Locations
Zambia
Procurement
Development Area |
Reference No |
Title |
Deadline |
Posted |
Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Environment |
|
Call for Applications - National Steering Committee |
31st August 2022 |
15th August 2022 |
Lusaka |
QUANTUM Supplier Portal Update
Dear esteemed suppliers/partners,
It has now been five (05) months since UNDP has transitioned to its new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) “Quantum” and launched its new Supplier Portal.
The Quantum Supplier Portal enables a more transparent and less manual process for the vendor management. Indeed, the new platform offers multiple benefits such as reduced procurement time and increased efficiency, ability for the suppliers to perform all transactions online including the submission of the bids and invoices, process orders and track their payments and the status of any processes.
As part of the implementation stage, we highly appreciate your feedback, in particular, the challenges you have reported to us; these are particularly relevant to enhance the features of this new portal and improve the functionalities once new updated versions are released. Although some technical challenges may occur, we would like to assure you that UNDP pays particular attention to each of them and does its utmost best to resolve them as quickly as possible.
As we work together to reach a seamless business operation, UNDP might reach out and request for additional information or document(s) from suppliers to ensure supplier data integrity in the system and this will facilitate finalization of the supplier registration process in Quantum. Should our team contact you for such request, we highly appreciate your prompt collaboration to facilitate this process.
We would like to emphasize that UNDP at all levels (global, regional, and local) is implementing all necessary measures to minimize any possible disruption of the supplier activities in quantum.
We take this opportunity to share more information on the Supplier Portal. Please access more tools and webinars regarding the supplier portal through this link:
Additionally, we would like to provide some guidance for prospective suppliers below:
- If you are interested in submitting a bid, kindly subscribe following the instructions in the user guide. If you have not registered a profile with this system, you can do so by following the link for Supplier Registration.
- If you already have a supplier profile, please do not register a new one. With your existing profile, please access the supplier portal by login to the Supplier Portal, then search for the negotiation using the reference number, following the instructions in the user guide
As part of supplier capacity building, UNDP will be holding training sessions for its suppliers in the coming weeks and the details will be shared in due course when the dates are confirmed. Your participation will be appreciated as this will help eliminate potential bottlenecks and expedite the supplier registration process.
We are grateful for your patience and understanding in adapting to this change and appreciate your continuous support in sharing your experiences with us.
Best Regards,
UNDP Zambia
Procurement at UNDP
Procurement is the overall process of acquiring goods, civil works and services which includes all functions from the identification of needs, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contract, and all phases of contract administration through the end of a services’ contract or the useful life of an asset.
As a public organization entrusted with donor funds and committed to supporting developing economies, UNDP abides by the following principles:
Best Value for Money: This core governing principle requires selecting the offer that best meets required needs and presents the best return on investment. Best value for money must not be equated with the cheapest offer. It entails the optimum combination of factors such as appropriate quality, life-cycle costs and benefits, and other parameters to meet social, environmental or other strategic objectives.
Fairness, Integrity and Transparency: All business units are responsible for ensuring fair and impartial treatment of all offerors and transparent management of competition. These aims may be achieved, for example, through widening the variety of prospective offerors, unambiguous solicitation instructions, clear evaluation criteria, realistic definition of requirements, and attainable rules and procedures.
Effective International Competition: Effective international competition requires that all eligible prospective offerors from all UN Member States be given timely and adequate information on UNDP requirements, along with equal opportunities to submit an offer.
Best interests of UNDP: While many procurement decisions are contingent on individual cases and environments, at a minimum, they should adhere to all previously cited principles and uphold the best interests of UNDP. All related processes, decisions and actions should be governed by UNDP Financial Regulations, Rules and Procedures.
UNDP Procurement is based on competitive bidding. Depending on the type, complexity, size and value of the project and its procurement elements, commonly used methods of solicitation include:
Micro-Purchasing
Micro-purchasing is a simplified procurement method for readily available goods, standardized services and small works, where contract amounts do not exceed US $5,000.
Request for Quotation (RFQ)
A request for quotation is used to procure readily available goods, services or works, or any combination thereof. A written request with a clearly described requirement is sent to a vendor, soliciting a written price quotation. A request for quotation is mandatory for contract values ranging from US $5,000 to US $200,000.
Micropurchasing and RFQs are reviewed based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” method only. The lowest-priced offer among the technically compliant/responsive offers must be selected.
Invitation to Bid (ITB)
An invitation to bid is used to procure goods or works valued at US $200,000 or more. It does not require prospective bidders to specify the manner of production, technical approaches or management/supervision of required activities.
ITBs are reviewed based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” method only. The lowest-priced offer among the technically compliant/responsive offers must be selected.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
A request for proposals is used to procure goods, services and works where the inputs and/or outputs cannot be quantitatively and qualitatively defined in sufficient detail at the time of the solicitation, and are valued at US $200,000 or more.
Two modalities are possible in evaluating Financial Proposals in RFPs. They are as follows:
- Lowest-priced among technically compliant offer (point system with a minimum threshold). The financial proposal of only those offerors obtaining the minimum 70% score during technical evaluation should be opened. The contract will be award to the company meeting the minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation and offering the lowest price.
- Cumulative Analysis. Under the cumulative analysis scheme, a total score is obtained upon the combination of weighted technical and financial attributes. An offeror’s response to the solicitation document is evaluated and points are attributed based on how well the offer meet the defined desirable criteria. Cost under this method of analysis is rendered as an award criterion, which should not be less than 30% of all the desirable factors of the RFP. The designated weightings of both the technical and financial proposals should be specified in the RFP at the time of solicitation.
Vendor Protest
UNDP’s vendor protest procedure provides an opportunity for appeal to those persons or firms not awarded a purchase order or contract through a competitive procurement process. In the event that a Proposer believes that it was not treated fairly, the following link provides further details regarding UNDP vendor protest procedures. Please consult UNDP Policy against Fraud and other Corrupt Practices.
Related resources