Using the office supplies contract

Using this contract

• 1

  Determine your requirements

  Consider what's most important to your agency to help you shortlist suppliers, like:

  • product attributes
  • product categories
  • product range
  • lowest prices
  • high service levels
  • administrative simplicity
  • capability to interface with an agency’s Financial Management Information System (FMIS)
  • geographical reach
  • regional presence.

  You may need to review your agency’s purchasing behaviour, for example whether different units buy independently from the same supplier. Talking with others in your agency can also help you work out if there are any special requirements and which categories are relevant to your agency, such as unique delivery requirements.

• 2

  Review the categories

  You will need to choose a supplier for the low waste key office supplies category, and one for each optional category you're using. You can choose different suppliers for each category, or use the same supplier across multiple categories.

  For schools interested in joining this contract, it is not mandatory to choose a supplier for the low waste key office supplies category.

  What's covered

• 3

  Choose a supplier

  You can select one supplier for each category you want to participate in based on any criteria, but you should follow a robust process to make sure you get the best value out of the contract.

  • Review the supplier profiles for information on each supplier’s type of business, environmental policies, value-add services, and any other information that's important to your agency.
  • Identify your commonly purchased products and map them to the catalogues offered by the AoG panel
  • We suggest you talking to at least two shortlisted panel suppliers before making a final selection. It's good to get to know your likely contract manager, discuss your requirements and find out how the supplier works before you make a decision.

  Office supplies suppliers

• 4

  Read the Memorandum of Understanding

  The Memorandum of Understanding for a contract sets out the relationship between New Zealand Government Procurement and the agencies participating in the contract. It also highlights the obligations of each party and the key points in the contract.

  Each contract has a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding listed on the contract landing page. You will need to be logged in to see it.

  Joining this contract

• 5

  Complete the Form of Accession (FoA)

  By signing the FoA, your agency is agreeing to the terms and conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding. On the FoA you will enter the suppliers and product categories you wish to participate in.

  End of process