376E_16 Books, E-Books and Related Materials

In this instance, ESPO is undertaking a procurement process to identify and appoint a number of suppliers to a national multi-supplier framework to supply books, e-books and related materials.

The framework is expected to be primarily used by educational establishments, but it is anticipated that local authorities may wish to access Lot 4 (e-books/e-audio) of this framework in order to appoint an e-books/e-audio provider for library provision.

• Lot 1 - Fiction Books – This lot will primarily be used by schools for fiction books typically read by school-age children.
• Lot 2 - Curriculum Books – This lot will cover non- fiction textbooks, revision guides, dictionaries, reading scheme sets, etc. used in schools and colleges by students.
• Lot 3 - Reference, General and Other Related Materials – This lot will cover the requirements of non-education Customers such as local authority departments and central governments bodies. It is envisaged that these Customers will typically require reference books related to their area of work (e.g. social care). This lot will also cover materials linked to reading/library provision, such as CDs and DVDs.
• Lot 4 - E-Books, including e-audio – This lot is expected to be used by schools and public libraries and tenderers will be asked to indicate which Customer base their solution is intended for.

As a Central Purchasing Body as defined by the EU Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU, the Framework Agreement is open for use by the following classifications of user throughout all administrative regions of the UK: Local Authority Councils; Educational Establishments (including Academies); Central Government Departments and Agencies and Local Government Departments and Agencies; Police, Fire & Rescue and Coastguard Emergency Services; NHS and HSC Bodies, including Ambulance Services; Registered Charities; Registered Social Landlords; Any Public Body established by or under the Scotland Act 1998 or any Act ofthe Scottish Parliament. Full details of the classification of end user establishments and geographical areas is available on: http://www.espo.org/About-us-%281%29/FAQs/Legal An eAuction process may be used to award subsequent call off contracts following the reopening of competition among the parties to the Framework Agreement. The framework agreement has the option to extend for up to a further 24 months.The total estimated values stated include the option period. Please note, the AMENDED closing date for submission of tender is 12:00 noon, 25/07/2016.

Additional information: In order to express an interest in tendering for this opportunity and obtaining tender documents and/or requesting any further information, please see details below and please ensure you refer to instructions and guidance available: (a) Go to www.eastmidstenders.org, (b) (If you are not already registered) Register your company by selecting the ‘Register' box on the top of the home page, (c) Once registered visit the home page select ‘View Opportunities' then ‘Search Latest Opportunities', from the ‘Organisation' drop down box select ‘ESPO', click search (options) and select the appropriate opportunity 376E_16 Books, E-Books and Related Materials, (d) Express an interest by selecting the ‘Register Interest' box at the bottom of the screen. You should receive a notification email confirming your expression of interest, (e) Once fully registered, you should download the tender from the website.

Tenderers should also note that final submissions must be made only via ProContract, no other submission route is permitted. Failure to follow this path will result in the tender submission being disregarded.

All documents pertaining to this opportunity will be available for download via the ProContract portal from the outset. Please ensure you are able to download all files after accessing the ProContract portal.

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