24. Can a supplier of high-quality (not least expensive) oils and lubricants be selected
without breaching the Act "Public Procurements Law"?
In the recent years, the majority of companies select their suppliers of products and services
by way of tenders organised on the basis of the Act "Public Procurements Law".
In the Specification of the Essential Provisions of the Procurement (SIWZ), usually
common product names are quoted and a stipulation is made that the only offer selection criterion
is the lowest product price.
Principals forget, however that the purpose of each tender is to acquire the most advantageous
offer, which does not denote that the one that is currently cheapest. When selecting lubricating oil
and grease supplier (suppliers), advantages should be appraised not only considering a product price,
but also a role that lubricating mediums play in long-term machine and equipment operation.
It means that the aim of appropriate lubrication is to extend machinery's useful life with possible
lowest operating costs, including repairs.
To be able to choose the most advantageous offer for lubricants' delivery, establish what
resources are indispensable and describe their parameters in SIWZ precisely, i.e.:
- name, type and oil and lubricant technical and quality parameters that may be delivered by any supplier
(including equivalent suppliers) meeting required technical and quality criteria, and whose application will
not affect operating conditions and generate additional costs for the principal due to their use, including mixing
with previously used products);
- names and types, technical and quality parameters and names of such oil and lubricant manufacturers for which
the principal does not consent to use products with equivalent properties, with an irrefutable argument why other
products with corresponding properties must not be used instead of the demanded products
(e.g.: it makes a
machine manufacturer's guaranty void and null,
it is necessary to mix oils when filling up losses (additions) as well as
the related risk of impediments, oil is distributed to a group of machines in the plant with a central system, the
application of new oil types increases stock and lubricant management costs in a plant, etc.);
- what tests must be run and what guarantee must be granted by a supplier of new oil types to demonstrate their
equivalence and miscibility in respect of the products used earlier without related side effects over the entire
forecast operating period;
- what documented and checked references must possess the potential product and service suppliers;
- what types and volumes of packages must be used for delivering specific product types;
- how supplier should document the quantity and quality of products, and how will quantitative and qualitative
acceptances be made for products delivered (weighing, sampling, what parameters of specific oils will be tested on
receipt, in what laboratories tests will be done, who is charged with referee tests' costs and when;
- in what single quantities and with what frequency specific products will be delivered (monthly or weekly
quantitative delivery schedules for specific product types);
- terms of payment for goods delivered and services provided;
- procedure and date for changing product process within the term of the goods delivery agreement, if the
agreement is effective for longer than one quarter (especially important for tenders for delivering kerosene
products, where prices depend on prices of oil in international exchanges and a conversion rate of USD and EURO);
- equivalent terms of penalties for failure to execute the agreement (both for supplier and principal);
- other detailed technical, organisational and commercial conditions having an effect on price conditions and
offer quality.
If SIWZ does not incorporate the above stipulations, then the cheapest offer will have to be
selected, which does not mean that the one that is most favourable (usually price is paired
with product quality and value of technical and organisational potential of manufacturers and
suppliers) and ostensible savings will translate into much greater losses.
