All Local Governments that are Members of WALGA are able to purchase goods and services through the WALGA Preferred Supplier Program (PSP).
Through the PSP, Members can access over 1,100 Preferred Suppliers across 12 Panels which include over 150 categories of different goods and services.
The Local Government Regulations provide a tender exemption for purchases through the PSP. This means that Members can save time and money by engaging prequalified Preferred Suppliers directly from the Panels rather than undertaking a full tender process.
Members can still run a competitive quotation process through the PSP but a lot of the work involved in a tender process has already been done during the Panel qualification process.
Preferred Suppliers are required to pay a management fee to WALGA which funds the operating costs of the PSP and other WALGA services and programs. This ensures WALGA subscription and membership fees are able to be kept at a minimum.
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Benefits of the Preferred Supplier Program
The PSP has been developed exclusively to benefit Members. The main way in which Members can benefit using the PSP is by saving time and administration costs because:
- Preferred Suppliers have been prequalified so much of the due diligence has already been undertaken by WALGA.
- There is no need to undertake a full tender process – WALGA has already done this on behalf of Members and when a Local Government purchases through the PSP there is a tender exemption under the Local Government (Functions and General) Regulations 1996.
- Local Governments can limit the number of suppliers invited in to the RFQ process, unlike when undertaking a public tender process.
- There are free template contracts (Member Conditions) for Members to use which have been legally drafted for Local Governments using the PSP.
- eQuotes (also known as VendorPanel) provides Members with a free online quotation tool to use when running a quotation process.
Preferred Supplier Program Panels
The PSP includes over 1,100 Preferred Suppliers providing a range of different goods and services from purchasing office stationery through to designing and constructing buildings and everything in between.
Preferred Suppliers have been grouped into 12 Panels and within these Panels are over 150 categories.
Using the Preferred Supplier Program
Using the PSP is easy!
It’s really just the same as running any quotation process except some of the work has already been done for Members by WALGA. With Preferred Suppliers already qualified through a tender process, Members essentially have a shortlist of suppliers who work with Local Governments ready to invite into the Request for Quotation.
WALGA also provides Members with free access to eQuotes (or VendorPanel) which is an online quotation platform with all Preferred Suppliers, template contacts and other useful tools pre-loaded and available to use during the RFQ process. eQuotes will automatically send invitations and notifications to Preferred Suppliers you want to invite into the Quotation saving Members time and effort with the administration of RFQs.
Like all procurement processes, planning is important. Local Governments should make sure that before starting the RFQ process they have a well-written Scope or Specification ready to include in the RFQ and any other information that could be useful to a Preferred Supplier when responding to the RFQ.
Frequently Asked Questions
A tender exemption under the Local Government (Functions and General) Regulations1996 enables Local Governments to seek quotations through the PSP rather than undertaking a full public tender process for procurements above the tenders threshold of $250,000.
You must be engaging a Preferred Supplier within the PSP to qualify for this exemption.
VendorPanel includes all of the WALGA Preferred Suppliers making it easy to invite them into an RFQ. Also included on VendorPanel are the Member Conditions and other documents to help you through your RFQ process.
There is no charge to use VendorPanel – WALGA has purchased licences on behalf of all Members to use when purchasing from the Preferred Supplier Program.
If your organisation has it’s own VendorPanel licence, please make sure you are selecting from the WALGA Preferred Supplier Lists (not other VendorPanel lists) if you are intending to procure within the PSP environment.
If you are engaging a Preferred Supplier outside of VendorPanel, please ensure you reference the WALGA PSP Panel so that it’s clear to suppliers that you are using the Preferred Supplier Program.
You should refer to your Purchasing Policy which will usually stipulate how many quotes you need to seek.
Please do not select all Preferred Suppliers as this creates unnecessary work for suppliers and for you when evaluating the RFQ responses.
If you need help with this please contact a WALGA Contract Manager.
How many will depend on where you are located and what services you are looking for. If you need help filtering via location please contact a WALGA Contract Manager to assist you.
If you would like a particular local supplier to be included in the PSP, you can provide a Member endorsement. Please first check the supplier wants to be part of the PSP. More information on the endorsement process can be found here.
You can advertise RFQs for small one-off purchases right up to large long-term contracts and everything in between.
If the value or your procurement activity is over $250,000, a tender exemption under the Local Government (Functions and General) Regulations 1996 enables Local Governments to seek quotations through the PSP rather than undertaking a full public tender process.
You can use your own contract terms and conditions which should be provided to the suppliers at the time of seeking quotes.
Suppliers generally need to understand the entire procurement requirement, including all proposed contractual provisions, before they can provide a quotation.
The following Member Conditions are available for use and which one will depend on what you are procuring.
- General Procurement Conditions
- Consultancy Conditions
- Goods and Services Conditions
- Services Conditions
- Minor Works Conditions
- Construct Only Conditions
- Design and Construct Conditions
- Temporary Personnel Conditions
- ICT Conditions
You need to provide the Member Conditions you are using in your RFQ. Using one which is not fit-for-purpose for your requirement can add significant delay to a procurement schedule or create significant risk if included in the final contract. If you are not sure which one to use contact a WALGA Contract Manager.
If you choose to use the Preferred Supplier Program, only Preferred Suppliers should be invited into the RFQ process. This will ensure that all of the suppliers have undertaken the same prequalification process and are familiar with the WALGA Member Conditions.
The management fee funds the operating costs of the PSP and other WALGA services and programs. This ensures WALGA Membership fees are able to be kept at a minimum
It is in your best interest to give suppliers an appropriate amount of time to provide a high-quality response.
Keep in mind that some complex contracts, such as waste services and ICT procurements, require longer lead-in times.
