Under the National Franking Machine Agreement (NFMA), launched on 1 August, the four mailing companies will provide mailing equipment and support at pre-negotiated tariffs and terms of trade to the Higher Education sector and Scottish public sector for a minimum of three years.
The contract offers procurement and mailing services to a vast majority of UK universities, all Scottish further education colleges, the Scottish government and a large number of Scottish public sector organisations, including NHS National Procurement and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services and Police Forces.
Only the Crescent Purchasing Consortium, which offers free membership to adult education colleges, will not be party to the agreement.
The £5m annual contract fee is to be split between the four suppliers depending on how they are utilised by each institution.
The companies applied to be part of the framework through a competitive tender process via the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and were awarded the contract by Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) on behalf of higher education’s National Postal and Distribution Group.
FP Executive Agency marketing manager Andrew Parmenter said: "We are pleased to achieve recognition for being a key supplier to the public sector by being part of the agreement.
"The agreement will allow us to supply a range of products and services into this area, whilst providing a high level of support that is required within these organisations."
Pitney Bowes will supply franking machines, folder inserters, print and mail aggregation software and mail track and trace systems to members at pre-arranged rate.
Pitney Bowes marketing director Phil Hutchinson said: "This is a landmark agreement for Pitney Bowes and comes at a time when HE institutions and the Public Sector are looking to identify ways of delivering savings.
"We have a range of products and services that use innovation to drive out avoidable costs and optimise postage spend."
The mailing equipment supplier has said its team of account managers will be working hard with individual organisations to identify cost-saving opportunities.
