NWUPC and Brexit

 
 
From the 1st of January 2021 how we buy goods and services changed and NWUPC is working with our partners and suppliers to ensure that we are prepared for whatever Brexit brings to enable us to support our procurement community.
 
In collaboration with our UKUPC partners we are building up a picture of our supply chains and the impact that Brexit will have on their ability to service our commercial arrangements.  We have undertaken a risk appraisal at framework level across the portfolio of agreements that are available to members and categorised them as high, medium or low.  The risk model that NWUPC Category Managers used can be seen lower down this page, click here to go directly to it.
All suppliers in the high and medium categories were contacted with a questionnaire which focused on four main areas:
 
  • Labour considerations
  • Supply chain
  • Regulatory
  • Commercial
The suppliers were given areas to consider within their responses and asked to give details of mitigating action they are undertaking. 
 
The questionnaire is available via this link and can be used with your own local suppliers.

Our Brexit Supply Chain Report is available to members and includes the responses from our supply chain.  One Category Manager from UKUPC was appointed as contact for each supplier and they were asked to consider all the frameworks they service within their answers. 

Information from suppliers is still being received and will be actively sourced over the coming weeks.  The report will be updated on a weekly basis so that the most recent information is available to you.

If you wish to see the full response from a particular supplier please contact the NWUPC Category Manager responsible for that area and they will be able to provide it to you or answer any questions you may have.
 
Brexit and Northern Ireland.
NWUPC’s membership includes institutions within Northern Ireland and we have recently been contacting suppliers to understand the potential impact of Brexit on your ability to supply to those members through our Frameworks.  This email refers to all Frameworks from the HE purchasing consortia that make up UKUPC.  NWUPC may not be the lead on the Framework that you are awarded to but we are conducting the NI focussed activity on behalf of all UKUPC members.  A link is provided to the UKUPC website for information https://www.ukupc.ac.uk/.
From January if you plan to supply goods to NI and those goods are not “at risk” of onward sale to the Republic of Ireland or another EU country, you must register for a new UK trader scheme.  The links will explain what is involved and also includes how to apply.  Please register as soon as possible and before you send any goods to the NI members.
To enable the smooth continuation of your supply to NI members could you please inform me of your EORI number.  I will be sharing this information with the purchasing consortia that form UKUPC and with our university members. 
Finally, don’t forget that we moved from OJEU to Find a Tender so please monitor the UK Government’s new Find a Tender Service for future opportunities.  This replaces the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for all above threshold tenders advertised from 1st January 2021.  Contracts advertised in OJEU before 1st January will continue to use OJEU for any follow up notices.  You can find more information at this link. 
 
 
We have undertaken a risk appraisal at framework level across the portfolio of agreements that are available to members and categorised them as high, medium, low dependent on the impact of Brexit on supply and the probability the supplier will be impacted.
 
 
Any framework rated as 1-5 is considered low risk and the controls are as below.  Any framework rated 9 is considered medium and a rating of 15 – 25 is considered high.  Suppliers to medium and high risk level frameworks have been contacted to provide detailed information.
 
 

To view the link below you must be logged in please register here if you wish to view the documents. 

Updated on the 17th of December 2020 - Brexit Supply Chain Report