Cambridge Regional College
Kings Hedges Rd,
Milton,
Cambridge
CB4 2QT
The Background
Cambridge Regional College have 4,000 full-time and 6,000 part-time students. They work with over 1,500 employers nationwide and have 4,500 apprentices currently in training. They are also one of the UK’s largest FE providers of programmes for overseas students. The College went to market for multifunctional devices (MFD’s) with their main objective being to reduce their overall MFD expenditure by reducing the number of devices and reviewing specification requirements.
The Process
The college used the CPC framework for Multifunctional Devices to enter into a three-year agreement for new MFD’s which are energy efficient and meet their requirements including value for money on equipment and leasing costs.
Ricoh Account Manager, Paul Maslen explains: “As part of a major cost saving exercise it was decided that the College should procure and manage its own copier/printer fleet, importantly under the CPC framework to ensure compliance and a structured service level agreement. Following a mini competition, we were awarded the contract.”
Ricoh supplied the college with 15 new strategically located MFD’s. In addition, they supplied a Remote Smart Meter solution to automate meter readings and toner replenishment together with a Device Manager NX Accounting package to automate internal cross charging through the use of departmental PIN codes.
Cambridge Regional College’s Procurement Manager, Noel Cassidy said: “From preparing and conducting the mini competition to awarding the contract and implementation we found the process to be smooth, efficient and quick. “
Noel found the framework being split into separate lots to be particularly useful. He said: “Once we selected the appropriate lot which best fitted our requirements the mini competition process was smooth and efficient.”
He felt the guidance provided was easy to digest and understand. The access to a dedicated helpdesk providing support specifically for use of the framework was also a valuable resource.
The Outcome
By using the CPC framework, the College specifically met one of their main objectives which was to reduce their overall MFD expenditure. The total reduction they made was an impressive 37%.
Noel said he would use the framework again and also commented: “As the framework included some of the major suppliers of MFD’s, we were confident we would have access to some competitive pricing.”
He added: “An important feature when deciding which framework to use is making sure sufficient interest is generated against requirements to ensure a competitive process is achieved and we had no issues with the CPC framework in this regard.”