Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2020-12-11
Buyer: Ministry of Defence, ISTAR, SCIS
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Negotiated without a prior call for competition
CPV classification: 72222300: Information technology services
Estimated value: 500000000 GBP

Technical requirements: (a) amend the existing Future Logistics Information Services (FLIS) (Lognec1/0001) contract with Boeing Defence UK (BDUK) to include a tri-service base inventory management system, based on its existing Air Domain base inventory management system (BIWMS), to replace the fragile and ageing legacy systems (CRISP and SS3); and
(b) to establish a new contract with BDUK to replace the existing FLIS contract when it expires in July 2022 for the sustainment of those LOG IS services contracted under FLIS. The new contract will provide capability that Bridges the Gap (BtG) between the FLIS contract and the future long-term strategic solution, known as the Business Modernisation for Support (BMfS) project. BtG will be executed as a Single Source, Qualifying Defence Contract. During the term of the BtG contract the portfolio will be disaggregated and transitioned primarily to the BMfS platform.
(a) amend the existing Future Logistics Information Services (FLIS) (Lognec1/0001) contract with Boeing Defence UK (BDUK) to include a tri-service base inventory management system, based on its existing Air Domain base inventory management system (BIWMS), to replace the fragile and ageing legacy systems (CRISP and SS3); and
(b) to establish a new contract with BDUK to replace the existing FLIS contract when it expires in July 2022 for the sustainment of those LOG IS services contracted under FLIS. The new contract will provide capability that Bridges the Gap (BtG) between the FLIS contract and the future long-term strategic solution, known as the Business Modernisation for Support (BMfS) project. BtG will be executed as a Single Source, Qualifying Defence Contract. During the term of the BtG contract the portfolio will be disaggregated and transitioned primarily to the BMfS platform.
The proposed amendments to the FLIS contract were offered by BDUK to transform the authority’s base inventory management systems as part of the original FLIS contract proposal which was not taken up at the time of contract award. It has now become necessary to address the increasing fragility of the existing CRISP and SS3 platforms which requires the authority to take immediate action to replace them before they fail and the Authority loses the critical capability they provide.
It is considered that the BtG contract can be awarded using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC (Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) for the technical reasons set out below.
• the aim of the BtG contract is to provide a service based upon a reduced Authority Logistic Information Service (Log IS) scope for a limited period to keep essential Defence capability sustained, maintain continuity and facilitate the transition to the long-term strategic solution BMfS, which will be procured through open competition.
• all aspects of Defence logistic business — inventory, transport and movement, engineering and maintenance, and general ledger management — are heavily dependent on the digital services of Logistic Information Systems (Log IS).
• the Log IS portfolio contains operationally critical Defence applications for the UK Armed Forces which must be maintained at close to 100 % availability. Lack of availability will fundamentally impact the UK Armed Forces ability to operate effectively around the globe.
• Many of the applications in the Log IS portfolio use aging, legacy technology requiring the availability of unique Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP) to deliver and maintain the service. BDUK has built up the required SQEP resources during the course of the FLIS contract and therefore possesses exclusive technical expertise, skills, capabilities, relationships with key subcontractors and knowledge (including proprietary knowledge and information) relating to these specific critical services.
• the BtG contract is intended to be a transitional arrangement, during which time the scope of the Log IS service will be re-shaped and rationalised prior to the BMfS capability becoming fully operational in 2027. The risk created by transitioning from BDUK to a new delivery partner during that period of transition represents an unacceptable threat to UK operational capability due to the risk of non-availability, service disruption and interoperability failures. Continuity of service through BDUK fully mitigates these risks.
The authority reserves the right to amend any condition related to security of information to reflect any changes in national law or government policy. If any contract documents are accompanied by instructions on safeguarding classified information (e.g. a Security Aspects Letter), the authority reserves the right to amend the terms of these instructions to reflect any changes in national law or government policy, whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, the aspects to which any protective marking applies, or otherwise. The link below to the Gov.uk website provides information on the Government Security Classification.
Advertising Regime OJEU: this contract opportunity is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), the MoD Defence Contracts Bulletin and www.contracts.mod.uk GO Reference: GO-2020127-DCB-17473657


Winner: Boeing Defence UK Ltd
Award value: 500000000