Mandatory Standing Offers - Business Access Canada

Budget 2005 introduced fundamental changes to the way the Government of Canada purchases goods and services. The changes are in keeping with the Government's commitment to deliver services smarter, faster and at a reduced cost. These changes will generate savings to fund Government priorities such as health care, early childhood development, a new deal for communities and the environment.

What is a standing offer?

A standing offer is not a contract. A standing offer is an offer from a potential supplier to provide goods and/or services at pre-arranged prices, under set terms and conditions, when and if required. No contract exists until the Government issues an order or "call-up" against the standing offer, and there is no actual obligation by the Government to purchase until that time.

To buy the goods and services listed below, if PWGSC has issued a standing offer that covers the client's specific requirement, departments must use the standing offer:

Suppliers that hold PWGSC standing offers in these categories can expect a potential increase in business as a result of this change.

These broad categories might not encompass a supplier's specific offerings, and there might not necessarily be a PWGSC standing offer in place at this time for a specific offering. Other exceptions may apply, such as when a supplier offers a lower price than that available through a standing offer. In these situations, there would be no change in business.

If you hold a standing offer...
If you hold a standing offer for any of these goods and services, you can expect an increase in business. In exchange, PWGSC has asked for a voluntary 10% volume discount on standing offer prices.
If you have a standing offer for a commodity that is not included in the list above, there is no change.

If you do not hold a standing offer...
If you supply any of these goods and services but do not have a PWGSC standing offer, it may be that there are no standing offers for the specific good or service you provide at this time. In this case, there is no change, and departments and agencies are free to continue to do business as in the past.

If a standing offer exists for a good or service you supply and you are not a standing offer holder, you could still have access to business in these areas through subcontracting opportunities or under the exception process, including for work that offers better value to, or meets a unique requirement of, the government or that exceeds the maximum limit for each call-up, or the total value of the standing offer.

If you supply any other good or service, such as printing or general communications support services, there is no change.

For evolving information about the mandatory standing offers currently in place, visit our web site regularly or the Acquisitions Branch web site.

The Government is committed to ensuring the interests of small and medium-sized businesses continue to be supported as we implement procurement changes. For example, we have set up the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises as an entry point into how to do business with the government.

We will continue to monitor the impact of our procurement changes on the supplier community and address concerns as they arise.

For goods and services included in the ten commodities, departments and agencies may still be adapting to the change in process. For all other goods and services, there is no change.

The mandatory use of standing offers is an initial step to capture savings that are already available to the government and to help develop a better base of information for the government and suppliers for further decisions.

The government is driving towards better management of how it buys goods and services to support delivery of programs and services. This will mean making decisions on the basis of commodities of goods and services and how to buy that specific good or service to achieve best value for Canadians.

Mandatory Standing Offers - Important Information for Suppliers