Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
DUDLEY MBC
Council House,Priory Road
DUDLEY
DY19TD
UK
Contact person: John Bailey
Telephone: +44 7972603193
E-mail: john.bailey@dudley.gov.uk
NUTS: UKG36
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.dudley.gov.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Unit4 SaaS Contract
Reference number: 24007
II.1.2) Main CPV code
72260000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The Unit 4 Agresso (Business World Enterprise Resource Planning) application is the system used by the entire council for the management of its finances. The application is essential IT infrastructure as it provides accounting functionality which enables budget allocation and management across the whole council.
This award is lawful pursuant to Regulation 32 (2)(c) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 insofar as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with, and in accordance with Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) because competition is absent for technical reasons.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
958 355.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKG36
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Unit 4 Agresso (Business World Enterprise Resource Planning) application is the system used by the entire council for the management of its finances. The application is essential IT infrastructure as it provides accounting functionality which enables budget allocation and management across the whole council.
This award is lawful pursuant to Regulation 32 (2)(c) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 insofar as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with, and in accordance with Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) because competition is absent for technical reasons.
The following details the justification for this:
Unit 4 timing of announcements regarding product changes, coupled with a 12-month timeframe to switch solutions, creates the urgency of the situation. The system is an essential part of the councils IT infrastructure would have a detrimental effect of the running of the council services. Unit 4 have mandated the switch and withdrawn support of the onpremise solution. It will not be possible for the application and the data to be hosted on premise in the future due to the availability of support for third party hosting. The Council could not have foreseen these events and no other economic provider would be able to provide this service
At the present time it would be impossible for the council to procure and implement an alternative economic operator to provide this service. This is because, the supplier will no longer support the current on premise software beyond December 2024 and council risks a non-supported financial system. Therefore it is key that the council upgrades to the cloud software so stability of provision is ensured over the next few years to allow proper consideration of the above mentioned aspects.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the Directive
Explanation
Unit 4 timing of announcements regarding product changes, coupled with a 12-month timeframe to switch solutions, creates the urgency of the situation. The system is an essential part of the councils IT infrastructure would have a detrimental effect of the running of the council services. Unit 4 have mandated the switch and withdrawn support of the on premise solution. It will not be possible for the application and the data to be hosted on premise in the future due to the availability of support for third party hosting. The Council could not have foreseen these events and no other economic provider would be able to provide this service
At the present time it would be impossible for the council to procure and implement an alternative economic operator to provide this service. This is because, the supplier will no longer support the current on premise software beyond December 2024 and council risks a non-supported financial system. Therefore it is key that the council upgrades to the cloud software so stability of provision is ensured over the next few years to allow proper consideration of the above mentioned aspects.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: 24007
Title: Unit4 SaaS Contract
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
18/03/2024
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Unit4 Business Software Limited
01737985
Bristol
BS19HS
UK
NUTS: UKG36
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 958 355.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
The High Court Royal Court Of Justice
London
WC2A 2LL
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
10/07/2024