health responsible for national procurement initiatives and work closely with local supplies department.

PDP Personal Development Plan. Provided as an outcome following Annual Performance Review.

PO Purchase Order Number raised using the relevant supplies system and must be quoted On all invoices to ensure

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prompt payment. Once an order is raised a copy is sent to both the supplier and to the customer, who should retain it with the requisition.

POISE Procurement of Information Systems Effectively. A national model to guide IT people who are responsible for IT Procurement through the required stages.

PPM

Planned Preventative Maintenance. A maintenance engineer will visit at pre-agreed intervals to service the equipment. However if the engineer is required outside of these dates a call out fee will be charged.

Pre Purchase Questionnaire

Standard form from which Supplier needs to complete for all electro-medical devices. Supplies will arrange for completion.

Pre Qualification Questionnaire

A questionnaire designed in conjunction with the Supplies Department to reduce the number of prospective tenderers.

Quotation

Formal offer made by the Supplier. It is mandatory for an invitation to quote to be sent out by Supplies for goods\services over £5K. Recommended for spend under this value. Documentation which confirms the Trusts Conditions of Offer and includes pricing and product literature from the Supplier.

Req’s Requisition forms detailing requirements and which budget to be charged for purchase - can be non stock, stock or charitable fund req’s.

Revenue Expenditure

Spend other than capital e.g. consumables, leasing budgets, maintenance staff or drug budgets plus all spend under £5K.

SBS \ Xsanza New shared business services (replacement to Hampshire Shared Financial Services)

SFI

Standing Financial Instructions. Document issued by the Director of Finance confirming the Financial Controls and Procedures in place regarding how the Trust’s money should be spent and individuals sign off limits.

Standing Order

Purchase Order raised by a Buyer and sent to the supplier to confirm a standard regular delivery of a product or to allow for set payments to be made by the Trust at regular intervals.

Stock Purchasing Managed by local Supply Chain Teams who replenish on the customer’s behalf from general lists of items.

Tender Formal offer made by the Supplier. It is mandatory for an invitation to quote to be sent out by Supplies for goods\services over £5K but often recommended for

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spend under this value if the requirement is complex and would better suit a tender as opposed to a quotation exercise (e.g. if the specification of requirements or pricing proposals are complex).

Trust Planning Group

Group chaired by the Director of Operation Performance who meet monthly to agree service developments and the financial and equipment resources required to enable the development. Often cross over with MDMC Group. Both have Supplies representation.

Weighting \ Evaluation

Criteria

Basis on which a decision will be made on preferred supplier. Will consider clinical\ technical evaluations, quality, ongoing support, financial, maintenance issues etc. This needs to be agreed with Supplies prior to the dispatch of the tender document.

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