Jargon Buster
The following terms are frequently used during the procurement process.
Agreement | BIP | BME | Best Value | Contract Standing Orders | Contract | e-Procurement | EU | EU Legislation | FOIA | ITT | KPI | Method Statement | OJEU | PQQ | Procurement | SLA | SME | Specification |Supplier questionnaire | Sustainability | Tender | Total Cost | TUPE |
- Agreement
The legally binding contract terms and conditions between the parties.
- BIP
Business Information Publications Ltd.
- BME
Black and Minority Ethnic (EMB is Ethnic Minority Business).
- Best Value
It is a requirement of the Local Government Act that all councils ensure that they achieve "best value" from all of their contracts.
- Contract Standing Orders
The Council's internal control procedures for procurement and contracting.
- Contract
The legal agreement which sets out the rights and obligations of all parties.
- e-Procurement
The use of an electronic system to acquire goods, works and services, and payments from third parties. Solutions currently on the market include:- Complete 'end to end' procurement systems that are integrated with financial back office systems
- Stand alone modules used to seek tenders or quotations (known as e-Sourcing)
- Web-based systems that enable ordering from approved catalogues (e-Marketplaces)
- Other web-based systems such as e-Auctions
- Procurement cards for ordering and payment
- Payment through BACS
- EU
The European Union.
- EU Legislation
EU Public Procurement Directives, which are the rules and regulations that public sector organisations must comply with when completing any procurement process.
- FOIA
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
- ITT
Invitation To Tender. This document is used in the tendering process and will advise you of when and where tenders should be submitted.
- KPI
Key Performance Indicator. KPIs are tools which help us to measure the performance of suppliers against their contractual obligations. KPIs are normally detailed in the service specification document.
- Method Statement
The document used in a tender process which sets out questions for the suppliers to answer which help us understand how you intend to provide the goods or services.
- OJEU
The Official Journal of the European Union. Contracts which fall within the EU threshold values & are not exempt categories must be advertised for tender by placing a notice in the OJEU. Current EU thresholds as at 31 January 2006 are as follows:- Supplies £139,893
- Services £139,893
- Works £3,497,313*
* Including subsidised services contracts under regulation 34.
The above thresholds are net of VAT.
- PQQ
Means pre-qualification questionnaire - see supplier questionnaire.
- Procurement
Buying or purchasing goods or services and taking into account the whole life costs. The acquisition by purchase, lease, rent, hire, transfer, loan or other legal means of the goods, services and works required and/or used by an organisation.
- SLA
Service Level Agreement. This is sometimes used internally between council departments.
- SME
Small and Medium business Enterprises.
- Specification
The document which we use to set out our requirements for the goods or services.
- Supplier questionnaire (also known as 'PQQ' - Pre-qualification questionnaire - and 'RFI' - Request For Information)
This document is used the Routine procurement process and the Major procurement process. The responses are used to help us evaluate submissions or suppliers depending on the procedure used.
- Sustainability
The environmental issues to be considered.
- Tender
The procurement process of inviting and evaluating bids from suppliers to provide goods or services.
- Total Cost (also known as total aggregated value)
The total cost of the overall requirement over the contract term. Individual or annual costs are irrelevant where goods, services or works are of the same type or have similar characteristics. The total cost of the contract must be used when deciding which process.
- TUPE
Means the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. The purpose of TUPE is to preserve continuity of employment and to safeguard employment rights of all employees whose employment transfers to a new employer as a result of a relevant transfer.