The Supplier and Contract Management System (SCMS)

The Supplier and Contract Management System (SCMS) is the procurement tool that is used to conduct tender exercises and manage approved lists.

It is available at http://scms.alito.co.uk You will require a username and password to access the website. Please contact the SCMS helpdesk who should be able to assist.

When should SCMS be used?

When a contract is being put in place for £20,000 and above and an existing framework agreement is not being used then an advertisement must be published on SCMS. When publishing an advertisement on SCMS a mini quotation exercise must be carried out and bids invited electronically through the SCMS system.

Before documents are published on the website schools must write a detailed specification (see specification guidance) and put together the relevant documents and terms and conditions.

Click here for a guide and templates of the documents that schools should be using when publishing quotations on SCMS

Approved Lists

Leeds City Council Procurement use SCMS to manage the approved lists. These approved list are the only lists available to schools. Approved lists are only held in certain categories. Click here for a list of approved list categories. 

Approved lists are lists of contractors mostly works providers that have been vetted to the Council's standards in the following areas:

• Financial Stability: companies are checked for both turnover and net worth and can be credit checked.
• Insurance: companies must have the appropriate level of insurance cover for employer's liability and public liability.
• Health & Safety: companies must have a policy that meets the requirements laid down by the Health & Safety Executive and the Health & Safety at Work Act.
• Technical and Professional References: companies must provide details of three referees from which the Council can take up technical or professional references. The references must be for the same type of work as the companies are applying for.
• Equal Opportunities: companies must demonstrate that they have sound Equal Opportunities policies and practices, in particular employment practice.
• Environmental Matters: some approved lists require companies to have an environmental policy.

Companies on approved lists do not have any contractual arrangements but may be invited to tender or quote.

The advantages of being included on the approved lists for both companies and clients are:

• The tendering procedure is shortened as the initial checks have already been made
• There is a mechanism of identifying good and poor contractor performance which can be dealt with accordingly.

If a school would like to use an approved list on a contract worth £20,000 or more then it must fill in a Selection Procedure and Record of Contract (SPARC) form and return it to Leeds City Council. The following documents may be of help;

Approved List Guidance and Category List
SPARC form