Content

Salford City Council – Record of
Decision
 
I Councillor Youd, Lead Member
for Finance and Support Services and chairman of the Procurement
Board, accept the recommendation of the Procurement Board,
in exercise of the powers contained within the Council
Constitution do hereby approve:
 
·     
to Award the Contract for the Supply, Installation
and Maintenance of Multi-Functional Printers and Print Centre
Equipment, as detailed in the table below:
 

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Supply, Installation and Maintenance of
Multi-Functional Printers and Print Centre Equipment

Name of Successful
Contractor

Ricoh UK Limited

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

01271033

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

£406,339.68

Contract Duration

60 months

Contract Start Date

01/09/2025

Contract End Date

31/08/2030

Optional Extension Period 1

Optional Extension Period 2

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Procurement Board (extension >
£150k)

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

Peter Cowling 0161 793 4996

Lead Service Group

Resources and Transformation

How the contract was procured?

(to be supplied by
procurement)

ITT

Framework Details (where
applicable)

(procurement body, framework reference
& title, start/ end date

Crown Commercial Services
RM6174 Lot 2
Multifunctional Devices (MFDs), Print and Digital
Workflow Software Services and Managed Print Service
Provision

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s
Employment Charter

 

EC: Committed to sign Charter

 

EC: Accredited Living Wage
Employer

 
The
Reasons are:
In September 2024, the
Procurement Board granted approval for officers to undertake a
procurement exercise for a replacement contract for
Multi-Functional Printers (MFP’s) and Print Centre Equipment
using the Crown Commercial Framework RM6174 – Multifunctional
Devices (MFDs), Print and Digital Workflow Software Services and
Managed Print Service Provision.
 
The current contract
with Ricoh UK Limited is due to expire on 31st August
2024 and there are no further opportunities to extend the
contract.
 
Furthermore, with
particular reference to the MFP fleet, the current machines are
more than 4 years old. We have recently seen an increased frequency
of breakdowns and faults that can be attributed to age.
 
Due to substantial
organisational changes since these contracts were established,
including shifts in staffing levels, increased homeworking, and
building closures, the previous equipment provisions no longer
align with the Council’s printing needs. As a result, we
needed to reassess and recalibrate our requirements to better
reflect current and future demand.
 
The
Procurement Process:
A Project Group
consisting of officers from Corporate Procurement, Corporate
Administration, the Print Centre and DDaT was initially established
to determine and shape the Council’s future requirements. It
was agreed to use Lot 2 of the CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICES RM6174
– Multifunctional Devices (MFDs), Print and Digital Workflow
Software Services and Managed Print Service Provision.
 
Each supplier from the
chosen framework was invited to a pre-tender engagement session at
the project formation stage to ensure the tender requirements met
the varied needs of users across the organisation and to assist the
authority in designing the required specifications around the
varied supplier offerings, These requirements were then translated
into a required tender specification.
 
Ahead of this
procurement exercise, officers analysed historical printing
activity across the organization from January to December 2023. The
findings highlighted opportunities for greater efficiency through a
more strategic approach to printing—such as increased use of
economical print formats, greater utilization of the Print Centre,
and a reduction in the number of devices across the city. To
support this shift in behaviour, suppliers were asked to propose
solutions that would help achieve these objectives.
 
A review of device
locations, specifications and volumes was undertaken with a view to
reducing the number of Multifunction printers around the city from
82 in the previous contract to 43 and to reducing the print centre
production equipment by 1 High-volume device. The reduction in
device requirements has been evaluated based on areas where
locations have multiple devices but have significantly less
footfall than pre-2020, replacement device specifications have been
measured against usage volumes.
 
The following
weightings were agreed by the Project Group; Price 45%, Quality 40%
and Social Value 15%, which was in line with the agreed flexibility
within the framework guidance. The Project Group agreed that the
weightings used struck a balance between the need to realise
economic efficiencies from the exercise as well the need to work
with a supplier with a strong track record of delivering reliable
and high quality services and products to its clients in addition
to realising new technology enhancements previously not
explored.
 
Using Lot 2 of the
CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICES RM6174 – Multifunctional Devices
(MFDs), Print and Digital Workflow Software Services and Managed
Print Service Provision, a mini-competition was undertaken. All 9
framework suppliers were invited to compete.  Bids were initially received by 4 suppliers
however one was deemed to be non-compliant due to missing
information leaving 3 compliant bids, the remaining suppliers
failed to submit.
 
The tender required
the bidders to quote for a fixed term contract of 5 Years,
Suppliers were asked to provide equipment to meet an agreed minimum
specification in addition to innovation options relating to
equipment efficiencies.
 
The below table
outlines the bidder outcomes:
 

Name of Bidder

% Price score

Max 45%

% Quality score

Max 40%

Social Value

Max 15%

%Overall Score

100%

 

Rank

Ricoh

45.00%

31.60%

13.20%

89.80%

1

Provider B

44.65%

30.80%

12.66%

88.12%

2

Provider C

44.20%

30.40%

8.88%

83.47%

3

 
A detailed cost
comparison was undertaken to compare suppliers offering for a fixed
contract length against the existing solution and comparison of
innovation costs vs the proposed solution. Suppliers were asked to
provide a like for like replacement model in addition to providing
options for software and hardware innovation to deliver equipment
efficiencies.
 
A comparison was
undertaken to compare Ricoh’s offering for the contract
length against the existing solution including any suitable
innovation costs.
 
The results of the evaluation
are shown in the Fig. 1 below:
 

Current Cost

Renewal Costs

Annual Savings

Fixed Rental (Equipment only)

£55,955.28

£27,071.44

£28,883.84

Mono Costs (Variable usage)

£9,266.20

£8,327.11

£939.09

Colour Costs (Variable Usage)

£30,150.63

£28,359.18

£1,791.44

Fixed Additional Required Software

£38,618.24

£8,687.28

£29,930.96

Planet Press (Print Centre)

£8,822.92

-£8,822.92

Total

£133,990.35

£81,267.94

£52,722.41

 
Based on current demand
forecasts, the estimated overall cost for the initial 5 year term
is £406,339.68, this is split into service rentals at
£135,357.20, usage costs of £183,431.48 (please note
the usage cost element of these costs are based on historic print
volumes, actual volumes, and therefore costs may vary) and software
costs of £87,551. Furthermore, if during the period between
contract award and contract commencement, the number of device
requirements change, this figure will change
accordingly.
 
This cost estimate represents a
potential 39.34% saving against the existing
contracts. The saving has been generated in three ways:
1. 
Through the sourcing of more competitive leases and
service charges on the rental and on-going maintenance of the
devices.
2. 
Reduction in usage costs, i.e. print.
3. 
A reduction in the number of devices required, this
has reduced from 65 to 42 and reduction of one high volume device
in the print centre.
 
Whilst costs related to print
usage are variable and a small reduction in costs per copy has been
secured through this framework, based on the usage calculations
carried out this will equate to an estimated saving of
£2,730.53 per annum, this must be caveated that if user
behaviour changes then this will not be achieved.
 
There are options to include
additional software solutions throughout this contract to enable
job ticketing submission tools to allow additional redirection to
the print centre and support printed material procurement channels,
these will be at additional cost (approx. £7k per annum) and
will require evaluation of potential savings opportunities prior to
implementation. It is advised to explore these options in year two
following trials of rules-based printing solutions.
 
The savings highlighted above
(£52.7k) will support the service in reducing its annual
budget deficit for revenue income of £80,000 which is a
continual historic budget pressure against the print service
revenue account.
 
Service Improvements
As part of the tender
process suppliers, were asked to provide options for innovation
(both equipment & Software solutions), Although these options
were limited to suppliers due to the previous modernisation of
equipment via previous contract renewals, Ricoh’s proposals
included
·     
Planet Press licencing (Print Centre)
·     
Rules based printing options (to support enforced
printing rules)
·     
Creation and development of corporate print
policies
·     
Standardised equipment models
·     
RDIF card reader login functionality
·     
Devices will have 10” tablet screens that can
be used to display corporate messages or campaigns.
·     
Business continuity centres to mitigate against
disaster scenarios.
 
Environmental Impact:
As part of the evaluation suppliers were asked about
their approach to minimising environmental impact and maximising
sustainability in printing technology given the high impact of
printing technology and print on the environment.
 
The below are initiatives employed by
Ricoh:

·     
Energy Saving Toner
– new toner technology has enabled
us to lower the fusing temperature by 14°C, reducing power
consumption and CO2 emissions during operation.

·     
Power Consumption
– As an example, the IM C3010
energy save mode consumes around 50% of the energy the previous
model used and has the lowest TEC in its class at 0.3KWh (average
of 0.37KWh vs. the top 5 competitive model – Source BLiQ and
Energy Star).

·     
Ecomode – All Ricoh devices have sophisticated timers
and highly efficient power management, enabling very low power
consumption with no impact to useability.
 
Sustainable manufacturing:
·     
Power used is converted to renewable
energy. Ricoh A3 MFDs are assembled using power from 100% renewable
energy (approx. 37GWh).
·     
Our devices comply with various
environmental label standards including energy-saving
performance.
·     
Improvements in our supply chain and
manufacturing produces up to 17% less CO2 than previous
models.
·     
The new IM C range is made using 50% (or
more on some models) recycled plastics. More importantly, 100% of
the plastics used are recyclable.
·     
Ricoh re-uses reclaimed parts. Between
80% and 90% of parts used are re-usable (depending on region and
model).
·     
Ricoh has operated a ‘Zero Waste to
Landfill’ policy since 2012.
·     
Toner bottles are made of 100% recycled
PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and we no
longer use plastic in the packaging of toner. The Total amount of
eliminated single-use plastic is estimated to be approx. 79 tons
per year.
 
Social Value:
As part of the quality
questionnaire for this procurement process, suppliers were required
to commit to the social value portal, the below have been evaluated
by the Social value portal team:
·     
Living wage accredited.
·     
Mayors Charter – Currently the supplier is not
signed up to the charter however discussions are taking place with
the supplier to understand how to achieve this as part of the UK
arm of the global supplier.
·     
Supporting unemployed people into work:
o 
Ricoh UK have a wealth of content and experience to
deliver meaningful and affective workshop to scholars.
o 
Workshops can support in the awareness of the
structure and narrative within modern day CV’s and interview
techniques, they will receive industry expert advice and
support.
o 
Workshops will help students understand and acquire
knowing by doing. They will learn what is expected of them in
professional settings, how to navigate specific questions, are
given the opportunity to receive and provide feedback.
Impact.
o 
Thirty students can attend the workshop, and they
will assign their employees as volunteers. For these sessions, they
use 5-7 volunteers. They can deliver the workshop
virtually.
·     
Donation in kind – Ricoh will commit a
significant value worth of print related to the work of Salford
Loaves and Fishes charity to support the homeless, isolated and
vulnerable in Salford and the surrounding area.
·     
150 hours volunteering time provided to
support local community projects – Ricoh will commit to a
tree planting or environmental volunteering day. They will commit
150 hours to this event, Ricoh UK continue to act upon a commitment
to the environment, they will organise and support Salford City
Council with an environmental project such as tree planting,
habitat management, rewilding. This is vital to support the local
environment and maintain the biodiversity within
Salford.
 
The source of funding
is: Revenue Budgets.
 
Legal Advice
obtained:
Yes.
 
Financial Advice
obtained:
Yes.
 
Procurement Advice
obtained: Yes.
 
HR Advice
obtained: N/A
 
Climate Change Implications
obtained: Yes
 
Contact Officer: Peter
Cowling
Telephone number: 0161 779 4996
 
·     
This matter is also subject to consider by the Lead
Member for Resources and Transformation. The Lead Member has been
consulted and is supportive of the proposed contract.
·     
This matter is not subject to consideration by
another Lead Member.
·     
The appropriate Scrutiny Committee to call-in the
decision is the Procurement Board.
 

Signed:   Cllr J
Youd           Dated:
   24 March
2025.
           
   Lead Member
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY:
 
*          
This decision was published on 24 March 2025
*          
This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 31 March 2025
unless it is called-in in
accordance with the Decision Making Process Rules.