Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2021-08-18
Buyer: DSB
Country: DK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Negotiated without a prior call for competition
CPV classification: 72210000: Software programming services | 72211000: Systems and user software programming services | 72212100: Industry specific software programming services | 72212480 | 72212481

Technical requirements: DSB is currently employing a platform for sales of international tickets, reservations and travel passes for travelling by train, delivered by an external supplier. Besides the distribution platform itself, the existing supplier also delivers a number of related services. DSB intends to prolong the existing engagement with additional 2 ½ years.
DSB wishes to continue selling tickets to international travellers by train supported by a sales system for its international travellers. The existing supplier delivers a total solution containing the products and services provided and specified for the current solution.
DSB is currently using a platform for sales of international tickets, reservations and travel passes for travelling by train, delivered by an external supplier. Besides the distribution platform itself, the supplier also delivers a number of related services. The services include the following: (a) Development Services: Initial development and specific development based on the ongoing change and evolution in the business. (b) Ongoing Services; whereas this include: Hosting Services, Maintenance Services, Product management Services, Help Desk Support Services, Incident Management, Release Management and Accounting and settlement Services. The Distribution platform provides the following key features: Multi-carrier, Multi-product, Multi-channel, Multi-segment: multiple rail segments can be booked in one transaction, Universal product identification and Overall travel dossier (Super PNR).
The Existing Supplier Rail Platform consists of five business domains: Information, Booking, Payment/POS, Customer and Fulfilment.
The Distribution Platform comprises inventory system connectors that provide availability, sales and after-sales functionality to: EPA and other reservation system, DB, SNCF and passes via a web service connection to the supplier's own inventory system. The system sends all relevant transaction information (i.e. sales data) to the DSB Integration Platform. The supplier delivers the datafiles and documents that is needed, for DSB to carry out the accounting and settlement according to the UIC regulations described in the UIC leaflet 301 and 311.
The possibility to introduce a white label APP is being investigated in order to move in the direction of digital distribution (eCommerce) and fulfilment and could be included in the setup.
By way of a Periodic indicative notice (PIN) 2021/S 013-029074 DSB announced its intention to continue using the sales system for sales of international tickets, reservations and travel passes (the current solution), delivered by the existing external supplier for an extended period of 2,5 years until 2025. The inquiries received based on the PIN has supported DSB in its assessment that no other supplier on the market can supply all the required services and supplies. On this basis DSB have decided to prolong the duration of the ongoing contract, cf. directive 2014/25/EU article 50c (ii).  This assessment is mainly based on the following:
• The current solution uses Danish kroner and the Danish language in both the sales dialogue and when used in the ticket sales and eCommerce section on dsb.dk. In addition, it is integrated with DSB's current Payment Service Provider providing search, purchase, delivery and possibly refund of a trip.
• The current solution offers travel in connection with Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic, and DSB is in dialogue with the companies in France, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland about the possibilities of issuing tickets to these countries.
• The current solution has integrations that support the commercial products and the ability to issue the tickets as "Print Yourself" tickets. "Print Yourself" tickets are a prerequisite for the customer to receive their ticket immediately when shopping online or in DSB's Customer Center. DSB has entered into commercial agreements with the companies on the use of these integrations, which products can be issued, and which prerequisites must be met in order to issue "Print Yourself" tickets. Some of these assumptions are specific to each company.
• Until now, the system integrations (APIs) to other rail transport companies have to a large extent been specific to the individual companies. With the introduction of a specification for Online Sales and Distribution (the so-called OSDM API), the opportunity opens up for the industry in the coming years to simplify and improve to buy international tickets. The simplification also contains perspectives to make it easier to adapt the distribution systems and thus cheaper to distribute international tickets everything else being equal increasing the competition in relation to the contract. DSB will after the real adoption of the OSDM API revise the assessment on the use of article 50c (ii). DSB has also in the extension period the option to terminate the contract within a given notice.
The date stated in section V.2.1) is the date on which DSB published this notice and not the date when the contract was signed. The contract will not be signed until the end of a 10 day period, from the date when this notice has been announced.
DSB follows the procedure in § 4, in the act on the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement (lov om Klagenævnet for Udbud) (lovbekendtgørelse nr. 593 of 2.6.2016 om Klagenævnet for Udbud, available on www.retsinformation.dk). DSB will not sign the contract extension before 10 days after this notice has been published.
Pursuant to the Danish Act on the Complaints Board for Public Procurement complaint to the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement must be filed not later than 30 days after DSB has published a contract award notice with all the relevant information, cf. § 7(3) of the act on the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement.
Not later than at the time of lodging a complaint with the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement, the complainant must notify the contracting entity in writing that a complaint has been lodged with the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement.


Winner: The Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement