Conducting a tender contributes to a fair, efficient, qualitative and transparent procurement process. A tender forces an organisation to think carefully about the request in advance. This is a time-consuming process, but ultimately benefits the quality of services. Project manager Juliette Koolhoven heads the project team dealing with the European tender in order to find the best supplier with the best price-quality ratio. We asked Juliette some questions about the tender process and where we currently stand. 

What will you notice?  

"Regardless of which party wins the tender, there will be changes. The most noticeable change is the halving of the number of printers the UvA uses. Printing is becoming less and less relevant because of digitalisation, therefore the use of printers has decreased significantly. Keeping printers that are hardly used is economically and sustainably unsound. In the recent period, the UvA, in consultation with representatives of the organisation, has made an inventory of the printers that will be decommisioned." 

What does the tender process look like and where are we now?  

"Simply put, the tender process consists of several stages. In the preparation phase, you prepare all the required documents to be able to put out the tender assignment. Think, for example, of the minimum requirements and the criteria on which the tender quotes will be assessed and awarded. These documents should be as sharply worded as possible, as they form the basis for a successful tender. We did this with representatives from our education and services, supplemented by technical experts. The combination of print, mail, repro and logistics services adds to the complexity of the process. Our tender assignment was published on 29 September this year, allowing suppliers to bid on it." 

What is the next step?  

"All potential suppliers are given time to ask questions, which we call the ‘Information Notice’. Once the suppliers have asked their questions, we start answering them. Then the suppliers can submit their tender quotes. In this tender quote, a supplier describes how our requirements and wishes will be met and at what cost. These tender quotes are then evaluated based on the criteria described earlier. After this evaluation process, a preliminary award follows, which is ultimately converted into a final award. As soon as we reach this milestone, we will of course inform you about this."