Following a competitive tender process through the CCS RM6280 framework for the provision of council tax, business rates, housing benefits and ad hoc printing services, the Canning Town, London-based business was successful against 11 initial bidders and subsequently five finalists.
The contract was awarded on 24 January via an outcome notification, which was then subject to a 10-day standstill period.
As one of the UK’s largest authorities, Buckinghamshire Council has the biggest population among the 13 unitary authorities in the South East.
With 237,000 households and 14,000 businesses, FDM Document Solutions will produce approximately one million documents per year and provide the council with access to its specialist Hi-mail hybrid mail system.
Scheduled to start in April 2025, the three-year contract has an optional two-year extension. FDM said feedback confirmed it was won because of the company’s quality and extensive track record of delivering similar work for many other local authorities.
FDM will be producing all documents in-house, using its Canon ColorStream 3900 Z inkjet presses to print the work and its recently installed pair of Bowe Fusion Cross high-speed production mail inserting systems, an investment the company described as a “game changer” that significantly increased its headroom and capability to add new clients to its roster.
FDM Document Solutions sales and marketing director Ian Forster said: “This is a significant contract for us. The fact that it was secured based on the quality of our work and the strength of our relationships gives us further reason to celebrate.
“We are pleased to add Buckinghamshire Council to our client list, which includes other longstanding customers such as Leeds City Council.
“As revenues and benefits specialists with more than 30 years’ experience, we want to continue to build this part of our business and to add further local authorities to our portfolio.”
The business also recently secured an ongoing contract with Grand Union Housing Group, becoming the preferred print and mail partner to the business.
In September, it appointed Alan Cruickshank as its new business development manager.
Separately, following a detailed audit, FDM has been found to meet the requirements of standards FSC-STD-40-004 (Version 3.1) EN and FSC-STD-50-001 (Version 2.1) EN for FSC Chain of Custody certification, receiving the FSC licence Code: FSC-C212981.
This certification ensures that FSC-certified products come from responsibly manufactured services. It allows the Forest Stewardship Council to verify that forest-based materials produced under rigorous standards are credibly used along the product path from forest to finished goods.
“Securing this certification is a further step on our sustainability journey and an opportunity for us to reiterate to our customers that we are serious about meeting with these requirements,” said Forster.
“I would like to thank our team members involved in this project for their hard work throughout the audit process. We will now share the FSC label on our products, confirming that they have met the Chain of Custody requirements at every step of the supply chain, from sourcing to distribution.”
