About Us
The University of Bath has an annual purchasing spend of approximately £50million it is therefore committed to:
- Achieving Value for Money (VfM) for stakeholders.
- Developing the appropriate relationship with its suppliers
The diverse nature of items procured range through Stationery, Lab equipment, IT, Furniture, Gases, Electrical components and fittings, Travel, Work wear, Catering Supplies, Energy, Telephony, Media, Print, Business Equipment... to name but a few.
The University of Bath as a Public Sector body (“other public sector contracting authority”), follows strict rules around contracting for Supplies, Services and Works over certain threshold values, these are defined by EU procurement rules and UK legislation (and are available on the following web site):
European Union Directives - EC Public Sector Contract Threshold Values
Further info can be found on the following sites:
All contracts over these threshold values (c£100k) are advertised via the Official Journal of the European Union or OJEU: EU Publications Office - tenders electronic daily.
Purchasing Services harness, where appropriate, the benefits of collaborative Public Sector contracts such as those arranged nationally via University National Working Parties and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) . The University of Bath is also an active member of the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortia (SUPC) one of the major H.E. Sector consortia.
The University of Bath Purchasing Services Team (PST) members each have a distinct area of responsibility and are charged with developing supplier relationships in those areas (category/portfolio management), effectively “key account managing” buyer side. This encompasses and extends to the significant amount of University buying which is still done via local contracts and agreements, which are still usually tendered to ensure fair competition and providing evidence of Value for Money.
Recent PST developments include The University of Bath “Preferred Supplier programme (PSp)” with it’s specific aim of building closer and more "strategic" relationships with key suppliers, National, Regional and Local, and wherever possible developing appropriate E-Commerce links to reduce costs both to the University and to the Supplier.
PST intend to develop the E-Procurement agenda for the University and to implement Electronic tendering, Marketplace and E-auctions in future where appropriate to do so.
Trading with The University of Bath
All initial enquiries regarding opportunities to supply goods or provide services to the University should be addressed to the relevant Purchasing Services Contracts Manager or the Head of Purchasing Services in the first instance (see contacts link below for further information).
Purchasing Services Contact Information
There is also a help guide to assist suppliers understand the processes involved with doing business with the University of Bath 
Approaches made directly to University departments do not guarantee an opportunity to supply as departmental staff will always be advised by Purchasing Services to use appropriate contracts (and therefore contractors) where these exist. Departmental requests to use non contracted suppliers may therefore be declined. We firmly believe in honouring contractual commitments and that there is integrity in this approach. Tender opportunities are widely advertised in advance (please refer to link below).
Contract Opportunities
Once it has been confirmed (either directly by Purchasing Services or by Purchasing Services approval of a departmental “Supplier Request”) that the University wishes to trade with the supplier we will need to gather some basic information about the supplier to ensure that systems records are complete, and to facilitate prompt payment following a supply. It is therefore a prerequisite that all approved suppliers complete a “Vendor Application” in full (see below).
Vendor Application 
In all cases the University contracts with and Purchases from Suppliers on our own Terms and Conditions details of which are available below.
Terms and Condition of Purchase (Goods and Services)
If you are interested in becoming a supplier to the University of Bath please contact the relevant PST member or email purchasing-services@bath.ac.uk in the first instance.