I'd like to do business with DCHS

Becoming a supplier for DCHS

The contracts managed by our procurement team range in value and complexity from simple arrangements for room hire to high value contracts for the home delivery of incontinence products, collection and disposal of clinical waste, provision of linen hire and laundry services, maintenance of medical and estates equipment and much more.

The team maintains an electronic database of all contracts and operates a review system to ensure that contracts are operating satisfactorily and are renewed in a timely and cost effective fashion. The preparatory work for high value and complex contracts will often start over twelve months before the current contract end date and can involve detailed liaison with key stakeholders within the organisation, external bodies, other NHS organisations, and prospective suppliers. Please see Procurement Guidance Note PGN3 for more detail on the process.

Those suppliers selected should offer good value for money and quality for the Trust having been through a fully auditable competitive process. The competitive process will have included evaluation against a list of relevant criteria.

Sustainability

We need to consider the sustainability and carbon agendas and, where appropriate, the use of local suppliers and small to medium sized enterprises.  Best practice and financial guidelines dictate that for high value spend areas DCHS should make use of existing national and regional framework contracts (more than one supplier) or contracts awarded to a single supplier.

We recommend prospective suppliers monitor the following websites on a regular basis and take the opportunity to apply for tender documents as relevant contracts come up for review:

• NHS Supply Chain
• Crown Commercial Services (CCS)
• North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative ( NOE CPC)
• Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation
• NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS)

Small & medium sized enterprises
We recognise the important contribution that can be made by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who wish to bid for work on a more local basis. There are opportunities to make competitive and innovative bids for maintenance and service contracts and supply only arrangements. Before we can enter into a contract with a supplier a competitive process will need to be undertaken. This is likely to involve us requesting a supplier to submit a quote, for lower value purchases, or tender, for higher value purchases in excess of £50,000.

Register an interest
DCHS does not pre-register companies or operate approved supplier lists. To find out if DCHS operate a contract that encompasses a particular commodity, product or service, companies should first make contact with the procurement team. There is an expectation that any supplier conducting business with DCHS adheres to certain standards including:

• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Business to Business Ethical Code
• Zero Inflation Policy
• Standards of Business Conduct Policy
• Guidance for Suppliers

Current supply and contract opportunities 
These are reviewed and updated on a monthly basis by our contracts and purchasing team. In addition, prospective suppliers should consult one or more of the following websites:

• Find a Tender
• Contracts Finder
• Source East Midlands