Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2019-04-25
Buyer: Sefton Council
Country: UK
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Competitive procedure with negotiation
CPV classification: 48445000
Submission deadline: 2019-05-24
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Sefton Council is seeking to procure a Customer Relationship management system to replace its current system.
Within this contract notice the Council has indicated that it will consider “Variants”. The Council will clarify what is meant by this. The Council is not wanting to vary its requirements specification and so all tenders received, from shortlisted tenderers later in the process, will need to be able to meet the Council's requirements specification. The Council is however, acknowledging that the proposed form of contract is subject to negotiation, and the ITT stage documentation will narrate to shortlisted tenderers how the Council will approach scoring of proposed derogations.
As part of the Council’s Framework for change programme, the Council is seeking to create significant improvements in its digital presence in order to drive transformational change in the way that it engages with communities, local businesses, visitors, potential investors and employees.
This forms part of the redesign of the current technology landscape so that key strategic outcomes are achieved. The Council’s approach is to enable web based transactions that interface with the Council’s back office systems without a need for any staff intervention. In this way, the Council can make services available at any time, improve the customer experience and provide customers with regular updates through automated notifications.
The Council sees channel shift as a key contributor to achieving more efficient and cost-effective services. The improved digital platform that the Council adopts must promote rapid and sustainable channel shift through self-service.
The Council is publishing a version of the requirements specification at selection stage in order that potential bidders can assure themselves that the requirements can be met before participating in the exercise.
The Council is offering a core period of 5 years along with 2 x 1 year optional extension periods. Depending upon performance of the product/contractor the Council will be seeking to renew the contract from either the end of the core period or at end of 1 of the optional extension periods if awarded.
The selection questionnaire will assess candidates across a range of mandatory pass/fail criteria, and will also asks specific questions to assess technical and professional ability. These questions will be scored. candidates will be required to achieve a pre-determined minimum score for each question, and where that is achieved then all candidates that have passed mandatory pass/fail criteria, and satisfied minimum score requirements will be ranked for total score achieved.
The Council will then seek to take the top 5 ranked bidders through to the invitation to tender stage.
The Council is seeking to contract for a 5 year core period with 2 x 1 year optional extension periods.
The Council is providing at this selection stage the proposed form of contract and associated schedules in order that potential bidders can look these documents over ahead of deciding whether to participate in the procurement exercise.
A re-procurement exercise could happened between 4 and 6 years from contract commencement depending upon whether optional extension periods are taken up.