The Central Buying Consortium has appointed Ricoh as the number one preferred supplier of copiers to major councils and community organisations such as schools, charities and groups across Kent, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Coventry and Birmingham. Ricoh was appointed along with three other preferred suppliers but was given number one status due to its competitive pricing, service and support. The contract will run until the end of September 2002 and could see the four suppliers installing more than 14,000 machines across Kent, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Coventry and Birmingham local authorities.
The contract was issued for tender by Kent County Supplies (KCS), CBC’s lead buyer for photocopier equipment, after the previous contract expired last year. 13 companies tendered for the contract which was to be awarded to just four suppliers, a decrease from the previous contracts’ five manufacturers, meaning that competition for places was fierce. From the four suppliers each local authority stated how many they would take when considering the purchase of new equipment. Some authorities decided to take three and some will only take the number one supplier for copier products – giving the supplier in the top spot added advantage.
Once the tender was issued a ‘meet the buyer’ forum was held for all the participating local authorities to discuss what CBC was looking for from those appointed to the contract. Following this, once all the bids for the tender had come back in, KCS made a recommendation to the other members of the Consortium of which suppliers to appoint, this was discussed then the contract was awarded. The chosen suppliers were graded from one to four with Ricoh capturing the number one position.
Once appointed as preferred supplier Ricoh, along with the other three suppliers, are recommended to customers requiring photocopier equipment. The authorities all work differently and the level of their involvement varies when liasing between customers and suppliers with some only involved in the preliminary stages. In the case of KCS the whole purchasing process is handled by them so once a customer has selected a supplier they send an order to KCS who contact the supplier, who will then send the purchase invoice back to Kent. KCS maintains the contract and ensures that the customer is happy all the way through the time that they have the equipment. In the same way the supplier provides, installs and maintains the products directly with the customer.
As a non-profit-making body, the role of KCS as lead buyer of photocopier equipment for CBC is to provide a worry free service to community groups and services who require such products. KCS provides the legal tender documents and puts forward the preferred suppliers for the customers to choose from. The system ensures that community groups are not spending unnecessary amounts of money and are not tying themselves into unsuitable contracts with unscrupulous suppliers.
“Having dropped down from five suppliers to four on this contract, gaining a place as a preferred supplier was an even harder task than normal. Therefore, for Ricoh to have secured the number one position means that it excelled in meeting our contract criteria,” commented Karen Sanderson, general manager, Kent County Supplies. “KCS looks closely at suppliers before awarding the contract as we need to be sure that we can work in partnership with them to offer our customers a trouble free, high quality service at competitive rates.”
“Ricoh is delighted to have won the position as number one preferred supplier for CBC3,” said Chris Wills, marketing director at Ricoh UK. “We have always had a strong relationship with local government bodies due to the overall excellence of our product range and support package, this appointment reinforces our position.”
About CBC
CBC consists of 17 major local authorities in the South East, involved in approximately £750m annual spend. A combination of purchasing power and expertise enables it to deliver best value goods and services to customers. CBC is keen on developing lasting business relationships with suppliers and was winner of the inaugural Kelly’s Award for Excellence in Purchasing and Supply in Local and Central Government for 1999.