Introduction

The department’s online catalogue was developed to provide internal buyer access to the Department of Education or state contract products. Variations were included to support the Local Schools, Local Decisions reform. The online catalogue offers two specific views of content for:

• Schools and Corporate State Offices

Objectives

A one-stop online catalogue providing:

• Users with easy access to a wide-range of products.
• One system and one way of navigation for users.
• Administrative efficiency that increases productivity for users.
• Reduced red tape and account administration costs for vendors.
• Access to all department staff to search and browse, or for department buyers to purchase electronically through the eProcurement systems SAP.
• Increased compliance to the procure to pay process.
• Increased contract utilisation to support success of contracts and savings targets.
• User access to department specific products and department - leveraged pricing.

The department achieves great value through:

• Access to vendor products.
• Lower costs.
• Easy to search and locate items reducing time.
• Improved compliance to contracts and the procure to pay process.
• Visibility to spend information.
• Improved budget performance.

Vendors achieve great value through:

• Strategic advantage with their products available on the catalogue.
• Lower costs acquisition and processing orders.
• Increased sales.

Catalogue participation by vendors

Vendor access to the online catalogue is governed by this guideline.

Requirements for participation on the online catalogue are provided below.

For any and all vendor’s products to be catalogued, vendors must comply with the following:

• Able to demonstrate value-for-money (consider the total cost of the product including acquiring, operating and disposing of the product).
• Fit for purpose, safe and warranted (product is safe to use in a classroom/department environment, all aspects of installation have been addressed, product is compatible with existing infrastructure, and product is standard and can be consistently used by future operators).
• Product pricing must all encompassing, including freight.
• No minimum order values or quantities.
• Must be able to service all NSW Public Schools.
• Must provide a discount included in the net price and advise the discount. Monthly sales reports, including discount value, must be provided to the department’s reporting tool (CRS) by the 10th calendar day of each month, where the 10th falls on a weekend or public holiday, then next business day.
• Enter into a department Online Catalogue Content Services Agreement.
• Items may be catalogued internally in the online catalogue or externally via OCI 4.0 or Commerce eXtensible Markup Language (cXML) connection. The department will determine this based on the:
• Vendor’s technical capability.
• Number of items to be catalogued.
• Catalogue management and maintenance requirements
• Meeting this catalogue guideline requirement.
• The Content Provider is required to attend operational and performance meetings every six months or as directed by the department.

Internal catalogue criteria

Where determined that items may be catalogued internally vendors must demonstrate:

• Ability to produce and maintain Premium Supplier Exchange (PSX) Toolset.
• Ability to provide images and descriptions.
• Willingness to conform to requirements of the department’s Content Style Guide.
• Willingness to access collaboration layer tool to upload content updates.
• Willingness to undertake training.
• Ability to meet the catalogue guideline requirements.

External catalogue criteria

Where determined that items may be catalogued externally vendors must demonstrate:

• Existing OCI 4.0 or cXML compliant online catalogue – technical specification documents (Informatica Business Catalog 6.3 – Open Catalog Interface (OCI) and OCI Definition).
• eCommerce website must be United Nations Standard Products and Services Code compatible.
• Ability and willingness to filter content to department requirements.
• Willingness to provide audit access to department to monitor content filtering.
• Willingness and capability to maintain customised catalogues.
• Must be able to supply to all schools and corporate.
• Willingness to restrict department staff access to the online catalogue channel only. The number of vendors permitted to any one category is restricted by limitations on the software, funding and resources to maintain it. Should demand from eligible vendors exceed four in any one category where the department has a proven business need, then an open market test may be programmed to formally select and contract vendors. Until that process is complete no new vendors in that category can be given access to that category, once complete any unsuccessful or non-participating vendors with existing catalogue agreements in that category will be given 3 months’ notice and removed. The department’s purchasable catalogue is restricted to no more than four of the category. Vendor acceptance will occur on a “first in” basis and will hold for a minimum of 6 months, after which if more vendors express interest, a competitive bid process may be programmed. Where non-contracted vendors represent a category of significant purchase volume with multiple potential vendors, a sourcing process will need to be undertaken, at a time appropriate to the department to maintain probity, equity and to ensure value-for-money. All non-contract spend reports must be reviewed every 6 months to determine volumes. Where spend reaches $500,000 in a six month period e.g. between July and December for any one DoE entity it must be assessed for an open market approach. If volumes are likely to continue it must be registered on the sourcing program of work.

Department contracted, prequalified, local decisions, indigenous and disability vendors

Where the department has tendered requiring its suppliers to participate on the online catalogue, this becomes a contracted requirement.

Products can be catalogued by ‘punch out’ via OCI 4.0 or cXML connection to the vendors’ own external site. At the discretion of the department contracted products may be catalogued for the vendor via a PSX process.

Vendors added in support of Local Schools, Local Decisions will be visible only to schools and corporate. In addition to all other policy requirements Local Schools, Local Decisions vendors will also need to provide proof of demand through supply of validated sales data demonstrating current sales spend data of over $150,000 per annum and schools input.

To ensure contracted suppliers are not disadvantaged by policies, allowing purchases outside of contracts, they can expand their school view catalogues to include non-contracted product if the additional items are:

• Not in conflict with a department contract and are not excluded items.
• Approved by the department as having met the criteria of this guideline.
• Not rejected due to standards or safety measures.
• Are suitable for Schools use.

State contracted vendors

State Contract vendors with compliant external catalogues and material volumes, which schools order frequently, may be connected directly on the online catalogue. Qualifying State Contracts that are not made available to the department through this methodology may be accessed through a filtered view of the internal NSWBuy eCatalogue, and can be accessed as a double punch directly from the department's online Search and Browse catalogue.

The Department of Education does not support access to the NSWBuy eCatalogue through the department’s eProcurement systems SAP as items catalogued within NSWBuy may not include freight or other charges which can result in mismatched invoices for payment.

Technical constraints prohibit the access to state contract vendors with external catalogues directly through the NSWBuy eCatalogue.

State contracts that do not have purchase volume in excess of $150k from schools, and/or corporate will not be published on DoE’s online catalogue unless specifically requested by schools or corporate and in accordance with this guideline. State contract suppliers must enter a Catalogue Agreement.

State contract products that conflict or compete with strategic contract products or strategic business objectives of the department will be filtered from view.

Removing products and catalogues

Any and all products and/or catalogues can be removed at the discretion of the department if it is determined that the:

• Contractor or the products are no longer on a Department of Education or State contract panel.
• Contractor or product is in conflict with a Department of Education or State contract or panel or for schools a contract that has been listed as an item / category exempt from the Local Schools, Local Decisions reform.
• Product, catalogue or sales reports are not being maintained adequately by the vendor as specified in the catalogue agreement.
• Purchase volume against the product or catalogue is not sufficient to maintain.
• Continuance of the product or catalogue does not support the department’s strategic objectives i.e. higher prices are found elsewhere or discounts or value is maintained.
• Issues are identified with catalogue maintenance that is not promptly resolved.

Guideline owner

Chief Procurement Officer.

Guideline environment

Processes and procedures in the department must support NSW Government Goods and Services Procurement Policy Framework and maintain probity and equity at all times.