NEPO418 Library Books - Soft Market Testing

The North East Procurement Organisation is looking to conduct a procurement exercise which will result in an expanded Framework for the Provision of Library Books. The current Framework covers the supply of Adult Fiction and Non Fiction, Children’s Fiction and Non Fiction, and DVDs/Blu Rays. However stakeholders have identified further requirements and NEPO are now looking into the feasibility of expanding provision to cover Large Print and Talking Books and Ebooks and Associated resources.

There is an existing NEPO Framework in place, which will expire at the end of March 2018.

An OJEU compliant Open ITT process will be used to procure this framework. It is envisaged that we will be in a position to issue tender documentation in September 2017 for a framework start date of 1st April 2018. The proposed contract period will be no longer than 48 months in duration.

The Framework will be available for use by NEPO Authorities and Associate Members in the NEPO region.

The scope of the requirements for this Framework is likely to cover the below areas and will be split into 5 distinct lots:

Lot 1 – Adult Fiction and Non Fiction
Lot 2 – Children's Fiction and Non Fiction
Lot 3 – DVDs and Blu Rays
Lot 4 – Large Print and Talking Books
Lot 5 – Ebooks and Associated resources

To support this we would like to gain information from the market regarding the level of interest in the potential procurement exercise.

Completion of this survey is not an invitation for formal expressions of interest. NEPO are issuing this request for information only, in order to assess the appetite of the market and thus make any potential process more focussed and efficient.

The information gathered will be used for the following:
To engage with potential partners on the general scope of the specification and product requirements prior to issuing the tender documents.
To provide feedback in relation to the appetite of the market together with information that will allow the exercise to be shaped to elicit a positive response from providers.

The benefits to your organisation in participating in this process include:
The chance to assess whether the opportunity will be suitable and of interest to you.
Ensuring that specifications are realistic and market focused.
The chance to raise any risks, concerns or issues regarding the potential opportunity.

Your responses will assist us in creating a process which is well-framed, focused, feasible, and likely to be of interest to the market.

There is no commercial advantage or disadvantage to your organisation as a result of being involved in this market testing exercise. This process focuses on the market as a whole rather than on the merits of individual suppliers. It involves no element of supplier selection or bid evaluation.

Finally, please be assured that any commercially sensitive information provided to us as part of this process will be treated in confidence, used only for the purposes of this market testing exercise, and will not be disclosed to any other organisation, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

Should you have any queries about the questions in this document, please use the question and answer facility on the NEPO Portal to request clarification.

How to Respond:
All responses should be provided by completing this questionnaire and uploading your response via the NEPO Portal System.