NEWS RELEASE
06 NOVEMBER 2006
BiP LAUNCHES NEW ACCREDITATION SERVICE
A formalised mechanism for assessment for ‘pre-qualification’ is an integral part of the public
sector tendering exercise.
Public sector organisations need assurance that potential suppliers are suitable to tender for
public contract opportunities in terms of their legal, financial and technical capacity.
A new national pre-qualification accreditation service, aimed at helping public sector buyers,
that is fully compliant with the EU Treaty, EC Public Procurement Directives and UK
Regulations is being announced by BiP Solutions, the leading provider of public sector
solutions, on 07 November 2006.
The BiP Select Accredit service provides a common supplier accreditation service accepted
across the public sector, and is open to all.
Select Accredit provides a global approach to pre-qualification via supplier assessment
across a common range of requirements and delivers better value for money for both buyers
and suppliers.
The service helps public sector organisations deliver improvements in efficiency and
streamline their procurement process, as well as reduce the administration burden on
suppliers.
With more than 60,000 suppliers already electing to register with SELECT, BiP’s free online
supplier information database service, and over 6000 buyers registered to view this
information, BiP is uniquely positioned to offer such an expert supplier accreditation service.
Select Accredit is the only across public sector accreditation service delivered to the same
exacting standards set for DTI’s Constructionline accreditation service. Constructionline is the
only government supported UK accreditation service.
Select Accredit supports the ‘do-it-once’ ethos. It minimises the financial and administrative
burden on suppliers and buyers through removing duplication of effort, and provides suppliers
with the comfort of knowing they will be considered as having achieved a public sector
recognised standard. Suppliers are only asked to seek accreditation once by all public sector
organisations using the service.
Select Accredit is endorsed by the Society of Procurement Officers in Local Government
(SOPO), the leading procurement organisation for local government buyers, with thousands
of members across the UK.
BiP has appointed Capita as its vetting process service provider. Capita is already well
established in the field of supplier accreditation since it administers the Constructionline
service.
Constructionline and BiP have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of mutual
cooperation to benefit each other’s buyers and suppliers. This agreement is fully supported by
DTI as it helps deliver the DTI’s primary aim for Constructionline, which is the reduction in
duplication. This has been achieved by using Capita’s specialist software that enables
Constructionline and Select Accredit supplier information to be hosted in a shared
environment.
Select Accredit will be provided free of charge to buyers as part of BiP’s proven Delta etendering system, which is already in use with thousands of public sector buyers. Suppliers
also benefit from this as their details will be viewed by a wide range of buyers, with a diverse
range of requirements.
Ron Burges, CEO of BiP Solutions, said: “By providing buyers and suppliers with a common
resource, Select Accredit aims to simplify the process of gaining accreditation and reduce the
resources ordinarily required.
“This will afford buyers and suppliers alike an increased confidence when entering into the
tendering process and offer them a greater number of opportunities to engage in successful
relationships.”
Select Accredit is very SME friendly, with annual accreditation and registration fees starting
from as low as £70 plus VAT. The fees are solely dependent on a company’s overall turnover,
therefore charges are always proportional to that company’s ability to pay and the value it will
derive from the service.
The Select Accredit accreditation process also take special measures to ensure SMEs can
apply for accreditation.
ENDS