Telephony Services RM1035
Prior information notice
Services
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Government Procurement
Roseberry Court, St Andrews Business Park
Contact point(s): Network Services - Telephone services project team
NR7 0HS Norwich
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 3454102222
E-mail:
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2)Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.3)Main activity
General public services
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: yes
Section II.B: Object of the contract (Supplies or services)
II.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
Telephony Services RM1035
II.2)Type of contract and place of delivery or of performance
Service category No 5: Telecommunications services
UK.
UK.
NUTS code UK
II.3)Information on framework agreement
II.4)Short description of nature and quantity or value of supplies or services:
Government Procurement Service is looking to put in place a Framework Agreement for Telephony Services for use by or on behalf of UK public sector bodies including, but not limited to, Central Government Departments and their Agencies, Non Departmental Public Bodies, NHS bodies, Local Authorities, Voluntary Sector Charities, Education Bodies (Including Academies), Devolved Administration bodies and/or other private organisations acting as managing agents or procuring on behalf of these public sector bodies.
The above public sector bodies have a need for the provision of bundled voice calls and lines, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Lines and Centrex services), line feature services and care/fault management/ equipment maintenance for inbound and outbound call traffic.
Commoditised Broadband services (connectivity and services) and Commoditised Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking (connectivity and services).
This Framework Agreement will enable customers to continue to use these services whilst preparing to transition to IP technologies and the Public Services Network (PSN). This Agreement would enable Government Procurement Service and PSN to retain visibility of costs and demand for these services and support customers' transition to PSN.
We are particularly interested in understanding how we can reduce costs, and invite innovative proposals to lower both demand and price whilst supporting customers' diverse business needs. Maintaining currency of pricing is also a key deliverable, and views on indexing, benchmarking or other mechanisms to ensure ongoing vfm are welcomed.
We are seeking to attract the widest possible industry representation on this Framework Agreement, and aim to design the procurement to have a broad appeal. We welcome interest from the whole supplier base including small, medium and large local, regional and national players, all of whom are encouraged to bid for this opportunity either independently or through consortia groupings.
We are seeking views on the potential benefits of a regionally lotted framework, and welcome industry views on such an approach. The lotting structure will be further defined as part of the consultation process.
We plan to standardise the specification of these commodities to enable customers to call off services directly from an electronic catalogue via a simple ordering process, reducing both the cost of acquisition for customers, and the cost of engagement for suppliers.
E-auction may be used to determine tariffs at the framework level.
Suppliers will be expected to assist customers in delivering the Greening Government commitments (see links below):
http://sd.defra.gov.uk/gov/green-government/commitments/
http://c15024310.r10.cf2.rackcdn.com/greening_government_ict.pdf
We welcome proposals on how industry could help customers meet these commitments, or any other suggestions on how sustainability can be met in this space.
Although the scope descriptions have been included in this document, suppliers should be aware that Government Procurement Service may change both the scope and the structure of the contract as a result of market and customer engagement. Government Procurement Service cannot guarantee that a call for competition will definitely take place.
The framework duration is likely to be 18 months and customer call off contracts of up to 1 + 1 + 1 years.
The Social Values Act applies to this procurement.
Formal industry consultation events are being planned and you are encouraged to attend these and contribute to our project (see below). If you wish to input into the consideration or wish to comment in any way, please contact us at
Estimated cost excluding VAT: 0 GBP
The above public sector bodies have a need for the provision of bundled voice calls and lines, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Lines and Centrex services), line feature services and care/fault management/ equipment maintenance for inbound and outbound call traffic.
Commoditised Broadband services (connectivity and services) and Commoditised Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking (connectivity and services).
This Framework Agreement will enable customers to continue to use these services whilst preparing to transition to IP technologies and the Public Services Network (PSN). This Agreement would enable Government Procurement Service and PSN to retain visibility of costs and demand for these services and support customers' transition to PSN.
We are particularly interested in understanding how we can reduce costs, and invite innovative proposals to lower both demand and price whilst supporting customers' diverse business needs. Maintaining currency of pricing is also a key deliverable, and views on indexing, benchmarking or other mechanisms to ensure ongoing vfm are welcomed.
We are seeking to attract the widest possible industry representation on this Framework Agreement, and aim to design the procurement to have a broad appeal. We welcome interest from the whole supplier base including small, medium and large local, regional and national players, all of whom are encouraged to bid for this opportunity either independently or through consortia groupings.
We are seeking views on the potential benefits of a regionally lotted framework, and welcome industry views on such an approach. The lotting structure will be further defined as part of the consultation process.
We plan to standardise the specification of these commodities to enable customers to call off services directly from an electronic catalogue via a simple ordering process, reducing both the cost of acquisition for customers, and the cost of engagement for suppliers.
E-auction may be used to determine tariffs at the framework level.
Suppliers will be expected to assist customers in delivering the Greening Government commitments (see links below):
http://sd.defra.gov.uk/gov/green-government/commitments/
http://c15024310.r10.cf2.rackcdn.com/greening_government_ict.pdf
We welcome proposals on how industry could help customers meet these commitments, or any other suggestions on how sustainability can be met in this space.
Although the scope descriptions have been included in this document, suppliers should be aware that Government Procurement Service may change both the scope and the structure of the contract as a result of market and customer engagement. Government Procurement Service cannot guarantee that a call for competition will definitely take place.
The framework duration is likely to be 18 months and customer call off contracts of up to 1 + 1 + 1 years.
The Social Values Act applies to this procurement.
Formal industry consultation events are being planned and you are encouraged to attend these and contribute to our project (see below). If you wish to input into the consideration or wish to comment in any way, please contact us at
Estimated cost excluding VAT: 0 GBP
Lots
This contract is divided into lots: noII.5)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
64200000
II.6)Scheduled date for start of award procedures
II.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes
II.8)Additional information:
The Contracting Authority intends to use an eTendering system in this procurement exercise and reserves theright to use a reverse auction.
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
III.2)Conditions for participation
III.2.1)Information about reserved contracts
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about European Union funds
The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
VI.2)Additional information:
Government Procurement Service is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office. Our overall priority is to provide procurement savings for the UK Public Sector as a whole and specifically to deliver centralised procurement for Central Government Departments. The centralisation, standardisation and aggregation of spend on common services is a key mechanism to deliver significant, sustainable cost reductions.
Industry engagement events are planned for:
13.3.2013 in Liverpool;
19.3.2013 in Norwich;
21.3.2013 in London.
Please note if numbers of interested suppliers are low one or more of the days may be cancelled.
We will make the slides and questions and answers and any industry feedback available to all suppliers who register an interest with us.
If any suppliers are unable to attend the planned face to face events, we will make all efforts to arrange additional opportunities to allow suppliers to contribute to the project.
Registration for these events closes at 17:00 hours on 8.3.2013.
Telephony Services - RM1035 - Industry Day
Please indicate which day you are interested in attending.
The objective of industry days is to share our Telephony Services framework project approach and explore views and ideas on how we can provide simple commoditised framework services most cost-effectively and simply for all involved.
We are focussed on reducing the costs of procurement and providing a simple catalogue ordering process that provides competitive tariffs throughout the life of the framework and associated call-offs to the benefit of all customers. We would welcome feedback on our plans in the following areas:
- Lot structures and regionalisation;
- Standard service description;
- Catalogue approach;
- Ordering processes;
- Tariff structure and discounts structure;
- Indexing/benchmarking provisions;
- E-auction approach;
- Terms and conditions.
And gain industry feedback ahead of OJEU.
For information separate customer days are planned for:
5.3.2013 in Norwich;
6.3.2013 in London;
12.3.2013 - Liverpool.
Industry engagement events are planned for:
13.3.2013 in Liverpool;
19.3.2013 in Norwich;
21.3.2013 in London.
Please note if numbers of interested suppliers are low one or more of the days may be cancelled.
We will make the slides and questions and answers and any industry feedback available to all suppliers who register an interest with us.
If any suppliers are unable to attend the planned face to face events, we will make all efforts to arrange additional opportunities to allow suppliers to contribute to the project.
Registration for these events closes at 17:00 hours on 8.3.2013.
Please register your interest in this opportunity, via the email address
Subject of the email should be :Telephony Services - RM1035 - Industry Day
Please indicate which day you are interested in attending.
The objective of industry days is to share our Telephony Services framework project approach and explore views and ideas on how we can provide simple commoditised framework services most cost-effectively and simply for all involved.
We are focussed on reducing the costs of procurement and providing a simple catalogue ordering process that provides competitive tariffs throughout the life of the framework and associated call-offs to the benefit of all customers. We would welcome feedback on our plans in the following areas:
- Lot structures and regionalisation;
- Standard service description;
- Catalogue approach;
- Ordering processes;
- Tariff structure and discounts structure;
- Indexing/benchmarking provisions;
- E-auction approach;
- Terms and conditions.
And gain industry feedback ahead of OJEU.
For information separate customer days are planned for:
5.3.2013 in Norwich;
6.3.2013 in London;
12.3.2013 - Liverpool.
VI.3)Information on general regulatory framework
Relevant governmental Internet sites where information can be obtained
Tax legislation http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/thelibrary/legislation.htm
Environmental protection legislation http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/43/contents
Employment protection and working conditions http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/index.htm
Tax legislation http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/thelibrary/legislation.htm
Environmental protection legislation http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/43/contents
Employment protection and working conditions http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/index.htm
VI.4)Date of dispatch of this notice:
14.2.2013