Scope
Reference
NEPO535
Description
NEPO seeks to establish a Framework for the provision of goods, works, services and technology ("NEPRO x Innovation"). It is envisaged NEPRO x Innovation will operate as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service for the delivery of goods, works, services and technology. The Neutral Vendor will not provide goods, works, services and technology in its own right and must maintain neutrality at all times when selecting suitable suppliers to deliver services under the Framework. For the avoidance of doubt, NEPO seeks to procure a single provider solution to manage a perpetual supply chain, capable of delivering a full spectrum of goods, works, services and technology requirements.
Commercial tool
Establishes a framework
Total value (estimated)
- £10,000,000,000 excluding VAT
- £12,000,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 October 2025 to 1 October 2029
- Possible extension to 1 October 2033
- 8 years, 1 day
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 03000000 - Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products
- 09000000 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
- 14000000 - Mining, basic metals and related products
- 15000000 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
- 16000000 - Agricultural machinery
- 18000000 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories
- 19000000 - Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials
- 22000000 - Printed matter and related products
- 24000000 - Chemical products
- 30000000 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages
- 31000000 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting
- 32000000 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment
- 33000000 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
- 34000000 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 35000000 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 37000000 - Musical instruments, sport goods, games, toys, handicraft, art materials and accessories
- 38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
- 39000000 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products
- 41000000 - Collected and purified water
- 42000000 - Industrial machinery
- 43000000 - Machinery for mining, quarrying, construction equipment
- 44000000 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)
- 45000000 - Construction work
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
- 50000000 - Repair and maintenance services
- 51000000 - Installation services (except software)
- 55000000 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
- 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
- 63000000 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services
- 64000000 - Postal and telecommunications services
- 65000000 - Public utilities
- 66000000 - Financial and insurance services
- 70000000 - Real estate services
- 71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 75000000 - Administration, defence and social security services
- 76000000 - Services related to the oil and gas industry
- 77000000 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services
- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 80000000 - Education and training services
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 90000000 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services
- 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
- GG - Guernsey
- IM - Isle of Man
- JE - Jersey
Engagement
Engagement deadline
10 March 2025
The engagement was carried out before this notice was published.
Engagement process description
This notice has been created in retrospect as the original preliminary market engagement activities were scheduled prior to the Procurement Act 2023 commencement date and the ability to produce this notice was not yet available.
NEPO sent out a Prior Information Notice on 24th January 2025 with the following information:
"NEPO seeks to establish a Framework for provision of goods, works, services and technology ("NEPRO x Innovation"). It is envisaged NEPRO x Innovation will operate as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service vehicle.
The purpose of the prior information notice (PIN) is to provide advance notice to the marketplace for the future opportunity and the intentions of NEPO to hold market engagement meetings with suppliers to help shape the future Framework. NEPO are not advertising this PIN as a mechanism to reduce future procurement timescales. The market engagement meetings are advertised openly via this PIN but are limited to a particular number. Market engagement meetings will take place between Tuesday 18th February and Friday 21st February.
The "Market Consultation Questionnaire" (market engagement invite) will be made accessible via the Open e-tendering system on Friday 24th January 2025 with a submission deadline of 5 p.m. Friday 7th February 2025.
Suppliers wishing to access and complete the "Market Consultation Questionnaire" (Market engagement invite) must first register on the e-tendering system using the following link https://www.open-uk.org.(https://www.open-uk.org).
Within the Questionnaire, Suppliers will be given the opportunity to register for a market engagement meeting by directly emailing NEPRO to select two meeting dates highlighting their preferred choice.
Market engagement meetings are limited in number and will take place the week commencing Monday 17th February 2025. Appointments will be no longer than 150 mins. NEPO intends to conduct these sessions in person in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. In-person meetings will be determined via correspondence but are expected to take place at NEPO's offices. The time and location of each appointment will be confirmed following the registration deadline. NEPO may, by exception, use its discretion to facilitate online meetings in the event that in-person meetings are not feasible for suppliers. Places will be secured on a first-come, first-serve basis via directly emailing NEPRO to select two meeting dates highlighting their preferred choice.
Suppliers wishing to attend the market engagement meetings should be capable of meeting the requirements outlined above.
NEPO reserves the right to seek assurances from interested suppliers prior to allocating a place. Attendance at the market engagement is optional and does not provide suppliers with an advantage in any future related procurement. Attendance also does not constitute as an intention to tender for any future related procurement, nor does the meeting location.
Please note the above dates may be subject to change depending on availability and supplier uptake. In addition to the market engagement meetings, NEPO may also publish a soft market testing questionnaire via our Open E-Procurement system. Should this be issued, the questionnaire will allow a further opportunity for those suppliers unable to attend the market consultation meetings to contribute towards shaping the future NEPO535 Framework design. Should the questionnaire be issued, this will be published through Open for access and completion."
All those who attended preliminary market engagement sessions were either in attendance in-person at NEPO offices or via an arranged Microsoft Teams call online. All clarifications were made available on our Open E-procurement system ('Open').
Preliminary market engagement was restricted to six face-to-face sessions allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to the high interest in the preliminary market engagement sessions, NEPO allocated an additional six online sessions. To facilitate the additional sessions, NEPO needed to shorten the online sessions to 75 minutes. The same information was disseminated in both the face-to-face and online sessions.
As a result, NEPO engaged in four 150-minute face-to-face preliminary market engagement sessions and two 75-minute online sessions. These took place between 18th February and 24th February 2025.
To ensure the preliminary market engagement was sufficiently robust, NEPO also issued a Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire on 28th February 2025 via Open. This allowed NEPO to obtain wider feedback and assess the appetite and capability of the market. NEPO issued the presentation slides from the preliminary market engagement sessions with this questionnaire, to ensure transparency and to ensure that no distortion of competition and no unfair advantage was gained by those able to attend market engagement. Within the questionnaire, NEPO sought feedback on: pricing, rebate, contract value and term, contract governance and terms and conditions, financial appraisal and insurances.
The deadline for submitting the preliminary market engagement exercise was 10th March 2025 concluding the preliminary market engagement period.
A copy of the preliminary market engagement presentation slides, clarifications and a summary of NEPO's findings from preliminary market engagement can be provided by NEPO. Please contact us to request these documents via the following email address: nepro@nepo.org
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
26 March 2025
Contracting authority
THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED
- Companies House: 05014821
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PYVX-2132-JNMM
Northern Design Centre
Gateshead
NE8 3DF
United Kingdom
Contact name: Ruth Long
Telephone: 01916380040
Email: cdpnepoteam@nepo.org
Website: http://www.nepo.org
Region: UKC22 - Tyneside
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government