Locations
Zambia
Procurement
Development Area | Reference No | Title | Deadline | Posted | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Climate Action | UNDP-ZMB-00215 | PROVISION OF ACCOMMODATION AND CONFERENCING SERVICES ON LONG TERM AGREEMENT (LTA) IN ZAMBIA | 21 MARCH 2024 | 4 MARCH 2024 | Lusaka |
Notice to Suppliers
Submission of electronic invoices in Quantum Supplier Portal
Kindly be advised on the recent improvement provided to the Supplier Portal in Quantum —the portal has now been configured to enable suppliers to submit invoices electronically. It is therefore brought to your kind attention that:
- Suppliers can now submit their invoices via the supplier portal.
- For non-PO invoices, suppliers are required to input the email address of the UNDP contact person who will receive a notification upon submission of the electronic invoices, and will process the payment.
Please feel free to contact the UNDP Zambia Procurement Unit at: procurement.zm@undp.org for more guidance and additional clarification.
QUANTUM Supplier Portal Update
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.
To learn how to access, navigate and register on the supplier portal, click the link below to view the training webinar:
The UNDP Procurement Unit is hosting two (2) upcoming training sessions for suppliers, around the below topics:
- Session 1: “REGISTRATION & NAVIGATION in the new supplier portal/Quantum”
- Session 2: “NAVIGATION in Quantum”
Please note below details and requirements for such events:
1. TRAINING SESSIONS:
Each of the above-mentioned session 1 and 2 will be held physically in Lusaka, with a maximum of 70 participants.
i). Session 1: “REGISTRATION & NAVIGATION in the new supplier portal/Quantum”.
Eligible audience: Suppliers who have not yet been registered in Quantum before.
Content: How to create a profile in the UNDP new supplier portal/Quantum; How to find out UNDP tenders (negotiations), how to create and submit a response to a negotiation.
Session 1 will cover both topics of “Registration of suppliers in Quantum” and “Navigation in Quantum”. Therefore, participants for session 1 are no longer expected to participate to the session 2 below.
ii). Session 2: “NAVIGATION in Quantum”.
Eligible audience: ONLY for suppliers who are already registered in Quantum.
Content: How to find out UNDP tenders (negotiations), how to create and submit a response to a negotiation.
Session 2 will cover the topic “Navigation in Quantum”.
Instructions:
Kindly note that only one (1) participant is expected per supplier.
The supplier representative is expected to attend only one training session. Therefore, you/your company are kindly invited to register only one representative, one time for one training session.
Interested suppliers are highly recommended to register at their earliest convenience by following the guidance. Please take a particular attention to the pre-requisites for the registration as detailed below.
Another batches of trainings could however be arranged later for suppliers who are not able to register due to the limited number of participants (70 pax per session).
2. PRE-REQUISITES PRIOR TRAINING REGISTRATION:
Prior registering to one of the proposed trainings, please take few minutes to check the registration status of you/your company profile in Quantum. This step will assist you in identifying which training session is the most relevant for you/your company.
Therefore, kindly login to the platform: Supplier Portal
i). If the login fails, you/your company profile has not yet been registered in Quantum and you are kindly advised to register for session 1 training.
ii). If the login is successful, you/your company profile has already been registered in Quantum and you fit for session 2 training. Additionally, you are requested to safely store the User ID and password of you/your company profile and use the same, every time you wish to login to Quantum.
3. TRAINING REGISTRATION:
After identifying you/your company registration status in Quantum as per above step and guidance, you are kindly invited to register in ONLY one of the following sessions:
| TOPIC | Eligible Audience | Registration link for participating to this training | Date | Time | Venue |
REGISTRATION & NAVIGATION in the new supplier portal/Quantum | Suppliers who have not yet registered in Quantum before | Link here: | 10-May-23 | 9-12 am | in Lusaka, TBC |
NAVIGATION in Quantum | Suppliers who are already pre-registered in Quantum | Link here: https://forms.office.com/e/70u8FTANQV | 17-May-23 | 9-11 am | in Lusaka, TBC |
4. LOGISTIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE TRAINING:
In order to prepare the logistic for the trainings, interested suppliers are kindly invited to register for their preferred session before COB of 25th April 2023.
Another communication will be shared shortly (no later than 5th May 2023) to the final attendees list for each session only. Such communication will especially provide details of the venue for each training session. Kindly keep checking your emails.
The day of the training, each participant is kindly invited to bring a laptop with his/her own Wi-Fi.
We look forward to your early registration for your preferred training session.
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.
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