This was formerly the Sole Supplier Justification Form.
The majority of purchases of goods and services should be based on the above competitive bids processes. Where the supply of a good or service can only be purchased from one supplier because of its specialised or unique characteristics, this should be justified through the Procurement Procedures Exception Form (formerly the Sole Supplier Justification Form).
This form should be used where there is a genuine exceptional operational reason for not using an existing collaborative agreement or for subjecting the purchase to open competition. This method of acquisition should not be used to avoid competition or where decisions to procure have been postponed and insufficient timelines to procure through the routes above exists.
A "sole source" procurement means that only one supplier (source) exists, to the best of the requester's knowledge and belief and based upon thorough research such as conducting a market survey, that is capable of delivering the required product or service. Similar types of goods and services may exist, but only one supplier - for reasons of expertise, and/or standardisation, quality, compatibility with existing equipment, specifications, or availability - is the only source that is acceptable to meet a specific need.
The Procurement Procedures Exception Form sets out the reasoning behind the sole supplier claim and can be downloaded from the Forms section of the Finance website.
Procurement Procedure Exceptions are open to challenge by the Head of Procurement, and copies of all documentation should be attached to any order which is placed, as evidence of appropriate value for money checks.
Where the value of the purchase exceeds £10k, the completed Procurement Procedures Exception Form must be sent to the Head of Procurement for approval and authorisation
Download: Procurement Procedures Exception Form
Full guidance on the use of the Procurement Procedures Exceptions form can be found Guidance for use of Procurement Procedures Exception Form
This route provides guidance for procurements of relatively low value, risk and a non-repetitive nature. If your procurement does not fall within this description or you do not have the authority to procure, you should contact Procurement
If the estimated value of the goods/services you are buying is over £50,000 (over its lifetime - four years max) you should contact Procurement before proceeding.
The main objectives of the toolkit are:
- To provide a step-by-step guide to conduct a low-value procurement exercise
- To provide a set of guides and templates that can be used to collate and analyse the data required when conducting the purchasing exercise
- To standardise the public sector procurement process across organisations for lower-value procurements
- To highlight the minimum legal and policy obligations involved at each stage of the process.
Now you are ready to begin your Route One of the Procurement Journey.
This route provides guidance for regulated procurements as defined in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and any other legislation requirement, procurement cycle and any applicable local procurement policies, guidelines, and governance arrangements between £50k-£173,100 for goods and services and £2m - £4m for works.
The main objectives of this route are:
- To provide a step-by-step guide to conducting a Route Two procurement exercise
- To provide a set of guides and templates that can be used to collate and analyse the data required when conducting the procurement exercise
- To standardise the public sector procurement process across organisations
- To highlight the minimum legal and policy obligations involved at each stage of the process.
Now you are ready to begin your Route 2 of the Procurement Journey.
This route provides guidance for the procurement of goods and services classed as high value/high risk/strategic procurements, and where the estimated value of the goods/services you are buying is more than £173,100 (over its lifetime - four years max). Procurement processes under this route should only be undertaken under the guidance of trained Procurement Officers. If your procurement falls within this route, please contact Procurement. This process would normally take between four to six months.
Procurement will facilitate your Route 3 process through:
- Providing documents compliant with a procurement exercise of high value/high risk/strategic procurements
- Assisting you with the regulatory requirements of a procurement under the WTO/GPA Directives
- Guiding you through the evaluation, award and standstill requirements of WTO/GPA regulated procurements
- Highlighting the minimum legal and policy obligations involved at each stage of the process.
Where there is a requirement to change supplier in the University, this guidance has been developed to assist in managing the communication process.
Supplier Change - Procurement Guidance Document
Procurement has developed a guidance document to assist with tender evaluations.
Evaluation Guidance Document
Once a contract is in place, the lead school or department shall take ownership of the contract. Strategic contracts shall be managed in collaboration with Procurement. Guidance has been developed which aims to simplify the steps and provides templates of the various documents used within this process
Contract Management Guidance
Specification Guidance Document
Authority to procure
All Procurement is subject to the approval processes and limits set out in the and in line with the Scheme of Delegation as set out within the Delegated Authority and Contracts Policy.
As part of the budgetary control process, it is the Cost Centre Manager's responsibility to control departmental expenditure. The Cost Centre Manager may choose to delegate authority for procurement-related matters to nominated buyers. This does not absolve the Cost Centre Manager from the ultimate responsibility and accountability for the proper execution of the purchasing process.
The extent to which nominated buyers are accountable should be clearly defined and documented by the completion of the Scheme of Delegation Form
