Co-Lab undertakes procurement mostly for, and on behalf of councils. Our focus is overall value for money and supply certainty. We work with the councils to ensure we continue to meet their needs and address their priorities.
Procurement covers all aspects of acquiring and delivering goods, services, and works. It begins with identifying the needs, includes an approach to market (tendering/quoting) in the middle, and finishes with the end of a contract. For suppliers, your interest is in the middle work of tendering.
Co-Lab has a procurement principles, policy and framework that aligns with the NZ Government’s procurement framework (procurement.govt.nz). We have adopted the NZ Government procurement principles, which are:
We will develop a procurement plan and strategy to identify the most suitable way to secure the best outcome to meet councils’ needs. This may involve a single or multi-stage tender process with calls for registrations of interest, request for quotes, or request for proposals. When we go to market, the procurement process may be different depending on value and risk associated with what is sought.
Open procurement opportunities are listed on the NZ Government tendering website, gets.govt.nz, so if you haven’t already, register on GETS. You can create a profile to be notified of opportunities as they are published that cover your areas of interest.
Co-Lab operates two panels, the professional services panel and the legal services panel. We also manage a number of joint contracts with suppliers, that Waikato councils can be part of.
