Commodity Profile & Strategy for the [Contract /
Framework Agreement] for: [insert]
Reference: [insert]
Recommended for completion for procurements
falling below the OJEU Threshold and above
£50,000. This strategy may still be used for
procurements below £50,000 if deemed appropriate.
Version
Name
Date Completed
Comments
Procurement Decisions & Authorisations
Complete from the Decision Tree questions prior to completing rest of Strategy
Can you
utilise an internal,
unused or now
surplus to
requirements
resource? E.g.
AUPO surplus
equipment
scheme.
Yes
Record & retain
decision for audit
trail, abort planned
procurement and
delete remainder
of Strategy slides
Requirement to be
procured as a Cat C
or C1 [insert which
applies]?
No
Estimated Cost [insert £
value excl VAT]
Budgetary Authority:
approval obtained by
[insert name & date]
Purchasing Authority:
approval of Procurement
Officer to procure the
requirement given [insert
name & date].
Proceed with completing
Commodity Strategy
Slide 2
Contents:
Below is the recommended minimum contents of the Profile & Commodity Strategy. Other slides can be added on a
commodity specific basis as appropriate. Further slides are contained in the Scottish Public Sector Toolkit
Contents
Slide Number
•Version Control
• Executive Summary
•Business Requirements
•Supply Market Overview
•Risk Analysis - Including Barriers to Change
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• ITT Considerations
• Information re evaluating references, site visits & presentations
•PQQ Selection Criteria
•Tender Award & Weighting Criteria
• Contract Implementation
•Sign-Off
1
4
5
6
8
9
11
12
13
14
15
16
Executive Summary –
Procurement Officer to complete this slide after completion of the Strategy
and prior to forwarding for sign off by the User Group (if applicable).
 Current status: [list]
 Spend – total versus addressed:
[list]
 Scope of requirement: [detail]
 Recommendations and reasoning:
[detail]
 Benefits – how much, how, by when?
• Any major barriers to success:
[detail]
Business Need and Functional Requirements
Institution Requirements
Where we are…
 What does the commodity do, standard v
customised, level of customisation, quality
requirements, real v perceived function, service
requirements, user perception, value to
institution, specific specifications
Where we want to be
 NB use of generic specifications – if these
don’t exist the Procurement Officer/User
Group needs to start working on them as
soon as possible
 Consider the procurement innovation issues
for highly complex procurements
XXXXXX
Supply Market Overview
 Market Trends – briefly detail what is happening in the market for the commodity, current and future technologies,
changing customer demands, new players, mergers and acquisition
 Supply Market Share – briefly detail the key players within the industry, identify size in terms of turnover, sales,
number of customers and capacity
NOTE: trends are important - they reveal:
•who is winning/ losing business
•Who is trying to win market share in the UK
•whose business objectives match the sector
•what do profit margins typically look like for the industry
Current Suppliers of [Name of Commodity] to Institution
Current Suppliers of [Name of Commodity]
Supplier
Spend
Total Revenue
Background on the Supplier
xxx
 xxx
 xxx
 xxx
xxx
 xxx

xxx
 xxx
xxx
 xxx
 xxx
 xxx
xxx
 xxx

xxx
 xxx
xxx
 xxx

xxx
 xxx
Risk Analysis for [Name of Commodity] Inc Barriers To Change
Risk Analysis
Description of Risk
 xxx
Probability of
Implications to Institution
Risk
 High / Medium /  xxxx
Low
Measures to
Minimise / Eradicate Risk
 xxxx
 xxx
 xxxx
 xxxx
 xxxx
 xxx
 High
 xxxx
 xxxx
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Procurement Officer & User Group to consider CSR
issues relevant to this procurement:
General issues: [list]
PQQ CSR Questionnaire (if applicable): exclude any questions
which are not relevant to the commodity and do not require completion by PQQ applicants
ITT CSR Questionnaire (if applicable): exclude any questions
which are not relevant to the commodity and do not require completion by tenderers
ITT Statement of Requirements:
consider the applicability of the Buy
Sustainable-Quick Wins product specifications detailed in SPPN 15/2008. NB: these contain a set of
sustainable specifications covering a range of commonly purchased products and are considered
best practice
CSR
 SMEs, Supported Businesses & Social Enterprises* including
Social Issues** & Community Benefits:
 barriers to participation identified as: [insert]. The proposal for removing barriers to
participation is [detail] e.g. lotting, sub-contracting opportunities, consortium member etc
 Further information relating to SMEs is contained in SPPN 2/2009 and SPD Buyer’s Guide.
 Identification of any social clauses or community benefits relevant to this procurement: [list]
NB: areas may already be adequately covered by the existing PQQ/ITT CSR Questionnaire.
 Reserved Contract under Regulation 7 of the EU Procurement
Regulations: applicable to the contract/framework agreement?: [Yes/No] and brief reason if
not [detail]. Refer to Paragraph 3.5 of the Procurement Manual for guidance.
*refer to Procurement Manual for information on supported businesses and social enterprises.
** social issues might broadly be defined as issues which impact on society or parts of society and cover a range of
issues including equalities issues (i.e. age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation), training issues,
minimum labour standards and the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including black and
minority ethnic enterprises and the third sector including social enterprises. Refer to SPPN 03 2008 for
community benefits guidance or SPPN 06 2007 for social issues guidance
ITT Considerations (particularly relevant to consider this stage in more detail when the Pre Qualification is not
being used)
 What is the value of the requirement? How does this inform the procurement
process?
 Statement of Requirements (SoR): the main areas and issues needing to be
inserted into the SoR are: [detail]
 IPR: [IPR does/doesn’t apply]. If IPR applies, the impact is [detail]
 TUPE: establish if TUPE is likely to apply: [Yes/No]. If yes, obtain the following detail for insertion
in Schedule 4 of the ITT: name(s), sex, employment location of individuals who may be subject to
TUPE and consult with the HoP or Human Resources or seek legal advice.
 Contract Monitoring & Management:
•
•
•
View the core areas detailed in Schedule 2 of the ITT and detail the KPIs to apply: [insert]
Will KPIs be for information only? If there are to be consequences if KPIs are not met this
should be referenced in the ITT Schedules 2 and 5.
Detail any other performance indicators or management reports required (other than detailed
already in Schedule 3 of the ITT): [insert]
 Pricing Strategy:
 detail the how the commodity will be priced (taking into account whole life costing and cost
avoidance). Can an e-auction be utilised for this commodity?
 State the period of price stability (e.g. 1 year etc) and the reasoning for this: [insert]
Information re Evaluation of References, Site Visits, and
Presentations
 References:
 Ascertaining an applicant’s past experience in terms of “technical or professional ability” can be included in a Pre Qualification
Questionnaire (if it is used) as a section criteria using written evidence of past performance which can be objectively evaluated.
 Site visits:
 If a site visit is required before tender return i.e. to be used to inform tenderers more clearly regarding the outputs of the requirement
e.g. visit to an Institution's property or visit to a new build, then this is not evaluated.
 If a site visit is deemed to be required post tender return and as part of evaluation process (because the information to be ascertained
from the site visit directly relates to the subject matter of the Contract or Framework Agreement), this must be detailed as an award
criteria in the ITT, be capable of evaluation, and make clear what is being assessed in the site visit.
 Presentations:
 If a presentation is deemed to be necessary as part of tender evaluation and/or bid clarification, it can only be used for information
purposes and cannot be detailed as an award criteria in the advert or ITT and used to evaluate tenders because it is subjective, and
not capable of objective evaluation i.e. performance at interview is not an evaluation criteria.
 Evaluation of a presentation’s written output is permissible where as part of bid clarification tenderers are requested to present on
common areas in the submitted tenders (which following tender evaluation have been revealed to be areas where clarification would
be needed). These areas cannot be in addition to the award criteria detailed in the advert or ITT.
 Ensure any area of concern remaining after the presentation is followed up in writing as part of bid clarification.
PQQ Selection Criteria (if applicable) Further information OGC Selection/Award criteria PPN
Selection Criteria:
Criteria:
 Part A – Background Information
 Part A - Section not scored – for info only
 Part B – Conviction of Criminal Offences
 Part B - If the applicant answers ‘Yes’ to any question they
MUST be excluded from the process
 Part C – Business Probity
 Part C - If the applicant answers ‘Yes’ to any question they
MAY be excluded from the process
 Part D – Technical & Professional Ability
NB - If restricting number of PQQ applicants, the
minimum/maximum number able to participate is:
[number]. NB: clarify if this number relates to per
lot or to the overall framework
 Part D - If minimum standards are set and aren’t met, the
applicant should be excluded from the process otherwise
use objective scoring criteria to shortlist those applicants
meeting minimum standards
We need to ensure that we are able to objectively score against each criteria and
there is
Slide 13
consistency & transparency right through the strategic sourcing process
ITT Award & Weighting Criteria
Price Quality Ratio:[insert]
Weighting Criteria:
Further information OGC Selection/Award criteria PPN
Award Criteria: Award criteria is based on [MEAT/lowest price]
Minimum Standards (if used)
Service Delivery – Details Requirements
PASS/FAIL
Service Delivery – Detail Requirements
PASS/FAIL
CSR – Detail Requirements
PASS/FAIL
Supplier Stability & Viability – Detail requirements
PASS/FAIL
Award Criteria
PQR
Weighting (%)
In this example the headings below are for six award criteria. All questions to be
asked of tenderers in the ITT must relate to this criteria and have corresponding
weighting. Refer to ITT Schedule 5 for further info.
Price
40%
-
Quality
Subweighting
(%)
100%
Service Delivery, Supplier Capacity & Minimum Standards
20%
Design Scenarios
25%
Staffing
5%
Project Planning & Implementation
25%
Warranty & Support
10%
Supplier Stability & Viability
15%
60%
We need to ensure that we are able to objectively score against each criteria and there is
Slide 14
consistency & transparency right through the strategic sourcing process
Contract Implementation – Lead-In Period
Detail what will need to happen, when, and whose
responsibility is it to e.g.:






Conduct product trials (if applicable)
Start running down stocks of current product ranges (if applicable)
Prepare/ complete any required training
Clarify supplier change management/ implementation expectations
Ensure smooth transition
Follow-up on progress
Note requirements for completion later in the
process:
 Systems updates
 Savings notification
 Notification and award letters
Commodity Strategy Sign-Off
Profile & Strategy approved by Head of Procurement/ Budget Holder:
Name:…………..…………………
Date: ……………………………..