Frequently Asked Questions

Kinetic makes cooperative purchasing as simple as possible, yet our compliance process provides the legally required competition for our contracts. We'll do the work, you save the time and money.

Additional advantages are as follows:

• Voluntary access to our contracts, with no spend or volume commitment
• Continuously increasing choice of a wide range of collaboratively-sourced and competitively-priced products and services available through our contract
• A fair, open and transparent procurement process to ensure compliance with Chapter 5 of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and other international trade agreements, including the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreements (CETA), as well as the Broader Public Sector (BPS) Procurement Directive
• Cost-efficient and time-saving way to meet your organization's procurement needs

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) recognizes "Group Buying" as a valid way for public sector organizations to procure goods and services. The following language is from Article 504.5-9: Scope and Coverage found on Page 40 of the CFTA:

Buying Groups

5) A procuring entity shall ensure that any procurement conducted through a buying group is carried out in a manner consistent with this Chapter.

6) A buying group shall publish a notice for each procurement. The notice must list the participating procuring entities and must outline the potential for other procuring entities to participate in the procurement after the procurement instrument has been put in place.

7) A procuring entity shall publish a notice of its participation with the buying group at least annually on one of the tendering websites or systems designated by its Party. That notice shall direct potential suppliers to the buying group tender notices website if it is different from its Party's tendering websites or systems.

8) Subject to Article 503.1, when a procuring entity procuring through a buying group has little or no control over the procurement process, it is not required to ensure that the procurement is consistent with this Chapter.

Reference: www.cfta-alec.ca

A member's ability to use Kinetic's contracts depends on the member's local policies, guidelines and regulations. Some agencies feel that Group Buying is like using a Standing Offer or Master Agreement from their province or federal government.

Kinetic posts RFX opportunities for a minimum of forty-five (45) calendar days which exceeds the minimum posting times in the trade agreement. Kinetic does this to ensure all bidders have ample time to prepare proposals.

Per the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) there is no minimum posting time required. The posting time must be reasonable in the circumstances of the RFX opportunity. Under the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) open procurement opportunities must be posted for a minimum of forty (40) calendar days.

In addition, Kinetic engages the supplier market in the procurement planning stage via supplier consultations and issues a notice of procurement in advance of the upcoming RFX opportunities.

Yes, the following information is included:

• Kinetic GPO's name and contact information
• A list of participating procuring entities while also outlining the potential for other procuring entities to participate in the procurement after the standing offer agreement(s) is put in place
• A description of the procurement, including the nature and quantity of the deliverables and the contracting opportunity
• A list and brief description of any conditions for participating in the process and requirements for specific documents/certificates
• Trade agreement(s) procurement is subject to
• A description of the initial term of the agreement and description of any options
• The procurement method that will be used and whether it will involve negotiation
• Any authentication and encryption requirements related to the submission of supplier information by electronic means
• The location and deadline for the submission of bids
• The language or languages in which bids may be submitted
• The criteria that will be used to select a limited number of qualified suppliers (if applicable) and any applicable limitation on the number of suppliers permitted to tender

Yes, unsuccessful suppliers can direct their debriefing request to the contact person identified in the solicitation document within (60) days of the notification of the outcome of the procurement process.

Supplier debrief meetings will provide the following:

• Overview of the purpose of the debriefing
• Explanation of the procurement process
• Overview of the evaluation matrix
• The unsuccessful supplier's average score in each of the published evaluation criteria
• A review of the proposal's strengths & weaknesses

Kinetic GPO strives to support Indigenous businesses through procurement opportunities with our members across Canada.

Kinetic GPO advocates for Indigenous businesses so they can:

• Compete for Broader Public Sector business opportunities
• Work with the entire Mash sector
• Be promoted by Kinetic GPO via various marketing efforts
• Explore partnerships and strategic opportunities
• Demonstrate Indigenous business's capacity to provide goods or services through the competitive procurement process
• Providing advice and guidance to Indigenous corporation's participation into the procurement processes
• Promote to our members the benefits of Indigenous procurement

Kinetic GPO endeavors to initiate contracts with Suppliers that best meet the needs of our members. Essentially, we want our members to have access to competitively sourced compliant options to save them the time and effort of conducting a full procurement process. When a member has a requirement that can be obtained from a Kinetic GPO contract they can simply proceed with the contract of their choice.

The RFSO process is the method of choice for Kinetic GPO as it determines supplier(s) that can provide goods and/or services to members at pre-arranged prices, with set terms and conditions as required. Since our RFSO's include not to exceed pricing, it allows our members the flexibility to work with Suppliers to develop a tailored approach to their needs. This is a very important factor to consider as we run our competitions for hundreds of members across Canada, each with a unique need. A standing offer is not a contract and only becomes a contract when a member issues a purchase order to the supplier.

The RFP process is much more definitive in nature. It is typically used for larger projects that a defined need is identified and a solution is proposed vs. a list of items and includes terms such as firm commitments and agreed upon timelines.

Membership is free. Just follow these simple steps to start the buying process:

• Visit our Membership page to become a member of Kinetic
• CFTA requires public sector entities to publish a notice of your participation with Kinetic at least annually on one of the tendering websites or systems designated by its province/territory. We encourage our members to post on your preferred tendering website. Additionally, Kinetic will proactively take care of this for our members, to help facilitate compliance
• Contact the supplier(s) for information on their products and services (if required) and confirm your requirements.
• Sign a Client Supplier Agreement (CSA) with your supplier partner of choice and start buying