What is The Chest?
The Chest is an e-tendering facility for companies wishing to contract and supply work to over 40 local councils in the North West. Warrington Borough Council is one of these councils. Registration for suppliers is free.
Once fully implemented, the council will be using The Chest to advertise opportunities and contracts for all goods, works and services. Suppliers wishing to receive information about contract opportunities and to bid for new council work will need to be registered on The Chest.
Why an e-tendering solution?
We can all make substantial savings in both time and cost by e-tendering. The contracting functions within The Chest electronically provide all services from start to finish, including:
- advertisement of the tender opportunity
- delivery/receipt/management and audit of all bid documents
Benefits
The Chest will deliver many benefits, including
- full transparency and audit of all processes, with reduced potential for disputes
- all processes, including advertising, printing, copying and administration, are done electronically
- postal/courier costs and potential delays will be eliminated
- environmentally friendly due to its paperless process
- reduced OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) timescales through the use of electronic documentation
- for suppliers, an electronic copy means that sections can be copied, pasted and e-mailed to colleagues for their collective input, saving internal printing costs and speeding bid production.
Added benefits for suppliers
The Chest gives suppliers a wider opportunity to trade regionally. It encourages local firms to expand their horizons, create a wider business pool and look to generate business at the local level.
As access is via the web, suppliers can access it any time, anywhere. Suppliers can nominate what services they offer, and those councils with whom they wish to do business. Once services are nominated, suppliers are automatically notified by email of relevant tender opportunities.