This week, YPO is issuing a VEAT (Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency) notice, signalling its intention to enter into a contract with Amazon.
The notice was first issued in July 2018, after YPO followed an EU procurement regulations process to appoint an online marketplace partner who could supply additional products to its customers, not currently supplied by YPO. Amazon Business Services was confirmed as the successful bidder.
Since then, YPO has been engaging with Amazon to agree commercial terms. Due to the length of time which has passed, YPO is repeating the notice issued last summer and issuing another notice on March 27, 2019.
Following the publication of the VEAT notice, YPO and Amazon will finalise the contract, with a view to launching the new service to public sector customers in May 2019. More information will be provided when a contract has been signed.
From YPO’s managing director Simon Hill:
“For 45 years, YPO has provided goods and services to public sector organisations from our headquarters in Wakefield, mainly to schools, other education establishments and councils. This is done through public tenders which provide full compliance with public procurement regulations and gives our customers confidence that the goods and services bought have been procured in a transparent, legal and ethical manner.
“While YPO has an extensive range of more than 30,000 products, increasingly there are requirements from our customers that we cannot fulfil on our own.
“YPO is proud to have created a forward-thinking, innovative solution for our public sector customers. This will further enhance our already successful operation which saves our customers significant sums, through effective purchasing, and returns on average of £7.5m every year back to the public purse.”