Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2016-05-25
Buyer: The Minister for the Cabinet Office acting through Crown Commercial Service
Country: UK
Region: UNITED KINGDOM
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 30000000 | 30100000 | 30191400 | 30200000 | 30210000
Estimated value: 2000000000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2016-07-01
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Crown Commercial Service as the Contracting Authority is putting in place a Pan-Government Collaborative Framework Agreement for the supply of commodity technology goods and/or closely-related services for use by UK public sector bodies including but not limited to Central Government Departments and their Arm Length Bodies and Agencies, Non Departmental Public Bodies, NHS bodies and Local Authorities.
This Lot is aimed at value added resellers (VAR) who have the capability to provide a wide range of vendor-neutral end user devices, and other hardware such as audio-visual, network infrastructure equipment and IT peripherals. Operating systems and utility software included as part of a standard OEM product offering/factory build are included in this lot when purchased alongside/installed on the associated hardware.
This Lot is aimed at specialist channel partners for software, who have the capability to supply a full range of commercial and Open Source commodity off-the-shelf software, software licenses and associated commoditised software services including software asset management. Suppliers suitable for this Lot would be expected to have in depth knowledge and expertise with the major software vendors, providing access to discounts and significant rebates through the use of their partnering arrangement.
This Lot is aimed at Suppliers with the capability of providing combined hardware and software requirements as detailed within Lot 1 and Lot 2.
Potential Providers do not need to bid for Lot 3 but will be eligible by having bid for and been successful for Lots 1 and 2 inclusively.
This Lot is aimed at Suppliers of commoditised IT products and solutions that are capable of meeting specific protective, information assurance requirements. The main provision for the product and solutions is to provide Information Assurance enforcing and/or relevant functionality.
The Supplier shall be Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and be limited to supplying its own branded products and Related Services.
This Lot enables suppliers to provide Contracting Bodies with a wide range of commoditised technology hardware and software products through an online catalogue.
Estimated spend for years 1 (one) and 2 (two) of the Framework Agreement is 1 400 000 000 pounds (GBP).
Participants will be advised if this is necessary during the procurement. Parent company and/or other guarantees of performance and financial liability may be required by Crown Commercial Service if considered appropriate.
No special legal form is required but if a contract is awarded to a consortium, the Contracting Authority may require the consortium to form a legal entity before entering into the Framework Agreement.
Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Section 5 of the 2015 Public Contract Regulations (implementing the Directive) on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’).
This procurement will be managed electronically via the Crown Commercial Service's e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this procurement, participants must first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite.
If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link ‘Register for CCS eSourcing’. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier/becoming-a-supplier-through-the-crown-commercial-service-what-you-need-to-know

Eligibility requirements: Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Section 5 of the 2015 Public Contract Regulations (implementing the Directive) on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’). This procurement will be managed electronically via the Crown Commercial Service's e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this procurement, participants must first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite. If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link ‘Register for CCS eSourcing’. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier/becoming-a-supplier-through-the-crown-commercial-service-what-you-need-to-know Once you have registered on the eSourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing ExpressionOfInterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk Your email must clearly state: the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for; the name of the registered supplier; and the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email. Crown Commercial Service will process the email and then enable the supplier to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done. As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to the Emptoris messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event. Please note it is your responsibility to access these messages on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information. For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Support Desk email: eEnablement@crowncommercial.gov.uk Responses must be published by the date in IV.3.4. Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Section 5 of the 2015 Public Contract Regulations (implementing the Directive) on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’). The ITT can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1 The Contracting Authority may take into account any of the following information: (a) appropriate statements from banks or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance; (b) the presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is established; (c) a statement of the undertaking's overall turnover and, where appropriate, of turnover in the area covered by the contract for a maximum of the last three financial years available, depending on the date on which the undertaking was set up or the economic operator started trading, as far as the information on these turnovers is available. Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Section 5 of the 2015 Public Contract Regulations (implementing the Directive) on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’). The ITT can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1 The Contracting Authority may have regard to any of the following means in its assessment: (a) a list of the principal deliveries effected or the main Goods and/or Related Services provided in the past three years, with the sums, dates and recipients, whether public or private, involved. Evidence of delivery of Goods and/or Related Services provided shall be given: — where the recipient was a contracting authority, in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the competent authority, — where the recipient was a private purchaser, by the purchaser's certification or, failing this, simply by a declaration by the economic operator; (b) an indication of the technicians or technical bodies involved, whether or not belonging directly to the economic operator's undertaking, especially those responsible for quality control and, in the case of public works contracts, those upon whom the contractor can call in order to carry out the work; (c) a description of the technical facilities and measures used by the supplier or service provider for ensuring quality and the undertaking's study and research facilities; (d) where the products or goods or services to be supplied are complex or, exceptionally, are required for a special purpose, a check carried out by the contracting authorities or on their behalf by a competent official body of the country in which the supplier or service provider is established, subject to that body's agreement, on the production capacities of the supplier or the technical capacity of the service provider and, if necessary, on the means of study and research which are available to it and the quality control measures it will operate; (e) the educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or contractor and/or those of the undertaking's managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for providing the services or managing the work; (f) for public works contracts and public services contracts, and only in appropriate cases, an indication of the environmental management measures that the economic operator will be able to apply when performing the contract; (g) a statement of the average annual manpower of the service provider or contractor and the number of managerial staff for the last three years; (h) a statement of the tools, plant or technical equipment available to the service provider or contractor for carrying out the contract; (i) an indication of the proportion of the contract which the Goods and/or Related Services provider intends possibly to subcontract; (j) with regard to the products to be supplied: (i) samples, descriptions and/or photographs, the authenticity of which must be certified if the contracting authority so requests; (ii) certificates drawn up by official quality control institutes or agencies of recognised competence attesting the conformity of products clearly identified by references to specifications or standards; (k) an indication of the supply chain management and tracking systems that the economic operator will be able to apply when performing the contract. Applicable to Lot 2 Only: (1) The Potential Provider must supply a full and comprehensive list comprising a statement of all the relevant principal Goods provided in the previous three (3) years by the entity or entities specified in A or B below. For the avoidance of doubt, ‘relevant principle Goods’ in this context is technology software products detailed in Schedule 2 Framework Agreement Attachment 4, with a total contract value equal or in excess of £20,000,000. You are required to submit a completed Attachment 10 (Relevant Principle Goods Template) if you have selected Lot 2 Software in your response to SQ1.3a. Your response must be labelled as: ‘[Supplier Name] Attachment 10 Lot 2 Software SQ6.6a.’ Any reference to the Potential Provider includes reference to a consortium, where relevant, whether or not the consortium has a legal personality. The criteria by reference to which the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services have been identified should be stated by the economic operator. A. The list referred to above must include at least either: (a) contracts under which the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services have been provided by the Potential Provider; or (b) a contract (or contracts) under which the Potential Provider has provided the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services of some specific value, quantity or description. Where the Potential Provider is an entity that is continuing an undertaking or undertakings (or any part of an undertaking or undertakings) which were previously conducted by one or more other entities (each a ‘predecessor entity’), the list of such contracts must include the contracts under which relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services were provided by each predecessor entity. B. Alternatively, where the Potential Provider may rely on other entities (including, in the case of a consortium, members of the consortium) to enable it to perform the contract and/or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement, save as specified below the list must: (i) describe the function that each such other entity will perform under the Framework Agreement and/or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement, and (ii) include at least either: (a) contracts in respect of the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services provided by the Potential Provider (or a predecessor entity) and contracts in respect of relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services provided by any other entity (including any member of the consortium) on which the Potential Provider may intend to rely to enable it to perform the Related Services under Framework Agreement and/or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement, or (b) in respect of the Potential Provider or any other such entity, a contract (or contracts) under which the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services were supplied by it of some specific, value, quantity or other description and in either case which are relevant to the function that each will provide under the Framework Agreement or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement. Where the Potential Provider is an entity which has been formed for the particular purposes of bidding for the Framework Agreement which is the subject of this OJEU Notice, the Potential Provider may comply with paragraph B(ii) above by including in its list, contracts under which relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services were provided by those entities on whom the Potential Provider will rely to supply the Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement (or their predecessor entities), instead of the Provider itself. Where it is envisaged that the Potential Provider will rely on one or more sub-contractors to enable it to supply the Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement to be performed: In so far as any sub-contractor has not been appointed, the list should describe the function that sub-contractor will perform but need not include any contract by such a sub-contractor, and in so far as the anticipated value of any particular sub-contract is less than 5 per cent of the total contract value, the bidder need not comply with the requirements in B(ii) above in relation to that particular sub-contract. (2) The Potential Provider must also provide: (a) certificates in the form set out in the attachment to the selection questionnaire for this procurement exercise from those to whom the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services on the list were provided; (b) if any such certificate cannot be obtained, an explanation of the steps taken to obtain it and why it is not available and a certificate (in the same form) from the entity that provided the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services instead; (c) if the certificate does not state that the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services have been provided satisfactorily in accordance with the terms of the contract in question, information to show that any reason why they were not so provided will not recur in the performance of the Goods and/or Related Services to be provided under the Framework Agreement and any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement. (3) In considering whether it is satisfied that the minimum standard for reliability based on past performance is met, the Contracting Authority reserves the right to verify the information required and to require the Potential Provider to clarify or supplement it. The Contracting Authority reserves the right throughout the duration of the Framework Agreement and any specific contracts awarded thereunder, to continue to assess whether the Potential Provider where appointed to provide Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement continues to meet the minimum standard for reliability. Any Potential Provider must meet the minimum standard in relation to reliability based on past performance. The minimum standard for reliability having regard to past performance is that the Contracting Authority is satisfied that the contracts required on the list to be provided have been satisfactorily performed in accordance with their terms or, where that has not occurred, the reason or reasons why that has not occurred in relation to any such contract, will not recur in the performance of the Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement or of any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement. The Contracting Authority will assess whether or not this minimum standard is met at the selection stage. In addition the Contracting Authority will also re-assess whether this minimum standard is met prior to the conclusion of the Framework Agreement. The Contracting Authority will also assess whether this minimum standard is met on request from a Contracting Body prior to the proposed award of a specific contract with a value of £20 million or greater (excluding VAT). Failure to meet the minimum standard set will render the Potential Provider in question ineligible to be awarded that specific contract.
Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Section 5 of the 2015 Public Contract Regulations (implementing the Directive) on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’). The ITT can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1 The Contracting Authority may take into account any of the following information: (a) appropriate statements from banks or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance; (b) the presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is established; (c) a statement of the undertaking's overall turnover and, where appropriate, of turnover in the area covered by the contract for a maximum of the last three financial years available, depending on the date on which the undertaking was set up or the economic operator started trading, as far as the information on these turnovers is available.
Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Section 5 of the 2015 Public Contract Regulations (implementing the Directive) on the basis of information provided in response to an Invitation to Tender (‘ITT’). The ITT can be accessed at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1 The Contracting Authority may have regard to any of the following means in its assessment: (a) a list of the principal deliveries effected or the main Goods and/or Related Services provided in the past three years, with the sums, dates and recipients, whether public or private, involved. Evidence of delivery of Goods and/or Related Services provided shall be given: — where the recipient was a contracting authority, in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the competent authority, — where the recipient was a private purchaser, by the purchaser's certification or, failing this, simply by a declaration by the economic operator; (b) an indication of the technicians or technical bodies involved, whether or not belonging directly to the economic operator's undertaking, especially those responsible for quality control and, in the case of public works contracts, those upon whom the contractor can call in order to carry out the work; (c) a description of the technical facilities and measures used by the supplier or service provider for ensuring quality and the undertaking's study and research facilities; (d) where the products or goods or services to be supplied are complex or, exceptionally, are required for a special purpose, a check carried out by the contracting authorities or on their behalf by a competent official body of the country in which the supplier or service provider is established, subject to that body's agreement, on the production capacities of the supplier or the technical capacity of the service provider and, if necessary, on the means of study and research which are available to it and the quality control measures it will operate; (e) the educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or contractor and/or those of the undertaking's managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for providing the services or managing the work; (f) for public works contracts and public services contracts, and only in appropriate cases, an indication of the environmental management measures that the economic operator will be able to apply when performing the contract; (g) a statement of the average annual manpower of the service provider or contractor and the number of managerial staff for the last three years; (h) a statement of the tools, plant or technical equipment available to the service provider or contractor for carrying out the contract; (i) an indication of the proportion of the contract which the Goods and/or Related Services provider intends possibly to subcontract; (j) with regard to the products to be supplied: (i) samples, descriptions and/or photographs, the authenticity of which must be certified if the contracting authority so requests; (ii) certificates drawn up by official quality control institutes or agencies of recognised competence attesting the conformity of products clearly identified by references to specifications or standards; (k) an indication of the supply chain management and tracking systems that the economic operator will be able to apply when performing the contract. Applicable to Lot 2 Only: (1) The Potential Provider must supply a full and comprehensive list comprising a statement of all the relevant principal Goods provided in the previous three (3) years by the entity or entities specified in A or B below. For the avoidance of doubt, ‘relevant principle Goods’ in this context is technology software products detailed in Schedule 2 Framework Agreement Attachment 4, with a total contract value equal or in excess of £20,000,000. You are required to submit a completed Attachment 10 (Relevant Principle Goods Template) if you have selected Lot 2 Software in your response to SQ1.3a. Your response must be labelled as: ‘[Supplier Name] Attachment 10 Lot 2 Software SQ6.6a.’ Any reference to the Potential Provider includes reference to a consortium, where relevant, whether or not the consortium has a legal personality. The criteria by reference to which the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services have been identified should be stated by the economic operator. A. The list referred to above must include at least either: (a) contracts under which the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services have been provided by the Potential Provider; or (b) a contract (or contracts) under which the Potential Provider has provided the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services of some specific value, quantity or description. Where the Potential Provider is an entity that is continuing an undertaking or undertakings (or any part of an undertaking or undertakings) which were previously conducted by one or more other entities (each a ‘predecessor entity’), the list of such contracts must include the contracts under which relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services were provided by each predecessor entity. B. Alternatively, where the Potential Provider may rely on other entities (including, in the case of a consortium, members of the consortium) to enable it to perform the contract and/or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement, save as specified below the list must: (i) describe the function that each such other entity will perform under the Framework Agreement and/or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement, and (ii) include at least either: (a) contracts in respect of the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services provided by the Potential Provider (or a predecessor entity) and contracts in respect of relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services provided by any other entity (including any member of the consortium) on which the Potential Provider may intend to rely to enable it to perform the Related Services under Framework Agreement and/or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement, or (b) in respect of the Potential Provider or any other such entity, a contract (or contracts) under which the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services were supplied by it of some specific, value, quantity or other description and in either case which are relevant to the function that each will provide under the Framework Agreement or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement. Where the Potential Provider is an entity which has been formed for the particular purposes of bidding for the Framework Agreement which is the subject of this OJEU Notice, the Potential Provider may comply with paragraph B(ii) above by including in its list, contracts under which relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services were provided by those entities on whom the Potential Provider will rely to supply the Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement (or their predecessor entities), instead of the Provider itself. Where it is envisaged that the Potential Provider will rely on one or more sub-contractors to enable it to supply the Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement or any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement to be performed: In so far as any sub-contractor has not been appointed, the list should describe the function that sub-contractor will perform but need not include any contract by such a sub-contractor, and in so far as the anticipated value of any particular sub-contract is less than 5 per cent of the total contract value, the bidder need not comply with the requirements in B(ii) above in relation to that particular sub-contract. (2) The Potential Provider must also provide: (a) certificates in the form set out in the attachment to the selection questionnaire for this procurement exercise from those to whom the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services on the list were provided; (b) if any such certificate cannot be obtained, an explanation of the steps taken to obtain it and why it is not available and a certificate (in the same form) from the entity that provided the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services instead; (c) if the certificate does not state that the relevant principal Goods and/or Related Services have been provided satisfactorily in accordance with the terms of the contract in question, information to show that any reason why they were not so provided will not recur in the performance of the Goods and/or Related Services to be provided under the Framework Agreement and any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement. (3) In considering whether it is satisfied that the minimum standard for reliability based on past performance is met, the Contracting Authority reserves the right to verify the information required and to require the Potential Provider to clarify or supplement it. The Contracting Authority reserves the right throughout the duration of the Framework Agreement and any specific contracts awarded thereunder, to continue to assess whether the Potential Provider where appointed to provide Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement continues to meet the minimum standard for reliability. Any Potential Provider must meet the minimum standard in relation to reliability based on past performance. The minimum standard for reliability having regard to past performance is that the Contracting Authority is satisfied that the contracts required on the list to be provided have been satisfactorily performed in accordance with their terms or, where that has not occurred, the reason or reasons why that has not occurred in relation to any such contract, will not recur in the performance of the Goods and/or Related Services under the Framework Agreement or of any specific contract to be awarded under the Framework Agreement. The Contracting Authority will assess whether or not this minimum standard is met at the selection stage. In addition the Contracting Authority will also re-assess whether this minimum standard is met prior to the conclusion of the Framework Agreement. The Contracting Authority will also assess whether this minimum standard is met on request from a Contracting Body prior to the proposed award of a specific contract with a value of £20 million or greater (excluding VAT). Failure to meet the minimum standard set will render the Potential Provider in question ineligible to be awarded that specific contract.