Technology Products and Associated Services Update

On Friday we attended the Technology Products and Associated Services supplier briefing. In case you missed it, here are the framework highlights.  

The Technology Products and Associated Services (TePAS) framework is now open for new supplier applications. This framework is for the supply of commodity technology goods and closely-related services. You will probably be more familiar with the framework by its prior name ‘Technology Products’ or TP.  

Technology Products and Associated Services has 4 Lots:  

• Lot 1- Hardware, Software and Associated Services  
• Lot 2– Hardware and Associated Services  
• Lot 3 – Software and Associated Services 
• Lot 4 – Information Assured Goods  

CCS have taken the decision to cut the Lots down on TePAS from 6 to 4 and to remove the catalogue which was previously Lot 6 of Technology Products 2.  

Other enhancements to this new iteration of the framework include:  

• A wider services scope – the inclusion of associated services  
• Simplified award process – 100% price call-off’s on competitions 
• All Lots are open to all classification of suppliers  
• No capped margins   

Interestingly, TePAS has no cap on the number of suppliers in each Lot, again differing from its predecessor TP2. However, each supplier will need a final score of 82 or better to be awarded a framework contract! That high score of course calls into question about how SME friendly this framework really is….(but that is a debate for another day). 

What else do you need to know to apply for TePAS? 

• Be very mindful of the closing date, 3rd June at 3pm! This framework a biggie and will require a significant amount of time to apply for.  
• Clarification questions can be submitted until 3pm on the 17th of May. Be sure to submit any questions you have, no matter how small as after that date you will not be able to ask any further questions. Also, keep any eye on the responses to other supplier questions, they may have spotted something you missed that could help inform your response.  
• Read the Public Sector Contract which is the contract used for TePAS. Ensure that if you have a legal team you get this to them early to review, this contract cannot be changed and you must comply with it to submit to the framework.