Public procurement notice: Modification Of A Contract/Concession During Its Term
Published: 2020-11-24
Buyer: National Transport Authority
Country: IE
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 30162000 | 66170000 | 72000000 | 72510000: Computer-related management services | 79000000

Technical requirements: Υπηρεσίες τεχνολογίας των πληροφοριών: παροχή συμβουλών, ανάπτυξη λογισμικού, Διαδίκτυο και υποστήριξη
— provide services relating to the operation, maintenance, and support of the Leap integrated ticketing system;
DXC currently develop, host, operate, maintain and support the www.leapcard.ie website. Migrating the website from the incumbent’s proprietary IT infrastructure to another supplier (including verification testing) would take at least 9-12 months.
DXC provide customer services which require deep functional knowledge of the Leap system. Migrating the customer services to another supplier would take at least 6 months.
DXC supply, configure and photo-personalise smart cards utilising bespoke software and hardware. Migrating the card personalisation services to another supplier would take at least 6 months.
DXC provide IT services which require deep technical knowledge of the Leap system. Migrating the IT services to another supplier would take at least 6 months.
DXC provide financial processing and reporting services which require deep knowledge of the Leap financial processes. Migrating these services to another supplier would take at least 6 months and would require third party (auditor) verification.
DXC’s sub-contractor provides retail point of sale services that are integrated with the Leap system for the purposes of activating and adding funds to Leap Cards. Integration with another retail point of sale provider and roll out of the network could take up to 12 months.
Any new supplier would need extensive support from the existing contractor in order to transition the services without disruption to members of the public (i.e. in order to maintain the integrity of the live environment and the continuity of the services to the levels required). As the new procurement process is ongoing it would cause significant inconvenience and substantial duplication of costs to conduct a further process to cover the modification period. In addition, because of the short period for which the extension is necessary, a new contractor would spend a significant proportion of the extension period in mobilisation activities, with only a short operational period to recoup its investment. This would render an interim contract uneconomic.
In the circumstances the only feasible option was to modify the existing contract. The additional services are intended as an interim solution only. The period is 12 months with an option to further extend the contract by 12 months.
Description of the circumstances which rendered the modification necessary and explanation of the unforeseen nature of these circumstances:
A procurement process is ongoing (RFT 141831 – ‘Competition for the Provision of Leap Operations Services’) but the preferred tenderer will not be appointed when the current contract expires due to the procurement outcome being subjected to legal proceedings in relation to the award of a contract for a new provider of these services. The institution of such proceedings and the timeframes associated with such are outside of the Contracting Authority’s control and such timelines are further compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Authority estimates that it could be up to 24 months before the issues in the legal proceedings are addressed.
Therefore, the contracting Authority precluded from concluding a new contract for the services and thus requires additional services by the original contractor.
The additional services are intended as an interim solution only. The period is 12 months with an option to further extend the contract by 12 months.
In modifying the contract, the Authority has acted insofar as is strictly necessary and having regard to the extreme urgency brought about by the circumstances which could not have been foreseen, to ensure the continued provision of the services. As noted above, the Authority is satisfied that a procurement procedure to conclude


Winner: Global Entserv Solutions Ireland Ltd (DXC Technology)