Procurement Services
Approved suppliers will usually have been successful in a University quotation or tender exercise or through a consortium framework tender. Alternatively there may be a significant reason for the supplier being approved. In all cases ongoing University business for contracted items should be placed with approved suppliers. The majority of purchases for goods and services made are in accordance with contracts following tenders created either by the University or through collaboration with a number of regional Higher Education purchasing consortia, such as the North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC).
University of Chester contracts which exceed the UK Procurement thresholds for public sector procurement are either awarded using a consortium Framework Agreement or DPS (Dynamic Purchasing System) or will be advertised on the Find a Tender service (FTS), in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, which replaced the previous EU requirements. Contracts which do not exceed the thresholds for advertising on FTS are awarded using a consortium Framework Agreement or DPS or through a competitive tender process, in line with the University's Procurement Policy and Financial Regulations.
Publicly advertised tenders are conducted via the University's portal on the In-Tend e-tendering system. Suppliers who wish to participate in forthcoming tender opportunities for University of Chester are encouraged to register their details in full on the University's In-Tend portal to receive notification of advertised tenders.