Preliminary Market Consultation - Revolve Certification Services

Description

This is a preliminary market consultation in accordance with regulation 41 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 to inform Zero Waste Scotland's procurement plans and requirements with regards to the Revolve Certification Programme. Revolve is Scotland’s national re-use quality standard. It exists to raise standards in operation and awareness of second-hand stores, and to increase consumer confidence in re-used goods and the organisations that supply them. This will help encourage an increase in the purchase of second-hand items over new equivalents. For the past 10 years, the programme has been delivered by a dedicated team located in Zero Waste Scotland who have developed a comprehensive on-line certification process which can be anticipated to significantly reduce future operating costs. We are currently considering options for the future delivery of this certification service that will sustain and grow the Revolve quality standard. An initial investigation of future operating model options has identified that income could potentially be generated from chargeable modular support options, which based on popular pre-pandemic demand could include the following: - Certification support - Re-certification support - Mystery shoppers - Retail audit support - 1:2:1 visual merchandising support - Retail training - Model store makeovers This preliminary market consultation is being used to test key concepts and options for the future of the service by seeking advice and input from independent experts and market participants with knowledge and experience of delivering the same or similar services as listed above, whether individually or as part of an overarching programme. We are also keen to seek advice and input from market participants who have previously received certification support, including for the Revolve quality standard from Zero Waste Scotland, to understand the barriers and opportunities to potential recipients and how these can be accounted for in the new service provision. Interested parties are invited to complete the questionnaire included with this PIN and return it to Zero Waste Scotland for further consideration. Responses will be accepted for as long as this PIN remains live on the Public Contracts Scotland website. Parties who submit a questionnaire response by 09:00 on Thursday 21 October 2021 will also have the opportunity to participate in a discussion session with Zero Waste Scotland to provide further qualitative information that can be used to inform future developments.