Transport Services (Freight and Courier) CUATRP2021

This category provides services on an adhoc and permanent basis and consists of the following:

Pick up and delivery within the Greater Perth Region:

• Same Day - Standard (non-urgent)
• Same Day - Urgent
• Same Day- Very Urgent
• Next Day
• Single / Multiple Set runs (quotations required above $50,000)
• Courier Trucks

Optional regional service available to and from the Perth Metropolitan Region within a 300km radius of Perth CBD.

• Direct regional courier

Refer to the Price Schedule or Contractor Details for information on afterhours and other optional value services available.  Service summary available under ‘who supplies what’  accordion.

Service timeframes:

The timeframes describe the time between Booking Time to Delivery Time of Consignments.  Where the Consignment has been booked in advance, timeframes will be the Ready Time to Delivery Time.

Freight Services 

This category provide access to a range of Road and Air Freight services including intrastate and interstate services. This category is divided into two subcategories: 
Subcategory 2A – Airfreight 

• Same day/next available flight
• Overnight flight
• Dangerous / Sensitive goods (Optional service)

Interstate and intrastate regional WA airfreight optional services may be offered by some Contractors under this subcategory.  

Subcategory 2B -  Road Freight

• Non-Consolidated (parcel), Standard, Urgent
• Consolidated (pallets/consolidation) Standard
• Dangerous goods (Optional Service)
• Chiller/freezer (Optional Service)
• Sensitive (Optional Service)

Interstate road freight which is originating or destined to regional WA (Optional Services)  is offered by some Contractors. 

A Permanent Service with regular pick-up and delivery timeframes to one or multiple locations may be requested by the Customer under the above services.

Refer to the Price Schedule for expected delivery times, cut off times and other optional value services available. 

The scope excludes the following services: 

• International freight.
• Road Freight transport and couriers within regional Western Australia (WA) centres and across Regional WA locations (e.g. Albany to Broome).
• Rail transport.
• Sea freight transport.Removalist services (provided under the Removalist Services CUA REM2017 or subsequent iteration).
• Transportation of firearms and ammunition.
• Interstate to Interstate not including WA (e.g., Queensland to South Australia).
• (For clarity Interstate to WA and WA to Interstate is accepted under this CUA).
• Transportation of ammunition and firearms

Most services under this CUA will have the flexibility for agencies to use as a ‘pick and buy’ arrangement. The Customer will select a Contractor(s) of its choice from the relevant panel Category to provide the services required. Quotes are required for Courier Set Runs and Freight Permanent Services valued in excess of $50,000 and services valued over $250,000. 

State Agencies are required to purchase required mandatory courier and freight services from the CUA, unless an exemption has been approved or directly sourcing from an Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE) or Aboriginal Business, in accordance, with Western Australian Procurement Rules.

The CUA is non-mandatory for other Authorised Bodies and offices of State Agencies which are located in Regional WA. 

Potential Customers will purchase the Services in accordance with the following Buying Rules:

State agencies should be aware of the following requirements under Western Australian Procurement Rules as they apply to purchases from this CUA. The below table is a summary of the requirements, and State agencies are encouraged to review the WA Procurement Rules. 

Procurement planning

 Request development and contract formation

 Contract management

Exemption from using this CUA

Finance is responsible for processing and approving all requests from State agencies seeking exemption from using a mandatory CUA. Requests for an exemption are considered on a case-by-case basis, and a requesting agency must be able to demonstrate that a business need cannot be adequately met by the relevant CUA.

Exemption requests should be directed to the Assistant Director Procurement Frameworks through an email to the Contract Manager in the first instance. Requests for exemption may be received by posted letter or email but must be in writing and provide sufficient explanation and background to enable the request to be considered. The requesting officer should be the Accountable Authority or delegate of the agency.

For guidelines on what to include in an exemption request, please refer to the Procurement Practice Guidelines - Common Use Arrangements.

As part of the tender process, contractors on this arrangement were required to provide details of the steps taken to minimise the environmental impact in the supply of transport services. 

Contractors have provided sustainability initiatives including and not limited to.

• fuel efficient vehicles
• renewable energy
• reduce carbon emissions and CO2 reporting
• carbon offset program
• monitor energy usage
• aircraft emission reduction strategies waste reduction, environmental, sustainable accreditations, internal procedures, and recycling practices.

This table provides an overview of all contractors you can purchase from under the CUA and the goods and services they have been contracted to provide. 

Customers will be responsible for ensuring that only the approved contractors are engaged to provide services according to the categories they have been approved for. Specific details of their service offering can be accessed via their Price Schedule.

1. Courier Services

2. A. Air Freight 

2. B. Road Freight 

*  Standard - Intrastate service only

**Extended hours available subject to terms and conditions

***Standard - Interstate/Intrastate service

Please refer to Price Schedule for additional services on offer.

Pricing

The cost will vary depending on the combination of categories and/or services.

For individual contractor pricing, and fuel surcharge information please refer to the information located to the right of the Contents page.

You can contact contractors direct for a verbal quote.

Certain contractors provide the cost of a consignment on their online systems, ensure you insert your account number to access CUA rates.

Payment by purchasing card

The government purchasing card offers a quick and convenient method of payment allowing many goods and services to be efficiently purchased.

Always remember to inform the contractor that you will be paying by government purchasing card, at the time of ordering the product or service, and ensure they clearly understand that they must send the tax invoice directly to you, the cardholder.

It is your responsibility to ensure value for money. Price Schedules and Fuel Surcharge information is provided within the Buyers Guide. If you require assistance in calculating consignment cost contact the Contract Manager for assistance. 

• Plan ahead and check service lead times in advance, check public holidays or any after hour additional charges.
• Use the Department of Finance Order Form, if you sign onto a Contractors contract or Order Form, you are signing onto their terms and conditions. The Finance Order Form will ensure all the Terms and Conditions and the Head Agreement will be honoured.
• Make sure you check any quote you receive, don’t assume it is accurate, if you need assistance contact gemma.atkins@finance.wa.gov.au for support
• Is the contractor appointed to undertake the services required under the CUA category, it is mandatory to purchase from CUA contractors under the correct category/service to ensure CUA rates and terms.
• Which contractor offers the most value for money, compare contractors’ total price, is there a fuel surcharge, an insurance fee, manual connote fee or other ancillary costs which increase the contractor’s total cost. I will go through a detailed example on the next slide. We recommend moving to online as they do not attract a charge, and manual connotes do attract a fee.
• In addition to cost, Value for money includes qualitative considerations, for example quality of service delivery/ environmental impact.  Where there has been a previous documented experience of ongoing damage to consignments or late delivery of consignments due to fault of the contractor within their control, you may wish to take this into account in your Value for Money assessment. 
• Check the deadweight and volume of the item prior to sending, it will be charged at whatever is heavier.
• Set up an online account to allow for greater efficiency when booking services and applying track and trace facilities.
• If delivery is non urgent use the least expensive service categories available for less critical timeframes, afterhours or more urgent consignments attract higher costs therefore try and schedule services within business hours, and within a sufficient timeframe, preplanning will reduce costs.
• Is the service required on a recurring basis for example do you always need a courier on a Monday to pick up between a certain time and deliver to the same location if so perhaps look at setting up a set run which may result in further savings. Assess invoices to see if there is a trend in recurring requirements.
• Consider maximum weight restrictions; the safety requirements that need to be addressed (especially for Specially Handled services); and insurance cover.
• When available use Contractors’ online portals to:
  • reduce costs associated with manual consignments notes/ labelling.
  • increase efficiencies
  • access to invoicing and reporting.
• Invoice Checks
  • Does the invoice rate match the CUA rate – don’t assume it’s correct
  • Do you know the service you ordered, was it a CUA service?
  • Check any ancillary fees – is this an approved charge

Please note you can request, for no additional charge, an itemised/consolidated monthly invoicing report from your contractor to assist in reconciliation.

Prices for this Common Use Arrangement (CUA) are fixed so you can pick and buy the specified products from contractors without calling for quotes or tenders unless otherwise stated under the buying rules.

Identify

• Is there a specific time frame in which the consignment must be sent.
• Is it a public holiday, after hours, if so, can it wait until the next working day. 
• Can you combine any parcels to ensure value for money. 
• Will it be costed by volume or deadweight, whatever is greater once calculated will be charged.
• How does your consignment need to be sent, i.e., courier, air, etc.

Select a Service

• Look at the “who supplies what” accordion, see which contractors match the service you require.
• While the eDecision Aid is under development, view the Contractor Price Schedules & Contractor Fuel Surcharge. 

Compare pricing:

Calculate the base and km rate, add on any applicable Fuel Surcharge and any additional charges, this will give you the total price.

• Evaluate which Contractor represents the best value for money for your needs.
• Contact the Contractor/s to confirm calculations.

Final Step

Check the ‘Insurance’ accordion to ensure you have correct coverage and now you are ready to purchase!

• Check your invoices to ensure the correct price has been charged.
• Manage your contract term – keep an eye on your contract expiry date.
• Test the market on a regular basis to ensure value for money.
• Monitor and document service level compliance.
• Document any issues as they arise even if they are resolved, report this to the Contract Manager, this will assist in ongoing contractor performance management.
• If you are unable to resolve issues, please contact the Contract Manager, Gemma.Atkins@finance.wa.gov.au

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to get quotes

Please refer to the Buying Rules for instructions on how to purchase services under this contract.

How is weight measured?

Weight is measured and charged in two ways: deadweight or cubic volume – whichever is greater.

The Deadweight relates to the actual weight of the item.

The Cubic Volume relates to the space an item takes up.

Items that are heavy but do not take up a lot of space will be charged at their deadweight. Items that are not very heavy but take up a lot of space will be charged at their cubic volume.

The cubic volume of an item is calculated as:

Length x Width x Depth of the item (in metres) multiplied by the Cubic Rate of the Contractor

The cubic volume of the table is:

(1x0.5x0.75) = 0.375m³  multiplied by the cubic rate= 0.375x333 =124.875kg.

Therefore, even though the deadweight of the table is only 30kg, it will be charged as weighing 124.875kg because it takes up a lot of space.

However, if the table was flat-packed so that its dimensions became:

Length = 1 metre

Width = 0.1 metre

Depth = 0.75 metre

Weight = 30kg

then the cubic volume of the table would be:

(1x0.1x0.75) = 0.075 multiplied by the cubic rate = 0.075x333 =24.975kg.

In this case, the table would be charged at its deadweight (30kg) because this is the greater value.

My consignment was really light – why did it cost so much?

Freight consignments are measured either based on their deadweight or their cubic volume, whichever is greater. If your consignment took up a lot of space but was not very heavy then it would have been charged by cubic volume.

Do I have to buy from this contract if I am purchasing from a regional location?

The CUA is non-mandatory for other Authorised Bodies and offices of State Agencies which are located in Regional WA.

What happens if I need to purchase products/services that are not available on this arrangement?

In the instance that the service required is not available on the CUA then buyers must purchase in accordance with relevant Western Australian Procurement Rules.

What do I do if I am unhappy with the service of a Contractor?

1st Step - Contact the Contractor and request a meeting to resolve the matter. Clearly outline the issue, ask the Contractor to explain and together resolve the matter.

2nd Step - Contact the Department of Finance contract manager (right column) with specific details of the complaint. Include your name, phone contact details, the service type and booking number, the action you have taken and the agreed solution. If need be, Finance will follow-up the matter with the Contractor.

How does Finance manage the contract?

The Contractor at the end of every quarter report to Finance on a range of fields to enable Finance to monitor the performance of the contract against the key performance indicators and compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

We encourage Customers to report any feedback on performance to the Contract Manager to assist in effective Contract Management.

Can I receive updates about this contract, including any price changes?

Yes. Click (Gemma.Atkins@finance.wa.gov.au), to add your name to the circular list

Note on invoicing and payment.

Agencies are required to ensure payments are up to date and on time as per Treasurer’s Instruction (TI323)

Steps for Missing or Damaged Consignments

• Contact the Contractor to advise your item has been lost/damaged, use the contact information provided in the Buyers Guide, which will give you a direct phone/email to the Contractor managing the CUA.
• The Contractor will provide with you with a claims form, ensure there are no additional terms on the claim form prior to fill this out, submit back to the Contractor and await their response.
• If your claim is not covered with the Contractor, refer to your State Agency’s internal insurance contact and report the missing item direct to them.
• If you are unsure who your State Agency’s representative is, contact ICWA directly on 08 9264 3333 or clients@icwa.wa.gov.au they will advise who your representative is.
• PBIs, Universities and Government Trading entities may not be covered by the RiskCover fund provided by ICWA, your internal insurance contact will be able to advise what coverage entitlements are available to you.
• Contact the Contract Manager within the Department of Finance and advise them of your lost/damaged item claim. 

Note –To ensure your consignments have the correct coverage, contact your internal insurance representative prior to sending/posting your consignment.