Decision Maker:

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: March 24, 2025

Purpose:

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.