Finance and Business Services

Information for Suppliers

ECU is committed to conducting procurement activities in an ethical, legal and socially responsible manner. The University expects that suppliers appointed to provide goods and/or services share this commitment and comply with all applicable laws, codes or regulations of the countries, states and localities in which they operate.

Supplying Goods or Services to ECU

ECU has to ensure value for money when purchasing goods and services and aims for better outcomes through:

• Open and effective competition when undertaking tenders;
• Maximising the opportunities for local businesses;
• Providing equal access to ECU business opportunities; and
• Stimulating innovation, efficiency and choice.

This is managed by inviting suppliers to respond to requests for quotes or tenders.

ECU Policies

ECU has a number of policies that govern our procurement activities. You should download and familiarise yourself with these policies before responding to any requests for quotation or tender. Refer to 'Tendering for Goods and Services' in 'Downloads'.

ECU Supplier Code of Conduct

ECU expects our suppliers to adhere to the highest standards of ethical behaviour and compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The following Supplier Code of Conduct sets forth the minimum standards of conduct that we expect from our Suppliers, Vendors and Contractors. Please ensure that you are happy to comply with this code of conduct before supplying goods or services to ECU.

Terms and Conditions of Business

When tendering for goods and/or services to ECU, you’ll be asked to note and understand the conditions of responding to a tender and must comply with our general contract conditions. If applicable, you may need to comply with special conditions of contract.

Compliance with the contractual terms and conditions specified in the tender must be addressed in the supplier’s response to the tender.

Published Tenders

ECU’s open tenders are published on the Tenders WA website. ECU also utilises eProcure by TenderSearch to publish, review and evaluate tender responses.

Tendering Process

ECU’s tender process asks for specific criteria to be met to ensure that assessed tenders represent value for money. This does not mean that a contract will be awarded to the supplier demonstrating the lowest price.

Responses to the criteria are assessed to determine the best value for money outcome for ECU that considers price, economic, environmental and social benefits. Value for money can be demonstrated in:

Whole of life cycle costs;

• Technical merits of the product or service;
• Contractual and technical compliance;
• Legislative compliance;
• Risk factors that may impact on cost and value;
• The capacity of the supplier (financial, managerial, technical abilities);
• Sustainable practices; and
• An ongoing, innovative and competitive local business environment.

More complex value-for-money evaluations can include a comparison of cost and non-cost factors. Non-cost factors may include:

• Fitness for purpose;
• Technical and financial expertise;
• Supplier capability;
• Sustainability;
• Risk mitigation strategies;
• Availability of maintenance, service and support;
• Compliance with specifications; and
• Ease of inspection, communication and delivery.

Following Tender Acceptance

Following the awarding of a contract you may be requested to undertake the Contractor’s Induction as part of the tendering process. It’s a supplier’s responsibility to ensure that the induction is completed online prior to the contract commencement.

Preferred Suppliers

Preferred supplier agreements are established by Strategic Procurement for commonly purchased goods and services. This is generally done through a Request for Tender or Request for Proposal process. The selection of preferred suppliers is consistent with the University’s Strategic Procurement Policy and is undertaken through a fair and open process.

Supplier Payment Verifications

To improve our internal controls and ensure payments to suppliers are made to legitimate bank accounts, ECU have engaged eftsure Pty Ltd to provide payment verification services.  Therefore, all new suppliers to ECU are required to be accredited by eftsure before payments for goods/services can be made.  We kindly request that all suppliers complete the bank account verification with eftsure to ensure timely payment of invoices.

More information is available via Downloads or https://get.eftsure.com.au/.

Issues or Questions?

Please contact procurement@ecu.edu.au for all procurement related matters.