Defense Ministry’s "DOT" will require new document from suppliers at tenders
The State Enterprise "State Logistics Operator" (DOT) (the procurement organization of the Ministry of Defense) will require a product conformity certificate at the stage of submitting tender documents for new tenders starting in August 2024.
Arsen Zhumadilov, CEO of the state-owned enterprise, said this at the presentation of the PartnerMOD platform designed to find suppliers for the Armed Forces, Liga.net reports.
The certificate of conformity is issued by the Main Directorate for Development and Support of Supply (MDDSS) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This document must confirm the quality of the product and its compliance with the specified characteristics.
Previously, the DOT required the winning company to provide a certificate of conformity only before signing a contract. It was due to the absence of this document from MDDSS that a Ukrainian manufacturer failed to win the tender for the supply of flasks, even though it offered the best price. Under the new rules, such a manufacturer will not be allowed to participate in the tender at all.
"What was demanded and expected from us was the issue of the conformity certificate, which we did not demand at the stage of submitting tender proposals, but demanded at the stage of concluding the contract. Why did we do this? To create an environment that would encourage the MDDSS to work more actively, to interact with the market. This has worked to some extent, and starting in August, we will require a certificate of conformity at the stage of submitting tender proposals in our new procurements," Zhumadilov said.
He added that the ministry knows how long it takes to obtain a conformity certificate, and "if a supplier says I applied a month ago, although the average review period is two weeks, then this will definitely be monitored by the Ministry of Defense."
According to him, it is now possible to obtain a certificate of conformity by submitting an application through the PartnerMOD website.
"There are objective and physical characteristics that must be confirmed by a laboratory test report. If they are consistent, then they look at the appearance. In some cases, the product is put into experimental wear to make sure it is comfortable to wear. If it is plus, plus, plus, it receives a certificate of conformity," Zhumadilov promised.
