Information for Prospective Suppliers

The majority of goods and servic​es purchased by the university are in accordance with contracts created either by the university itself or through HEPCW or in collaboration with other like-minded public-sector organisations. 

Many of the contracts we let as a university are subject to the Public Contracts Regulations.

The university operates a centrally-led procurement structure, with fully devolved ordering. 

Whilst our schools and units have reasonable autonomy in their purchases, most of our expenditure falls within the scope of existing supply agreements. Where such agreements are in place, our schools and units are required to support them. We also expect prospective suppliers to respect both the agreements that are in place and our end-users support of those contracts. Consequently, in order to supply to the university, any potential supplier needs to achieve either 'preferred' or 'approved' supplier status.

We aim to ensure all our business is conducted in accordance with our Procurement Business Principles​ and expect our suppliers to work with the same objectives and ideals. The university also fully supports the principles set out in the Welsh Government's procurement policy statement. 

Preferred suppliers are those who have been successful in bidding for tendered requirements. These tendered opportunities fall into two broad categories - either above or below the threshold at which the Public Contract Regulations apply. 

The Public Contract Regulations apply to all public organisations letting contracts above a certain value, currently £170,781.60 exc. VAT for goods and services. Public organisations are obliged to 'advertise' all opportunities worth more than this value threshold in the UK's Find a Tender Service (FTS). These opportunities can be found by searching either the FTS or Sell2Wales.

Please note that we publish all our contract notices through Sell2Wales, so to search opportunities advertised​ by Cardiff Metropolitan University, you only need to be registered on Sell2Wales - you will receive free email notifications of relevant opportunities.

A summary of the requirements of the PCR may be found below under the Public Contract Regulations heading below. 

Extensive guidance for businesses, including how to understand and engage with public procurement in Wales may be found on the Sell2Wales website. 

Approved suppliers are those who have demonstrated, generally through a competitive quotation or tender exercise, their suitability to supply the university. As with preferred suppliers, unless PCR thresholds are exceeded, when undertaking quotation exercises we usually invite suppliers who are registered on Sell2Wales.

Many of our contracts are subject to specific contract terms and conditions arising out of a formal tender process. For information, in the event that specific terms are agreed, they are likely to be based upon the university's Standard Terms of Contract for Goods and Services or upon Standard Terms for the Supply and Installation of Equipment.

Where specific terms are not agreed, all goods and services are bought in accordance with the Cardiff Metropolitan University Purchase Order Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Goods and Services - these are the terms and conditions that apply to all non-contracted purchases made by the university via our purchase order process. A copy of these terms and conditions may be found here or a hard copy may be obtained by sending a request for a copy to purchasing@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

If you are applying for or are invited to be contracted on a consultancy basis, you will probably be presented with our standard consultancy services contract.

The Public Contract Regulations 2015, known as the PCR, govern how public sector procurement should be undertaken.  If the value of a proposed contract exceeds certain thresholds then, as with all public organisations, we are required by law to comply with the rules and procedures contained within the PCR. Post Brexit, the UK government has adopted and implemented many of the previous rules and regulations of the European Union and these have been transposed into UK legislation. The PCR requires any contracts where the total value over the term of the contract exceeds specified thresholds (which do vary considerably, but for goods and services are currently £213, 477 including VAT) to be advertised in advance in the UK’s Find a Tender Service (which has now replaced the Official Journal of the European Union). 

In Wales contract notices for public sector procurements are advertised on Sell2Wales and if the contract value exceeds the thresholds, the contract notice will be simultaneously posted on the UK’s Find a Tender Service by Sell2Wales. The contract notice will detail the procurement procedure being utilised and detail any time limits for tender opportunities.  

It is recommended that all prospective suppliers register and maintain a current profile on both Sell2Wales and the Find a Tender Service. 

Due to the collaborative nature of HEPCW contracts, the combined spend of the participating universities ensures that virtually all HEPCW contracts exceed the PCR thresholds and are let through these processes, with the requirement advertised in FTS.

As HEPCW is not a legal entity in its own right, the member institutions share the contacting activity, and therefore any contract notice or PIN would be in the name of the 'lead' institution for that contract.

Please visit the HEPCW site for more information and a list of the member institutions. 

Cardiff Metropolitan University, like a growing number of other public organisations, is utilising electronic trading with our regular, preferred suppliers via the Basware e-marketplace.

Electronic trading ('e-trading') can introduce significant process improvements for both the University and its suppliers. The process links the University and suppliers either through supplier catalogues hosted on the Basware Marketplace or through punch-out catalogues and 'full systems integration', also through this portal. 

A 'Frequently Asked Questions' guide for supplier to this e-marketplace can be found here.

Sell2Wales is the Welsh public sector portal that brings together Welsh public sector buyers and the supply market. There is no charge for suppliers to register on Sell2Wales, and registered suppliers receive email alerts of all relevant contract opportunities posted on Sell2Wales, both above and below the PCR thresholds, as well as have an opportunity to register details about their organisations.

This notification service is reliant upon suppliers registering with the correct Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) codes - there is guidance on the Sell2Wales site about CPV codes.​

If you are, or wish to be, registered on Sell2Wales, we strongly recommend that the main contact email address is a 'generic' address, such as sales@ or information@ - we have seen many examples where communication on opportunities has been lost due to the main registered email address belonging to a staff member on holiday, maternity leave or no longer with the company.