External print and associated services

Contract updates

The open syndicated agreement for External print and related services, led by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), expires on the 31 March 2027.

MSD does not intend to lead the establishment of a replacement syndicated print contract, so the expiration date is final. If your agency is participating in the current agreement, you will need to source your future print requirements (either as a single agency or jointly) before the syndicated contract expires.

If you have any queries, email MSD.

What's covered

Print

All printed material including collateral:

• Publications (guides, brochures, magazines, reports, external forms)
• Printed stationery (letterhead, business cards, envelopes (some), internal forms, name badges, desk plates)
• Collateral such as branded pens, drink bottles, t-shirts and bags
• Company branded items
• Processes necessary to finalise artwork
• Processes necessary to approve printed proofs
• Processes necessary to order printed material including online tools
• Processes necessary to pay for printed material that is not vendor owned, but held in stock by vendor.

Warehousing and distribution

Includes services that support the management of organising or holding printed product:

• Warehouse management services and systems, including online ordering catalogue
• Stock/mailhouse inventory management for agreed ranges for products for each participating agency
• Processes necessary to facilitate a pull and pay range of products for each participating agency (through a ‘vendor owned’ and/or ‘customer owned’ stock approach)
• Stock requisitioning systems and processed from the warehouse to the delivery site (online)
• Distribution to national (and international) locations.

Mailhouse services

Non-variable data

Includes the end to end process for managing non-variable data mail-out campaigns as requested. This may include a combination of:

• Receipt of data address file, or print ready PDF files
• Insert of the print material into envelopes
• Flow-wrapping of the printed material
• Boxing printed material for dispatch (either post or courier)
• Print of addresses either directly onto the envelope; or onto labels for adhesion to flow-wrapped product
• Preparation of the mail-out as per the NZ Post bulk mail standards
• Lodgement of the mail with NZ Post.

Variable data

In addition to the non-variable mailhouse services, the following variable data services are covered:

• Receive and print variable data files
• Manage the data file for a number of different mail-outs that may be contained within the file (different letterhead, forms to be included etc.)
• Generate the barcodes from data
• Manage mailhouse inventory requirements with the warehouse.

Digital asset management

Services in-scope are solely limited to digital asset management for print and related services. Other asset management or content management services are not covered by this contract.

Key deliverables include:

• Usability
• High level of security
• Customer service
• Innovation
• Project-management and archive capabilities
• Preference for cloud computing options
• Version control
• Specification
• Storing and cross-referencing to usage within publications
• Managing licencing requirements
• Metadata information

How it works

From the four suppliers on the panel, participating agencies select a single supplier to provide services via a secondary procurement process. This means participating agencies will obtain competitive quotes from all suppliers on the panel.

Once a preferred supplier has been selected, if the agency requires the supplier to provide digital asset management services, they populate a cloud risk assessment tool to make their own cloud risk adoption decision.

Cloud services - digital.govt.nz

Buyer's guide

Joining this contract

Please email the lead agency in the first instance with any queries related to joining this contract.