Bridgend County Borough Council said it has used a provider for hybrid mail (off-site) services for the last eight years and is now running an invitation to tender to supply hybrid mail for the next three years.
The council stated: “Bridgend CBC introduced hybrid mail to reduce the amount of on-site printing, reduce administration, and to eliminate the requirement for a courier service between different buildings.
“The ability to print end of year council tax and housing benefit letters has reduced the need for printing approximately 60,000 letters and the administration of packing 60,000 envelopes over a two-week period in March each year.”
It said the ability for officers to continue to distribute letters to customers and stakeholders during the pandemic, while working from home, by printing to the hybrid mail print driver installed locally on each laptop “has been a massive benefit to the business as officers moved seamlessly to working from home”.
“Volume of letters sent to our provider has remained pretty consistent over the last four years at around half a million items per annum, as has annual spend of approximately £240,000.”
The estimated total value of the contract is £960,000. The time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
“At present, each of the individual schools within the Trust is responsible for the design and procurement of their individual printing requirements,” it stated.
“As a Trust, we recognise that this is an inefficient approach to the procurement of printing materials, hence our intention to create this printing framework.
“The Trust currently work with a small number of designers, our intention is to continue with this approach during the tender period for this framework and for the foreseeable future. There will be printing requirements for the Autumn 2022 term, the Trust’s designer(s) are working on the designs, and these are expected to be available in line with the award of the framework.”
With an estimated value of £400,000, the framework agreement will last for 24 months and is subject to renewal.
The time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 11 May 2022 at 12pm.
Finally, University Of Bedfordshire is seeking a supplier for the production and installation of its ‘Campus Branding Project’.
It stated: “The University of Bedfordshire will be working with an external design agency to create a series of coordinated graphic interventions at key internal spaces to engage and inspire students, staff and visitors.
“The University is seeking a signmaker and installer to produce and install the artwork on the University of Bedfordshire’s Luton and Bedford campuses. The requirement is for a high print quality solution that will showcase the designs. The solution should be appropriate as well as being durable as they will be placed in busy walkways and communal areas.”
It said phase 2 of the contract must be fully delivered by 31 August 2022 while phase 3 must be fully delivered by 30 November 2022.
The six-month contract is worth an estimated value of £200,000 and it is not subject to renewal. The time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 13 May 2022 at 12pm.
More details on these and other open tenders can be found here.
