Dynamic Purchasing Systems.

You might have seen when researching for Public Tenders, the ominous words, “Dynamic Purchasing System”. So, what exactly is a DPS?  Public Contracts Regulations 2015 state, “[a] DPS should be set up for identified types of requirements, which may be divided into categories of products, works or services.”

DPS or Dynamic Purchasing System is a specific supplier list where tenders etc are published to, a defined set of members that meet and maintain a position on that list, maintaining their position and qualification for as long as the DPS is active.

These can be just one organisation such as a Local Authority or a collective of organisations who wants to outsource work in either one or more service areas, or Lots and rather than having over 100 supplier applications come through for the many tenders they publish, Buying Organisation will select down to a set-list of suppliers onto their own DPS.

DPS must run as a complete electronic process, new suppliers can join at any time if they meet the qualifying criteria and its possible to be unsuccessful once and try again. DPS are not short-term tenders, they often run-in excess of 5 or even 10 years.

As all the effort is online, suppliers would need to register onto the DPS via the Buying Organisations Portal, selecting the Lot or service they want to supply and undergo a Stage 1 submission to secure a place. Once this is completed, they move to Stage 2, tendering for the services in question.

Once secured, Stage 2 is the actual tendering of the works in question.

Stage 1

We have previously written about Pre-qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) to help the buyer down select their list of Invitations to Tender (ITT). Buying Organisation will now tend to use a Selection Questionnaire to do the same, similar to a PQQ but usually some added questions on what is being delivered. The Buyer can down select out those who fail to meet the criteria and progress all applicants who meet the criteria in their financial, technical and professional responses.

Stage 2

When you have passed Stage 1. Suppliers are now able to respond to tenders when they are published against your specific lot(s) or service areas. Suppliers are automatically invited to respond to tender as they are on the pre-approved list!

Buyers can operate more effectively but reducing the number of responses they need to evaluate. Being on a DPS is a win-win for all!