Planning

Freight Agency Services

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

21 Mar 2025 at 00:00

Summary of the contracting process

The University of Edinburgh is planning a procurement process for Freight Agency Services, which falls under the education industry category. This service will be seeking a supplier to optimise the entire supply chain for both domestic and international shipments. The procurement stage is currently in the planning phase with key communication expected by 1st May 2025. The contract is located in the UK, specifically Edinburgh (region UKM75), and involves an anticipated spend of £750,000 over three years.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in logistics and software solutions, especially those capable of integrating with Oracle Fusion systems. Ideal candidates include 4PL logistics providers who can centralise fragmented spend and improve freight rates and processes for the University. This project offers substantial growth potential for businesses by providing streamlined, centralised services which can enhance operational efficiencies and sustainability targets for the University of Edinburgh.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Notice Title

Freight Agency Services

Notice Description

Requirement to procure the services of a supplier to provide a 4PL service facilitating an optimisation of the entire supply chain for UoE - from courier services for UK domestic, to import and export shipments. Must include a software solution which ideally will be able to integrate with UoE's Oracle Fusion "People and Money" system and also comply with our "No PO No Pay" protocol.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Requirement to procure the services of a supplier to provide a 4PL service facilitating an optimisation of the entire supply chain for UoE - from courier services for UK domestic, to import and export shipments. Must include a software solution which ideally will be able to integrate with UoE's Oracle Fusion "People and Money" system and also comply with our "No PO No Pay" protocol. There is a significant level of fragmented spend with couriers from various colleges and schools at UoE. The new service will enable spend to be centralised through one service. The appointed freight agent would act on UoE's behalf as a 4PL logistics supplier and be responsible for sourcing multiple transit options and providers for each consignment. This would involve a software solution for UoE staff to book consignments on. All communication, billing and responsibility for delivering the service will reside with the supplier. This would provide 2 overarching benefits to UoE: (1) Improved freight rates; one provider understanding our requirement will be able to be active in the freight market in the most advantageous way for UoE. Truly centralising the requirement will avoid UoE being subject to high one-off freight rates. (2) Improved processes; a single stream of invoices and customs clearance instruction documents will simplify the paperwork process between stores, procurement operations and P&M system. Centralisation of the function will create efficiencies with existing teams and allow time to be redeployed into more effective areas to improve value streams elsewhere. As well as financial benefits this solution should make it easier to group together sustainability goals in freight which has traditionally had a high carbon cost.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000793667
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAR526544
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F1 - Prior Information Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

64 - Postal and telecommunications services


CPV Codes

63521000 - Freight transport agency services

64120000 - Courier services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£750,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Mar 202511 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 May 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Contact Name
Iain Davies
Contact Email
idavies@ed.ac.uk
Contact Phone
+44 1316502759

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH1 1HT
Post Town
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM1 East Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM13 City of Edinburgh
Delivery Location
TLM75 City of Edinburgh

Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
City Centre
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-r6ebe6-0000793667-2025-03-21T00:00:00Z",
    "date": "2025-03-21T00:00:00Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-r6ebe6-0000793667",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "org-10",
            "name": "University Of Edinburgh",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "University Of Edinburgh"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Charles Stewart House, 9-16 Chambers Street",
                "locality": "Edinburgh",
                "region": "UKM75",
                "postalCode": "EH1 1HT"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "name": "Iain Davies",
                "email": "idavies@ed.ac.uk",
                "telephone": "+44 1316502759",
                "url": "http://"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "Body governed by public law",
                        "scheme": "TED_CA_TYPE"
                    },
                    {
                        "id": "09",
                        "description": "Education",
                        "scheme": "COFOG"
                    }
                ],
                "url": "http://www.ed.ac.uk"
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "name": "University Of Edinburgh",
        "id": "org-10"
    },
    "planning": {
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "MAR526544",
                "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
                "title": "Freight Agency Services",
                "description": "Requirement to procure the services of a supplier to provide a 4PL service facilitating an optimisation of the entire supply chain for UoE - from courier services for UK domestic, to import and export shipments. Must include a software solution which ideally will be able to integrate with UoE's Oracle Fusion \"People and Money\" system and also comply with our \"No PO No Pay\" protocol.",
                "url": "https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAR526544",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "EC1049",
        "title": "Freight Agency Services",
        "description": "Requirement to procure the services of a supplier to provide a 4PL service facilitating an optimisation of the entire supply chain for UoE - from courier services for UK domestic, to import and export shipments. Must include a software solution which ideally will be able to integrate with UoE's Oracle Fusion \"People and Money\" system and also comply with our \"No PO No Pay\" protocol.",
        "status": "planned",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "64120000",
                        "scheme": "CPV"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKM75"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amount": 750000,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "MAR526544-1",
                "title": "Notice",
                "url": "https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=MAR526544&idx=1",
                "datePublished": "2025-03-21T11:05:05Z",
                "dateModified": "2025-03-21T11:05:05Z",
                "format": "application/pdf"
            }
        ],
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "description": "Requirement to procure the services of a supplier to provide a 4PL service facilitating an optimisation of the entire supply chain for UoE - from courier services for UK domestic, to import and export shipments. Must include a software solution which ideally will be able to integrate with UoE's Oracle Fusion \"People and Money\" system and also comply with our \"No PO No Pay\" protocol. There is a significant level of fragmented spend with couriers from various colleges and schools at UoE. The new service will enable spend to be centralised through one service. The appointed freight agent would act on UoE's behalf as a 4PL logistics supplier and be responsible for sourcing multiple transit options and providers for each consignment. This would involve a software solution for UoE staff to book consignments on. All communication, billing and responsibility for delivering the service will reside with the supplier. This would provide 2 overarching benefits to UoE: (1) Improved freight rates; one provider understanding our requirement will be able to be active in the freight market in the most advantageous way for UoE. Truly centralising the requirement will avoid UoE being subject to high one-off freight rates. (2) Improved processes; a single stream of invoices and customs clearance instruction documents will simplify the paperwork process between stores, procurement operations and P&M system. Centralisation of the function will create efficiencies with existing teams and allow time to be redeployed into more effective areas to improve value streams elsewhere. As well as financial benefits this solution should make it easier to group together sustainability goals in freight which has traditionally had a high carbon cost.",
                "status": "planned"
            }
        ],
        "communication": {
            "futureNoticeDate": "2025-05-01T00:00:00Z"
        },
        "coveredBy": [
            "GPA"
        ],
        "classification": {
            "id": "63521000",
            "scheme": "CPV"
        },
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "32014L0024",
            "scheme": "CELEX"
        }
    },
    "language": "EN",
    "description": "The total estimated spend is over a three year period. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=793667. (SC Ref:793667)",
    "links": [
        {
            "rel": "canonical",
            "href": "https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000793667"
        }
    ],
    "noticetype": "OJEU - F1 - Prior Information Notice"
}