Ways to Purchase Diagnostic, Pathology, Dental and Therapy Products and Services

Most consumable items can be purchased using our online catalogue. All products are assigned an NPC (national product code) by NHS Supply Chain to ensure every item has a unique identifier; a list of all products and their associated NPCs will be provided during the catalogue launch process and can be requested from the buying team during the life of the Framework Agreement.

Product Matches or Switching to NHS Supply Chain

You can approach the buying teams via your NHS Supply Chain Customer Relationship Manager to request product matches for items you are already purchasing via another route. The buying teams will then match the list of items provided to our catalogue listings and provide NPCs to you.

Where we are unable to match Manufacturer’s Product Codes (MPCs) to catalogued products, we can approach our awarded suppliers for further assistance in providing additional items. Depending on your requirement, this may involve providing details of exact matches, or alternative items.

Products purchased via the online catalogue will be delivered to you by one of the following three routes:

• eDirect – NHS Supply Chain sends the order to the supplier, and the supplier ships the products to the delivery point at your site.
• Blue Diamond – NHS Supply Chain sends the order to the supplier who then ships the products to our warehouses. Products are not stored in our warehouses but immediately transferred to one of our vehicles and delivered to you.
• Stocked – NHS Supply Chain process and deliver the order using the stock held in our warehouses.

Pricing shown on the catalogue will:

• Include import duties and full delivery costs to any location in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland specified by NHS Supply Chain and/or its customer
• Be in £ Sterling
• Include VAT.

If you require Capital, a Service or consumables if for any reason you are unable to use the online catalogue you can place OJEU compliant orders using our Unique Reference Number (URN) requested from the buying team.

There are two ways in which we can help you requesting pricing for your requirement:

1. You can request a Statement of Requirement (SOR) template from our buying teams to complete with your specification, send this back to us and we will approach our awarded suppliers to price accordingly against your requirement.
2. Where you have been working with a supplier and already received pricing, this can be sent to our buying teams for validation.

Once you have requested a URN, the buying team will validate any quotation received against the framework, or provide framework pricing to you. A URN letter detailing the agreed products and prices is then issued to both the supplier and you. You should then quote the URN on any purchase order(s) issued directly to the awarded supplier.

Where the URN is issued for longer-term deals, rather than a one-off purchase, a copy of the Call-Off Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Goods and Provision of Services should also be signed by both yourselves and the supplier.

Any pricing issued via NHS Supply Chain will:

• Include import duties and full delivery costs to any location in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland specified by NHS Supply Chain and/or its customer.
• Be in £ Sterling.
• Exclude VAT.
• Include installation (excluding any interfaces) where applicable.
• Include a warranty for s minimum of twelve (12) months (including repair, parts, labour and servicing required as part of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) guidelines) from the date of acceptance by the customer. The warranty is distinct from the point of sale maintenance which you may choose to purchase together with the equipment, and which would cover the maintenance and service after the expiry of the warranty. See our Downloads ▼ section for more information about point of sale maintenance.
• Include any related products or accessories (for example, software, options and/or accessories) that are supplied ‘as standard’ with the device and that enable you to operate the product immediately upon delivery.

Most customer orders are made via Direct Award, where the supplier is chosen based on objective conditions such as standardisation, using the specification and terms set out during the framework tender. However, some customers may have bespoke requirements, which may involve changes to the specification, additional terms, or pricing which is not readily available from the tender submissions. In this case, you may re-open competition under the framework.

A further competition pack will be issued to you, detailing the requirements, how products/services/pricing will be evaluated, and the weighting and scoring for you to discuss and complete.

The competition will run for a minimum of 10 days, and may include show-and-tell days, presentations, or clinical trials depending on customer requirement. Details of timeframes and expectations, including where to send any documentation, will be provided in an Invitation to Tender letter which forms part of the further competition pack.

Following further competition and award to the chosen supplier(s), the buying team will issue the relevant paperwork to both you and the supplier. A copy of the Call-Off Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Goods and Provision of Services should also be signed by both parties.

See our Useful Links section for additional information in our Guide to Further Competition and Managed Services

Sample versions of the further competition packs are available from the buying team upon request.

All orders placed via NHS Supply Chain are subject to the Call-Off Terms and Conditions which were provided as part of the Framework tender pack, but also linked below. For Direct purchases, contract details (including timeframes, KPIs, specification, and pricing) will be added to the Terms by the customer and sent to the supplier to be signed; this then forms your local contract under the Framework. Both parties should sign the contract, and a copy sent to NHS Supply Chain for our records.

Call-Off Contracts have no maximum duration and may extend past the expiry date of the Framework subject to agreement by both the supplier and the customer. Timeframes of the call-off, including any extensions, should be detailed in the contract.