Audio Visual (AV) Supply, Installation and Support framework

Stoke-on-Trent City Council wishes to appoint a specialist Audio Visual (AV) partner to assist in the supply, delivery, installation, maintenance and support of its audio visual requirements over a four year period.

This will cover the following areas:

• The partner will be expected to have excellent working relationships with the majority of major AV suppliers and will be able to negotiate attractive prices for services and commodities that would benefit the city council. The partner should be able to provide expert knowledge and assistance with AV solutions across all major AV manufacturers and have proven experience of designing and delivering videoconferencing solutions.
• The partner will have the ability to purchase AV hardware and software/licences. This includes all equipment required for a fully complete AV solution suitable for the size of the room it is installed in, including but not limited to TVs, cameras, microphones, speakers, cabling, bundled video conferencing solutions, etc. All AV equipment supplied must be accredited for use with Microsoft Teams. We strive to achieve the most cost effective price point on all our purchases, and assistance from the supplier to help drive down the cost is expected at all times. It is imperative the partner has excellent relationships and/or professional partnerships with all major AV manufacturers in order to negotiate the most efficient supply chain for the city council.
• The partner will be responsible for providing a support and maintenance service for issues with both the software and hardware supplied, including a suitable on-site break/fix service where required. The partner should have proven delivery of comprehensive maintenance services to include up to 24/7, 365 support, custom service desk software/database and substantial in-house spares holding. Appropriate time to fix SLAs will be provided and adherence monitored and reported on regularly. Service provision is expected to be appropriate. A dedicated Helpdesk number will be provided, which goes directly to a team of experienced, fully manufacturer-trained audio visual support engineers. The partner with liaise directly with manufacturers for support on behalf of the city council where required.
• The supplier will be able to provide a full, end to end project management service for the supply and installation of AV equipment ordered by the city council, where required.

Assigned Project Management resource will be sourced in-house and hold PRINCE2 certification or equivalent.

• The partner will negotiate attractive pricing with suppliers for the renewal of licences and annual support and maintenance for AV software and systems. The partner will advise whether significant discounts can be obtained by renewing for longer than one calendar year, to provide the best value for the city council. The partner is expected to give adequate notice of licence expiries, renewal dates, and product end of life dates.
• Benchmarking and quote transparency. Quarterly benchmarking is required as part of the contract to demonstrate that the authority is receiving best value from the partner.
• Training courses may be required for both usability and administration of AV solutions and associated software. The successful partner will either be able to deliver sessions themselves or will have relationships with providers to facilitate such training. These are required to be delivered both using remote learning and public schedules at local training

venues.

• Stoke-on-Trent City Council does not provide exclusivity of orders to the appointed provider and reserves the right to purchase goods from alternative suppliers.