---
title: "Slide Scanner"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH"
published: "2025-01-06"
---

# Slide Scanner

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863

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## Summary

The University of Edinburgh has completed a public procurement process for the supply of a Slide Scanner under the education industry category. The contract, valued at £170,000, was awarded to Carl Zeiss Ltd on 3rd January 2025. The procurement method used was an open procedure, ensuring transparency and competitive bidding. The new slide scanner will be installed on the Bioquarter campus in Edinburgh, Scotland, to replace an existing 10-year-old model that is no longer fit for purpose. The procurement falls under the GPA agreements, ensuring adherence to international procurement standards.

This tender creates significant opportunities for growth, particularly for businesses specialising in advanced imaging and histology equipment. Companies capable of providing high-precision, innovative digital slide scanning solutions would be well-suited to participate in such tenders. By securing contracts like this, businesses can enhance their reputation and expand their market presence in the public sector. Large-scale suppliers like Carl Zeiss Ltd, who can offer robust and reliable technological solutions, are particularly competitive in such procurement opportunities.

## Notice

The molecular histology and digital slide scanning SRF runs a suite of 4 digital slide scanners to meet user demand on the Bioquarter campus. The SRF work to a FEC (full economic cost) full cost recovery model, now employing 9 dedicated staff, posting an operating surplus in excess of 170K last Financial Year (CMVM (College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine) finance dept estimate). For heavily utilised mission critical capital equipment of this nature there is a 10-year cycle of renewal which we would normally purchase from operating surplus (this now goes to the CMVM capital fund) or via managed deficit to be repaid. The original scanner is now 10 years old and is in need of replacement (the original is being taken away by the supplier and being recycled), at a minimum it will require a 20K computer and software upgrade to maintain "fit for purpose" status given age of system this isn't sustainable and new enhanced capabilities a newer model would provide. The nature of these systems means that they are designed to operate 24/7 and therefor have had an extremely hard life which is starting to result in recuring breakdowns or operating issues. Due to the high demand any downtime on one scanner means that a bottleneck on the remaining slide scanners quickly forms as slides produced by staining robots (5) and multiple researcher studies being finished at the same time result in complaints received from users regarding the low availability of the scanners.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The molecular histology and digital slide scanning SRF runs a suite of 4 digital slide scanners to meet user demand on the Bioquarter campus. The SRF work to a FEC (full economic cost) full cost recovery model, now employing 9 dedicated staff, posting an operating surplus in excess of 170K last Financial Year (CMVM (College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine) finance dept estimate). For heavily utilised mission critical capital equipment of this nature there is a 10-year cycle of renewal which we would normally purchase from operating surplus (this now goes to the CMVM capital fund) or via managed deficit to be repaid. The original scanner is now 10 years old and is in need of replacement (the original is being taken away by the supplier and being recycled), at a minimum it will require a 20K computer and software upgrade to maintain "fit for purpose" status given age of system this isn't sustainable and new enhanced capabilities a newer model would provide. The nature of these systems means that they are designed to operate 24/7 and therefor have had an extremely hard life which is starting to result in recuring breakdowns or operating issues. Due to the high demand any downtime on one scanner means that a bottleneck on the remaining slide scanners quickly forms as slides produced by staining robots (5) and multiple researcher studies being finished at the same time result in complaints received from users regarding the low availability of the scanners.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN521097 |
| Notice type | PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Jan 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 3 Jan 2025 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £170,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH1 1HT |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | City Centre |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh East and Musselburgh |
| Delivery location | TLM75 City of Edinburgh |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CARL ZEISS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 38510000 - Microscopes
- 38512200 - Molecular microscopes

## Release History

- 6 Jan 2025 at 00:00 - Award - PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN521097

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN521097
  Slide Scanner - The molecular histology and digital slide scanning SRF runs a suite of 4 digital slide scanners to meet user demand on the Bioquarter campus. The SRF work to a FEC (full economic cost) full cost recovery model, now employing 9 dedicated staff, posting an operating surplus in excess of 170K last Financial Year (CMVM (College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine) finance dept estimate). For heavily utilised mission critical capital equipment of this nature there is a 10-year cycle of renewal which we would normally purchase from operating surplus (this now goes to the CMVM capital fund) or via managed deficit to be repaid. The original scanner is now 10 years old and is in need of replacement (the original is being taken away by the supplier and being recycled), at a minimum it will require a 20K computer and software upgrade to maintain "fit for purpose" status given age of system this isn't sustainable and new enhanced capabilities a newer model would provide. The nature of these systems means that they are designed to operate 24/7 and therefor have had an extremely hard life which is starting to result in recuring breakdowns or operating issues. Due to the high demand any downtime on one scanner means that a bottleneck on the remaining slide scanners quickly forms as slides produced by staining robots (5) and multiple researcher studies being finished at the same time result in complaints received from users regarding the low availability of the scanners.

## Notice URLs

- http://
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863
- https://www.ed.ac.uk

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000786863.json.