Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square,
London
E14 9SR
Contact
Troy Martin
procurement.enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKI42 - Tower Hamlets
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Economic and financial affairs
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Performance Tools and Enablers Project
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Financial Ombudsman Service recently launched productivity and workflow solutions to part of its workforce. These solutions were successfully delivered by Advantiq Solutions Limited via a project awarded through an existing Framework Agreement. The project included a significant discovery and process improvement phase prior to development.
The Financial Ombudsman Service is now entering into contractual arrangements with Advantiq Solutions Limited to further develop these solutions. The contract will be for a term of 12 months.
The contract is to develop and enhance a workflow management solution and a performance management tool using the Microsoft Power Platform.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £1,500,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 72200000 - Software programming and consultancy services
- 72300000 - Data services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKI42 - Tower Hamlets
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The supplier will provide enhancements to the existing workflow solution to capture skills and activities as well as a dashboard to display performance. The services to be delivered are:
1. A Power App to capture activities completed by the Financial Ombudsman Service employees.
2. A Power BI Dashboard to display a summary of employee activity.
3. A Power App to capture individual Financial Ombudsman Service employee skills.
4. A Virtual Agent and Power Automate flow to allocate work to employees.
5. A Power BI Dashboard to display a summary of skills and automatically allocate work to employees.
6. Enhancements to the existing Investigator auto-allocation solution.
7. Thought leadership to drive connectivity and synergies across the COO, Transformation and IT teams.
The works consist of the repetition of similar services delivered under a previous contract that concluded in the last year, and the works and services are in conformity with a basic project for which the original contract was awarded following a competitive procedure.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Cost criterion - Name: quality / Weighting: 100
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations
Explanation:
We are awarding a contract via a VEAT notice to widen the scope of these solutions and leverage the knowledge gained from the discovery and process improvement phase to our current supplier, Advantiq, without prior publication on the government’s Contract Finder website because:
1) Specialised Expertise: Advantiq possesses unique knowledge crucial for the project, which cannot be easily found in the market. This includes expertise of processes integral to the Service’s operations and how specific technology can add value.
2) Cost Efficiency: It is economically advantageous to continue with Advantiq due to the whole life cost considerations, including the costs of transitioning to a new supplier, training, and system integration, outweighing the benefits of switching.
3) Risk Mitigation: The direct award to Advantiq significantly reduces the risk associated with project delivery. Given its intimate familiarity with our IT estate and the critical nature of the systems involved, engaging Advantiq directly ensures continuity, reduces the learning curve, and mitigates the risk of delays or project failure.
4) Innovation Partnership: The Service seeks to establish an innovation partnership where Advantiqs’s research and development capabilities are crucial for co-developing a new and innovative solutions that cannot be met by existing market solutions.
5) Continuity of Service: Awarding to Advantiq is necessary to ensure continuity of a critical service, where changing suppliers could lead to unacceptable risks or service gaps.
6) Compatibility and Integration: The project requires compatibility with existing systems or services that only Advantiq can provide effectively, ensuring seamless integration without the risk of operational disruptions.
7) Time-Sensitive Project Delivery: The solutions serve as foundational capability for follow on projects. The urgency of the project timelines necessitates a partner who can mobilise quickly and efficiently. Advantiq’s existing knowledge and experience with the Service enable us to commence work immediately, ensuring that critical deadlines are met without compromising on quality or strategic objectives.
8) The protection of exclusive intellectual property rights.
In addition the whole life cost of moving to a new supplier will be higher because:
• There was a significant ramp-up phase during the original project to integrate internal and external teams and transfer knowledge of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s process and extensive products. As such we’d to need to invest in additional time and resource to get a new supplier up to speed.
• Moving to a new supplier / solution may cause outage of the existing solution. As the solution underpins the Financial Ombudsman Service’s performance management framework this leads to significant risks.
• Not leveraging the knowledge and investment made in the original solution would not provide value for money for our customers
Given the current work already delivered by Advantiq, achieving better value for money via a competition process is not considered economically viable.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section five. Award of contract/concession
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
21 February 2024
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Advantiq Solutions Limited
London
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKI31 - Camden and City of London
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £1,500,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Financial Conduct Authority
12 Endeavour Square
London
E20 1JN
Country
United Kingdom