Decision

The
Director of Neighbourhood Services has approved the contract to
Turner Groundscare Ltd for a duration
of 2 years at a cost estimated at £75,000 per year over 2
years, with the option for a further two 12-month
extensions.
 

Reasons for the decision

This contract is for
the supply of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) repair parts
and lubricants for the council’s fleet of horticultural and
turf care machinery. This contract would also include services
provided by the parts supplier in relation to the repair business
were requested and the supply of small turf care machinery and
plant where they are the main agent. The supplier should be a
manufacturers agent for John Deere, Stihl, Infinicut, Wiedenmann, Bobcat & Honda plus
others the parts should be able to be collected locally or
delivered to a timescale if requested. The supplier may be asked to
supply parts for other brands as directed.
 
This service was
commissioned via a contract using the open tender procedure which
was conducted in accordance with Council’s Contract Procedure
Rules and The Procurement Act 2023 in early 2024 with the intention
that it run for 24 months (2 years) from April 2025 to April 2027,
with the option for two 12-month extensions.
 
The Contract was
awarded, at that time to Turner Groundscare Ltd. That procurement exercise involved
publishing this opportunity on The Chest, in total two bids were
received. The bids received were scored based on:
 

Quality (Technical)
– 40%
Social Value –
10%
Price –
50%
Total –
100%

 
The award of the
contract to turner Groundscare Ltd was
within the approved budget and in accordance with the Most
Advantageous Tender criteria.
 
The financial value of this contract is
£75,000 per year.

Alternative options considered

Possible external
frameworks were looked at to facilitate a mini-competition, The Procurement Partnership (TPPL)
was considered due to their past facilitating of the fleet
replacement contract.
 
However, it was
concluded that none of the available lots were suitable to the
exact need required for OEM parts. The Lots are listed below:
 

Lot 1: Purchase of
Grounds Maintenance Equipment (44 Suppliers)
Lot 2: Purchase of
Plant Equipment (24 Suppliers)
Lot 3: Purchase of
Handheld Tools, including Electrical & Mechanical Items (27
Suppliers)
Lot 4: Hire of
Equipment With & Without Operator (22 Suppliers)

 
This service has
previously been sustained by non-catalogue orders and smartform exceptions. Given the non-compliance with
these options at the value required, the decision to proceed with
an open tender was taken to secure the service long term and avoid
the short term provision that was
potentially at a higher cost.