Print Buying
Welsh Assembly offers £40m print framework
The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has set up a printing framework worth up to £40m.
Public sector services, such as NHS bodies, emergency authorities and educational establishments, will source print from the tender.
The collaborative tender, which will be implemented in April next year, follows a similar set up by the Scottish government. It is split into lots which include web offset, large sheetfed, medium sheetfed, digital printing and direct mail.
Tina Williams, of WAG's corporate procurement services, said: "WAG has always had a printing procurement set-up, but decided to set up a collaborative framework to improve efficiency.
"This means that the public sector authorities can source from the framework without the need to set up their own tenders.
"There has already been a lot of interest and we expect to recruit a maximum of 120 printers across the various lots."
The contract will last for three years with a possibility of a further year extension.
Applications for the tender must be received by 31 December 2008.
The Welsh Assembly building
Comments
- 25 November 2008
This contract is ideal for `True` Print Management.
Colin Thompson
Cavendish
www.cavendish-mr.org.uk
Mick Hart - 26 November 2008
No Colin - just another example of many, many jobbing print orders being lumped together, and produced uneconomically, effectively elbowing-out SME businesses in favour some of the few companies who can handle the massive sums of money thus created.
How many companies will this move close down?
\(web address withheld so as not to appear to be advertising)
lordof weboffset - 26 November 2008
You have to see the tender to believe it, ye gods, who dreams these things up. Some of the questions are just plain stupid.
No request for plant lists etc. but they do want to know about prosecutions and insurance cover, Health and safety and the environment. Some questions, as usual, contradict themselves, with mandatory answers required for questions you do not have to answer.
Here is an example of one of the mandatory questions "Does your organisation or any of its senior members have any outstanding debts with any local Authority e.g. Council Tax, Non Domestic Rates, Trade Refuse Charges or Commercial Rents?"
I wonder what would happen if you answered yes
I will do the tender through gritted teeth, as will many of my web offset colleagues, but is this really the best way to buy print, I think not.
NDCT - 26 November 2008
You have to understand, My Lord, that these tenders have nothing to do with buying goods and services cheaply, they are firstly about buck-passing so that if something goes wrong, the Council/Assembly has someone to blame other than themselves, and secondly about ensuring that only those people who are fully paid-up members of New Labour's 'Third Way' get any public sector work. Hence 'Diversity and Equality' is FAR more important than productivity and efficiency.
lordof weboffset - 26 November 2008
God bless you my son, I stand corrected, Amen.
Mick Hart - 26 November 2008
I stand corrected as well, in Labour's 'third Reich' I wouldn't have been able to afford to study economics, so wouldnn't be qualified to be cynical (thanks Maggie). My fault really then. I knew I should have gone in to banking - no ROI's, PQQ's or ITT's, there - and as for contracts or good will, credit or suitability checks ......
martin whetton - 28 November 2008
does anyone know where I can cut and paste a decent diversity policy?
Richard Head - 01 December 2008
Just google it
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