Become a Preferred Supplier

WALGA’s Preferred Supplier Program (PSP) is developed through Requests For Tender (RFT). To be invited to a Tender process WALGA is guided by the demand of its Members.

An endorsement from a Local Government is required to be invited into the next Request to prequalify on the Preferred Supplier Program.

Local Government endorsements can be sent through to: commercial@walga.asn.au.   

Our RFT processes to onboard new suppliers occurs twice a year in February and August. Where there is a relevant category of supply and a Member endorsement suppliers will receive an invitation to Tender.

Please continue to engage with WA Local Governments as it is not mandatory for Local Governments to use WALGA Preferred Supply, we are one of many procurement options they can access. If a Local Government goes to public tender, these are usually advertised in the West Australian on a Wednesday and Saturday and published on their website.

Please note the February 2024 RFT process is underway. To be included in the August RFT endorsements must be received by 9th August 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does WALGA run Tenders for prospective Preferred Suppliers?

Where new categories of supply are developed, and where there is strong demand for additional suppliers in an existing category of supply, WALGA generally invites public tenders.

For existing categories of supply, WALGA runs RFT processes to prequalify additional suppliers twice a year, or on an as-need basis.  

For a supplier to be invited into a RFT process WALGA has requested they obtain an endorsement from a Member Local Government. This is to ensure the PSP remains Member-driven and reflects the needs and demands of Local Governments.

 The endorsement is a form of reference that should be brief, but include the following information:

• Company name and contact details
• Brief overview of what goods and/or services they provide
• Reason they would be a suitable supplier for the WALGA PSP and confirmation the supplier has the capability and capacity to deliver services to Local Government at the highest standard.
• Intent to engage the supplier through the WALGA Panel if appointed

The endorsement can be an email outlining which products/services the Local Government are currently using and/or would like to access via the WALGA Preferred Supplier Panels.

Local Government endorsements can be sent by Member Local Governments to: commercial@walga.asn.au

WALGA does not receive endorsements directly from commercial suppliers.

Why does WALGA invite suppliers on the basis of Member endorsement? 

The volume of companies contacting WALGA seeking Preferred Supplier status far exceeds the number of suppliers currently contracted.  As a Member focused organisation the relevance and balance of the panels need to directly meet Member requirements as much as possible.  The wrong mix of suppliers can make the Panels difficult to navigate or offer insufficient supply options in the right category areas.   WALGA also has limited resources to conduct tenders and contract manage its Panels, so Member based endorsement ensures WALGA prioritises suppliers who are going to be utilised by Members.

Will every supplier that is endorsed become a Preferred Supplier?

The PSP has minimum qualitative standards which must be met for prequalification.  These are assessed through the Tender process.

The PSP Tender is an objective procurement process.  Without compliance to the due diligence requirements, and assessment against a scope of services to evidence organisational resources (capacity) and capability to supply then the supplier may not be recommended to the Program.  

WALGA may also prioritise areas of demand or take other factors into account when considering the composition of a Panel.  For example, if a category of supply is already overrepresented by too many suppliers and the category is not being sufficiently utilised, further review may be undertaken prior to considering issuing an invite to Tender.

Is Member Endorsement the only way to become a Preferred Supplier?

WALGA will issue a Public Tender to the open market for a new category development and for activity that incurs a significant change to scope or market conditions.  WALGA may also issue public tenders for areas of high demand and where there are insufficient supply options available for Members to obtain a minimum number of quotations.  

In some instances WALGA may invite tenders resulting from policy and project work and from other avenues of referral where a significant Member benefit can be identified.  

When does WALGA run its Tenders and how long does it take?

WALGA’s regular RFT processes to onboard new suppliers occur twice a year (currently in February and August).  Urgent ad-hoc Tenders may result where critical circumstances are identified.   The WALGA Tender is generally open to the market for a period of four to six weeks.  Depending on the number of submissions the evaluation period can also take up to three months.  The contracting of suppliers is dependent on the complexity of the tender and the time required for suppliers to review and accept contract terms.  The contracts are immediately implemented when signed and progressively added to eQuotes (VendorPanel).

On average it can be expected that there is a three to five month period between opening a Tender and activating a new Preferred Supplier Contract.