Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
BRISTOL
deborah.hambridge100@mod.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Defence
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Procurement of 500x Palletised Loading System (PLS) Platforms with an option to increase and extend contract quantity and duration
Reference number
708851450
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 34134000 - Flatbed and Tipper trucks
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Estimated value excluding VAT: Range £250m and £350m Ex VAT covering the procurement of 500x platforms across FY23/24. It is estimated that the contract for the 500x platforms will total between £250m - £350m. This may increase by further platforms to fulfil the total Land Fleet Requirement of 1827 platforms and therefore have an increased potential total value of up to £1Bn. This option is only relevant if contractual options are invoked, noting that the Authority has no obligation to do so. Any future procurements would be subject to separate Business Case approval.
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: £350,000,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The contract will be for the purchase of 500 x PLS Platforms to the contracting authority and will contain options for purchasing additional quantities of PLS Platforms. This contract will cover the procurement of PLS Platforms to mitigate shortfalls against the current Land Fleet Requirement to meet Future Soldier structures.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Criterion: n n
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
Options shall be included for the Authority to procure additional platform quantities, noting there is no obligation on the Authority to invoke these. This will also require separate financial approval. This requirement is driven by the published PLS Land Fleet Requirement (LFR) dated 24th May 2023.
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
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice
- No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice
- The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development
- The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
The Vehicle Support Team (VST), as part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a two-year contact with the value of approximately £350m excluding VAT to Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles UK Ltd for the purchase of 500 x PLS Platforms with an option to extend for a maximum period of 5-years for purchase of additional quantities of PLS Platforms.
In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for Technical Reasons.
RMMV are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the PLS platform(s)), and they are the manufacturer of the Support Vehicle fleet and owners of the IPR. The Authority does not own or have a right to obtain or provide to third parties the proprietary information and documentation regarding these platforms. Manufacture of these platforms by a third party is not considered possible without direct OEM support and access to the proprietary information. Therefore, as the OEM, RMMV are the only economic operator capable of manufacturing this capability and meeting this requirement within the timeframe required. This vehicle is currently deployed on multiple Operations around the world and further procurement is required to mitigate shortfalls against the Land Fleet Requirement to meet Future Soldier structures. As such, procurement of anything other than the PLS model from RMMV would fail to meet the Authority’s requirement and would introduce a level of risk that is not acceptable to the Authority.
Furthermore, procuring an alternative PLS platform solution from another supplier is not considered a viable option due to the significant additional technical and interoperability complexity that would be introduced, including but not limited to platform interoperability issues, including safe recovery procedures, safe transport procedures and safe integration with UK equipment and flat racks, all of which are currently established for the current in-service RMMV platforms. Any new vehicles must be interoperable with current recovery systems and fault diagnostic equipment. Failure to achieve a coherent fleet would substantially reduce effectiveness and introduce a level of risk that is not acceptable to the Authority.
In addition, introducing different platforms with different support solutions when deployed on contingent operations would not be compatible with the Authority’s requirements existing support solutions, modifications and theatre specific role fits would not be compatible with an alternative platform without significant effort to integrate.
Finally, increased training burden associated with a mixed fleet of platforms, which would include new training material to ensure safe operation of platforms, does not meet the User’s requirement and set pre-deployment training activities. Accordingly, the Authority’s view is that the award of a contract under regulation 16(1)(a)(ii)- technical reasons ground has been met.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
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
4 August 2023
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
Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV)
BRISTOL
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £350,000,000
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
Ministry of Defence
Vehicle Support Team, Cedar 1A, MOD Abbey Wood
BRISTOL
BS34 8JH
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
Ministry of Defence
Vehicle Support Team, Cedar 1A, MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Ministry of Defence
Vehicle Support Team, Cedar 1A, MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS348JH
Country
United Kingdom