Buying office pods in the public sector

The part other suppliers leave out

FocusPod is not currently on a public sector framework or panel. We are telling you that in the first line rather than letting you discover it after a meeting, because you would find out in ten minutes and it would be the last thing you remembered about us.

What that means in practice is narrower than it sounds. If your organisation is obliged to buy this category through a specific framework, we are not currently a route for you, and we would rather you knew now. If your organisation is not obliged to, which is the common case at these values, then the absence of a framework is not an obstacle at all, and the thresholds below explain why.

Where a pod purchase usually sits in the South African rules

Supply chain management under the PFMA and MFMA works in tiers by value: petty cash at the bottom, then informal written quotations, then formal written quotations, then competitive bidding above the top threshold. The thresholds are set by National Treasury and revised from time to time, and municipal and national institutions do not always sit on the same figures, so confirm the current tier boundaries with your own SCM unit.

What is durable is the shape of it. A single pod, and often a small group of pods, falls within a quotations tier rather than requiring a full competitive bidding process. A large multi-site rollout may cross into bidding, and if it does, the specification guidance below matters even more.

Your SCM unit will also have supplier database and compliance requirements attached to any award. Tell us what is required and we will tell you plainly what we can provide and what we cannot.

How to write a specification that does not accidentally name one supplier

This is the section that costs us something to write, and we think it is the most useful thing on the page.

A specification that describes one product's exact dimensions, or names a brand, is difficult to defend if challenged and often has to be re-run. What you want is a specification written around performance and outcome, which lets several suppliers bid and gets you a better price. Here is how to do that for a pod.

Specify the acoustic result, not the construction. Ask for a minimum speech level reduction in decibels measured on the assembled pod under ISO 23351-1, and require the test report for the specific model offered. That is a genuinely open requirement any competent supplier can meet, and it excludes the ones quoting wall panel ratings.

Specify capacity and footprint as ranges. A usable internal area and an external envelope that fits your space, rather than exact millimetre dimensions taken off one supplier's drawing.

Specify what must be included. Ventilation with a stated air change performance, lighting, power outlets, and whether furniture is in or out. Unstated inclusions are where quotes stop being comparable.

Specify the warranty as a duration and a scope. Ask what is covered, for how long, and who pays labour and transport on a claim. A length with no terms attached tells you nothing.

Specify the installed outcome. Delivered, assembled, packaging removed, to a stated floor of a stated building, with access constraints described. That is what you are actually buying.

If you write it that way, we may not win it. We would rather compete on that basis than see the category bought badly.

What your procurement team will ask us for

We can provide, as a matter of course: a written quotation itemising pod, furniture, installation, delivery and applicable tax; full technical specifications and dimensioned drawings for each model; the ISO 23351-1 speech level reduction detail for the model quoted; our five-year structural and electrical warranty terms; installer insurance documentation in the form your building or institution requires; and a stated production, shipping and installation window rather than a vague lead time.

Where an evaluation asks for something we do not hold, we will say so directly rather than answering around it. That applies to environmental product declarations, specific national certifications, framework memberships and anything else your scoring matrix may require. Send us the evaluation criteria early and we will tell you plainly where we score and where we do not, which saves you time even if the answer sends you elsewhere.

Why a pod is unusually easy to approve

Three things tend to matter to a public budget holder more than to a commercial one.

It is not a building work. A FocusPod is freestanding, sits on levelling feet, plugs into a standard socket and is not fixed to the structure. There is no construction, no approval, no disruption to an operating building and nothing to make good. For an estates team that changes which budget it comes from and how long it takes.

It is portable and reusable. If a department moves, the asset moves with it rather than being written off with the lease or the building. That is a straightforward argument in a business case.

And the price is published. You can build the budget line before you start any process at all, which is not possible with suppliers who quote only on request.

Phased and multi-site purchasing

Buying in phases is usually sensible and occasionally necessary to stay within a budget year. Start with a small number, measure how they are used, and extend. We will hold a specification so later phases match the first, and sequence deliveries around your terms, academic year or shutdown periods rather than shipping everything into a building that is not ready.

Installers are insured and we complete whatever access, induction or security documentation your site requires before the day. Indicative lead time is around four weeks from a confirmed order, with delivery and installation scheduled on top.

Every model, priced

Published figures for the budget line. Furniture and installation are itemised separately, which is also the form a procurement file wants them in.

Prices are for the pod in the configuration you choose. Finishes, furniture and compatible extras are listed separately as you build. Delivery, destination costs and any applicable tax are confirmed on your written quotation, so the total you approve is the total you pay.

What is included as standard

Every FocusPod arrives with laminated glass front and rear, layered acoustic insulation, adjustable ventilation, dimmable LED lighting with adjustable colour temperature, power and an occupancy light. Speech level reduction is laboratory tested at greater than 29 dB under ISO 23351-1, the international standard written specifically for pods. Every pod is covered by our five-year structural and electrical warranty.

There is no separate charge for the black or white exterior or for the standard interior palette. Other exterior colours use the displayed upgrade price, and a custom interior colour is priced per pod. All of it is listed separately as you build, so nothing arrives as a surprise on the quotation.

See it properly before you decide

Take a look inside. The film below walks through the Solo, the most compact model in the range, and the 3D configurator lets you turn any model around, change the finishes and try the furniture layouts. If you would rather be walked through it, we will do a live video walkthrough of the pod you are considering and answer questions as we go.

Procurement questions

Start with the budget line

Build the configuration, take the number to your budget holder, and confirm with your procurement team which process the value triggers. Send us the access details and the evaluation criteria together and the quotation comes back in a form your file can use.